The Southern Bay Area Flight Instructors Association (SBAFIA) is a non-profit organization intended to promote general aviation in the local community. The SBAFIA provides public services to pilots, student pilots and potential student pilots.
Start new students with the right impression: Many potential students are held back from entering aviation because they don't know where and how to get started. Some start with the Yellow Pages only to be confused by what they find. Bolder individuals may venture out to an airport only to be intimidated by the surroundings. Most of these potential students would have had a successful start if they'd only had a friendly voice to guide them in the right direction. One of our goals is to provide that friendly guidance.
Provide the best match between student pilots and instructors: Student pilots sometimes find they're not happy with the environment due to personality conflicts, schedule conflicts or other problems. Instructor styles and personalities vary, as do the learning habits of the student, and choosing the right flight instructor can be the most critical aspect of learning to fly. Through careful evaluation of the student's individual needs, desires and attributes, we'll guide the student to the ideal instructor for their preferred flight instruction curriculum.
Increase public exposure to the world of aviation: The public needs to be shown that aviation is not something out of reach, but is in fact something they already have access to. People who hear about flight lessons on a local radio station, see an ad in their company cafeteria or the corner grocery store or perhaps see a Web banner on their computer screen will no longer consider general aviation as so inaccessible. This brings many new faces to the airport.
