MIS 375

Fall 2003

Group Project

Customer Information

Vast Plains Aviation has many customers and many types of customers. For the flight school, most of the customers are student pilots. Student pilots often began their training with a $45 introductory flight where they are introduced to an instructor, told about what it takes become a private pilot, the costs involved, and they are given a half-hour flight. If the customer decides to go on, they sign up with an instructor and start scheduling ground and flight training. At Vast Plains they sell a private pilot kit that include everything they need to become a private pilot including: private pilot flight training manual, private pilot written exam study guide, flight training CD-ROMs, flight computer, pilot log book, Federal Aviation Regulations book, and a local area aeronautical chart/map. Vast Plains also sells similar kits for Instrument and Commercial Pilots as well each the individual items found in each kit. In addition, they sell headsets, other maps and navigational references, supplemental reading, even barf bags and cockpit deodorizers. Students may put money in an account or be billed after each flight. To check on the progress of students, their flying hours are recorded. Students should fly their first solo near 10 hours of flying and they should also have their Private Pilot Check Ride soon after 40 hours of flying. Notices are sent out to instructors with students nearing an expected solo or a check ride. Information about students is recorded in a spreadsheet, and example of a part of it is shown below:

Name	Mailing Address	Phone	Instructor	Type	Hours	Solo	Check Ride	Written Exam	Account	Ratings
Wright, Wilber	123 1st St Moorhead, MN 56560	555-1234	Joe Smith	Private	17.5	Yes	No	No	$355	student
Doolittle, Jimmy	321 2nd St N Harwood, ND 58042	555-2345	Joe Smith	Private	7.6	no	no	no	-125	student
Yeager, Chuck	345 3rd Ave S Fargo, ND 58103	555-9876	S Johnson	Multi-engine	358.2	yes	no	n/a	0	pvt, com, inst
Glenn, John	987 Round Circle West Fargo, ND 58078	555-4747	Big Jim	flight review	8758.6	yes	no	n/a	0	pvt, com, inst, ME
Smith, Joe	753 9th St N Fargo, ND 58102	555-0257	Big Jim	Multi-engine	876	yes	no	n/a	0	pvt, com, inst

Some of the items that Vast Plains sells include:

Description	Cost	Price
Private Pilot Kit	223	350
Instrument Pilot Kit	185	300
Commercial Pilot Kit	183	300
Multi-engine Pilot Kit	127	250
S-10 Headset	209	250
S-25 Headset	265	300
Flight Computer	23	45
VFR Sectional Chart (Eastern ND/SD, MN)	7	8
VFR Sectional Chart (Western ND/SD, Montana)	7	8
Federal Aviation Regs	13	20

The other set of typically customers that Vast Plains has are charter customers. These customers charter aircraft and pilots for passenger or freight transport. Again, Vast Plains uses a spreadsheet to keep track of these customers.

Name	Address	Phone	Contact	Pilot	Remark	Account
Big Tractor Inc	Big Tractor Way Fargo, ND 58107	555-9999	Tim Anderson	Bud	Flying Navajo to Bismarck on December 18 3 passengers Flying Navajo to Duluth on December 21 4 passengers	0
Jill Scott	108 17th Ave N Moorhead, MN 56560	555-3214	Jill		Taking 182RG on Dec 17	245

The schedule must be checked to verify that a requested airplane and pilot are available for that date and flight. For the corporate charters, the customer often wants a printed estimate for the cost of the flight. This is done using the aircraft speed, distance to their destination (round trip), and pilot rate – an extra 25% of the calculated price is added to the final price.