Industry relationships market flight-simulation firm

Ed Rathje's recipe for success: Blend a product and service unique to an area, good location, stir in cooperation with related businesses and offer it to prospective customers.

"I decided to start the business here because Reno has no simulator," said Rathje, the owner of FlyRenoIFR."We use it to train pilots to fly IFR."

Instrument flight rules or IFR as it's called allows flying in weather when the pilot can't see the ground.

Training is the key to safety in these conditions.

The business grew from Rathje's long association with aviation and the aerospace industry.

"I was building model airplanes when I was in the fourth grade and took my first ride in 1955 on a Piper Tri Pacer," he said.

The New England native moved to California for college and started a career in the aerospace industry.

"I didn't start taking flying lessons until I was 22 in 1965," he said.

But professional and family obligations took him away from flying.

Eventually he returned to New England then relocated to Reno after one of his grown children moved to Susanville.

For his business, Rathje chose the same type of simulator he trained on while living in New Hampshire.

The Igate 501 can be configured for two different types of popular aircraft and it sits in an enclosure big enough for both student and instructor.

While it doesn't have full motion, every control movement is reflected on an image projected in front of the student and the instruments respond accordingly.

Unlike a real airplane, the simulator is not affected by the weather.

"We can fly in snow when it's sunny or fly in good weather when it's snowing," he said.

The simulator can also "fly" at any airport in the country.

"I had a student from Florida and we trained at his home airport even though we were right here in Reno," he said.

For marketing, Rathje uses a threephased program.

"First we complement and cooperate with local flight instructors and schools," he said."It's more profitable for them to use the simulator as part of the training as it costs $100 an hour to rent an airplane while the simulator goes for $25 an hour."

The simulator saves money and time.A student can "fly" several approaches in a shorter amount of time since he'd have to go around the pattern after each landing in a real airplane.

The area and its recreational opportunities are another draw.

"Reno sits in a unique location with the high desert, good flying weather and set close to the mountains," he said."Customers can come here for training and a vacation."

During the winter it's possible for a customer to train for part of the day then go skiing in the afternoon.

Another incentive is a special room rate Atlantis Casino Resort offers FlyRenoIFR students.

"We're located three blocks from the hotel and the student doesn't even need to rent a car as they can walk here," Rathje said."They can take instruction, stay in a wonderful place and have a great vacation."

Schools are another part of Rathje's marketing.

As a volunteer at local schools, he uses aviation as a way of showing practical science and mathematics to students, which he hopes will attract young people to aviation.

For high school and college students who are customers of local flight schools, he's offering an introductory rate to demonstrate his simulator.