Piston Aviation Hosts Grand Opening Event at Creve Coeur Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

Piston Aviation, the St. Louis area's newest flight training business, held their Grand Opening on Saturday, August 6, at Creve Coeur Airport. After many weeks of preparation and anticipation, the day had finally come to share some Piston Aviation hospitality with the local community. The hangar was decorated, the golf cart shuttles were ready and the training fleet was primed for a day of Discovery Flights.

Piston Aviation aims to promote the adventure and fun of general aviation within all of their service offerings, which also include Midwest Bristell LSA sales and aircraft inspection services. Between flights, students and visitors can relax and refresh themselves in the well-appointed lounge and hang out with the hangar dog named Piston.

"We like flying our plane, we like going places, we like travel, and we just love the adventure general aviation provides," owner Joe Ord told The Aero Experience. "We want to share that with people. That’s the motivation for our business, really just to share the love of flying. It’s that simple. Our core value is just love of flight. We want to build a community of Piston Aviation enthusiasts, but more importantly, flight enthusiasts.”

Piston Aviation offers flight training in their fleet aircraft based at Creve Coeur Airport. The Piper Cherokee 140 is equipped with a 150hp engine and new custom leather interior. It will be IFR capable later this month. The other aircraft, a 2020 Bristell LSA, is powered by a Rotax 912 100hp engine and provides the largest (51-inch wide) cockpit in its class. The ergonomic cockpit layout includes a Garmin 3X touch display and seating comfortable for training or cruising. It will also be IFR capable. 

The Aero Experience coverage of the Piston Aviation Grand Opening event begins with our arrival at Creve Coeur Airport. Banners lined the road and a fleet of golf carts shuttled guests to the hangar. Lunch was cooking on the grill, and the aircraft were ready to launch. 

Before long, a steady crowd gathered in Piston Aviation's hangar. Airport regulars and curious visitors joined together to share their aviation ambitions and hero tales over lunch. Many in attendance tried their skills on the flight simulator, went upstairs to play pool and watch the big screen, and had their photos taken in the real F-4 Phantom jet cockpit and pedal planes (if you fit) provided by the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation.

(Fred Harl photo)

(Fred Harl photo)

(Fred Harl photo)

Piston Aviation provided Discovery Flight opportunities at a significant discount, and the Cherokee and Bristell fleet aircraft took to the air over two dozen times that day. Several new fliers decided to begin or return to flight training with Piston Aviation. Here we feature some of the Discovery Flights led by CFIs Alan, Renzo and Lizbeth.

"Meghen and I are thrilled with the outcome of the Grand Opening event," Piston Aviation's Joe Ord told The Aero Experience. "We gave twenty-eight Discovery Flights that day, and the smiles that we saw on every face of those who took a flight were reward enough for the event. More than just the joy of flying, several people did sign up for flight lessons and once again we experienced what an awesome community we have here at Creve Coeur Airport. So many of our airport neighbors came out and formally welcomed us to the airfield. This just proved to Meghen and I that we made the right choice in choosing 1H0 for our Aviation Business."  

The Aero Experience thanks Piston Aviation for hosting a great Grand Opening event, and we also thank everyone who came out and enjoyed the day with us. Learn more about Piston Aviation by checking their website and visiting them in person at Creve Coeur Airport.