The remarkable opportunities engendered by the advent of the FAA's new Sport Pilot rule are attracting important new entrants into the flying business. Integrity Brands, a Boston-based investment organization, has announced a new business initiative aimed at the emerging Sport Pilot market. This initiative represents an exciting new entry into recreational aviation, by an investment organization known for its record in creating value in consumer brands and branded specialty retail businesses. Integrity Brands has formed a new business called American Sport Flying. American Sport Flying has a unique mission: to become the pre-eminent, national branded destination for sport flying, for both new and existing pilots. 

According to John Pound, Founder of Integrity Brands and American Sport Flying, "With the advent of the Sport Pilot Rule, we see a tremendous opportunity to literally reinvent recreational flying in the United States. Clearly, there is an immediate opportunity to bring many existing pilots back into recreational flying. Beyond that, we believe this rule provides the engine to rebuild sport aviation, bringing thousands of new people into the sport of flying. The goal of American Sport Flying will be to provide the sport flying experience directly, both to existing pilots, and, ultimately, to a new generation of recreational pilots."

"American Sport Flying will offer a new business model in the recreational aviation arena," Mr. Pound continued. "We are going to build a national brand that stands for grassroots sport flying in America. We are going to market our brand in a way that educates a new generation of Americans about the joys, accessibility, and safety of sport flying. American Sport Flying will connect both new pilots and returning pilots directly with a carefully developed set of tools, information, and services, through which they will be able to pursue the best of sport flying -- in a way that is consistent, safe, and meets high standards for customer service."

American Sport Flying will provide its services through a modern multichannel model. A Web portal, that will go live on September 1, will serve as a national entry point, through which both returning and prospective pilots can connect to sport flying. Pound reports that www.americansportflying.com will provide a unique mix of information, products, and services to prospective sport pilots, beginning with proprietary guides that will offer unique "how to" assistance so that new and returning pilots can pursue sport flying economically and safely. The Web portal will become the place to go to learn about sport flying and access key sport flying products and services, including instruction, rentals, and sales of sport airplanes. Members will also be able to connect with other sport pilots, join fly-outs, and receive discounts on a wide variety of sport flying products and services.

In the second phase of the business model, American Sport Flying's "virtual airport" at www.americansportflying.com, will link to real, bricks-and-mortar local airports throughout the country. American Sport Flying Centers, located at carefully selected airports, will offer the front line services needed by both returning and new pilots who are joining the sport flying movement. These centers will, in the spirit of modern branded specialty retail, offer the customer a wonderful experience - one that is consistent, safe, and highly consumer friendly. They will provide instruction, rentals, and aircraft sales and service, to a consistently high standard, defined and maintained at the national level.

Mr. Pound said, "You will see that the American Sport Flying brand will have a very specific viewpoint. We are here to offer new and returning pilots a flying experience, and flying products, that represent the best that sport aviation has to offer. American Sport Flying Centers will draw on the wonderful grass roots traditions of Sunday morning flying in America, and bring those traditions into the modern era. We will champion values such as friendliness, openness, professionalism, and high levels of customer service. The American Sport Flying Centers will be well-designed, pleasing environments in which pilots and their families can access the sport flying experience."

Considerable talent has coalesced around American Sport Flying. Mr. Edward S. Downs, former President and CEO of SkyStar Aircraft Corporation, and more recently, President of SkyStar Aircraft's Sport Plane Division, has been named as President of American Sport Flying. According to Mr. Pound, "We needed a leader in aviation whose background spans all aspects of what Sport Pilot has to offer. Ed has almost 50 years of left seat time under his belt, and vast experience in the business of aviation, including certification experience on planes including the Boeing 747 and the Lockheed L-1011. Ed also served a tour of duty in Washington, D.C., representing airline interests in our nation's capitol. His sophisticated perspective, experience, and leadership bring a unique expertise to American Sport Flying."

Ed Downs, long active in the Sport Pilot movement, approaches this new challenge in his typically enthusiastic manner. Mr. Downs, like Mr. Pound, has broad and high-reaching goals for the business. He said, "In this exciting time, with the great opportunity opened up by the Sport Pilot Rule, we intend that American Sport Flying accomplish not one, but three, key missions. First, we want to build the best national destination for sport flying, for existing and new pilots alike, both in terms of our Web site, and our selected airport facilities. Second, in so doing, we want to help set a high practical standard for the implementation of the Sport Pilot Rule - to honor and champion its letter and its spirit. Third, we want to re-introduce the sport of flying into American culture. We want to create a new national constituency for sport flying and rekindle the magic of flying among consumers and the public at large."

FMI: www.americansportflying.com