20 August 2024
A new flying school has opened at Thruxton Airport. It is Kurusha Flying School & Club, run by Nick Gribble, a former Royal Navy and SAR helicopter pilot.
Nick told FLYER how the school, with its unusual name, came about:
“When the last flying school moved on, there was a void at Thruxton. So, being mostly retired and in need of something to do, I spoke to the new owner of the airfield, Alex Thistlethwayte and the upshot is that I opened Kurusha Flying School & Club.
“Thankfully, Alex is very proactive and hands-on and is very keen to see aviation flourish at Thruxton, although he’s primarily interested in the racetrack.
“Kurusha (Swahili for ‘to cause to fly’, due to family connections to Kenya) is a Declared Training Organisation (DTO) so doing the usual stuff: PPL, LAPL, NPPL (although not through the DTO of course), Night and SEP renewals/revalidations.
“We hope to offer IR(R) training before too long, and if we can get hold of a suitable aerobatic aircraft then we’ll offer that too.
“We’ve had a good strong response so far and have quite a few SFH members on the books already, as well as several students who want to continue their training or start from scratch, so things are looking good already. Now we just need the rest of the ‘summer’ to play ball…
“What makes us different, I think, is that we’re trying to run this so it has a club vibe rather than feeling like a school that has a club attached.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep prices as low as possible, the intention being to make it wash its face rather than make money.
“We have myself plus three instructors, all part-time but with loads of experience, and one PA28-181 that’s on lease. Basically we do this for fun, as do most pilots!
“The plan is to have social events once every couple of weeks, and the next one is at 1600 on Sunday 1st of September, when Rich Pillans, Boeing UK’s Chief Test Pilot, is coming to give a presentation. Free tea and cake, and free entry for paid-up members – what’s not to like!
