Pilots and would-be pilots now have new opportunities for training and services at the Garfield County Airport with the expansion of services from the Colorado Flight Center of Grand Junction into Rifle.

“We started on May 1st and now provide flight training and an airplane for rent,” said Collin Fay, general manager for Colorado Flight Center. “We’ve provided training in Grand Junction for three years, along with a fleet of rentals. This (Garfield County Airport) site will allow people to get instruction and learn how to fly. They can get a pilot’s certificate and then rent our plane.”

Local flights instructors Jay Cronk and Joe Carpenter will represent the aviation firm to provide flight training and oversee dedicated operations to the Rifle facility. Cronk lives in the Roaring Fork Valley and Carpenter is from Silt. Together, they plan to draw students and customers from throughout Garfield County and the surrounding areas.

Cost of instruction depends on individual needs, but generally runs around $9,000 to $10,000, Fay said. Instrument ratings that allow a pilot to fly at night or inclement weather is a separate course.

“We already have three or four students,” Fay said.

The Colorado Flight Center is headquartered at the Grand Junction Regional Airport and is a Cessna Pilot Center (CPC). CPC students take and average of four months to a year to earn their pilot’s certificate . The Flight Center also recently received Federal Aviation Administration approval to operate as an Air Carrier to provide customized, on-demand air transportation services anywhere within the contiguous United States.