One Million U.S. Dollars for the Light Air Craft

Besides the 17 airports in Romania we can add the first Romanian private aerodrome. In Tuzla, a locality situated between the seaside resorts Costinesti and Eforie, the Air Adria Company from Constanta has auspicated the first private aerodrome in Romania.

The aerodrome is destined for the amusement flights over the seaside and the Danube Delta area. The services that the company wants to offer refer to almost the whole range that can be realized with the small planes, from parachuting to amusement flights and advertising flights.

TEAM BUILDING. The investments made by now have a total value of 300,000 U.S. dollars, and they are to reach a million U.S. dollars until the end of the year. These final investments are to be made in infrastructure, exchange parts and equipment, but also into a school plane. The company also plans to build 30 to 40 accommodation places in order to create a community of the parachuting lovers, Dorin Ivascu, the director of the aerodrome. The advertising services include banner carrying, painting the planes in specific colors and parachute jumps. The latter are planned for the "team building" programmes.

POTENTIAL. Ivascu considers that the light air craft has a future in Romania and that it will turn his hobby into business. He argues saying that Hungary has 500 private planes while Romania has only 20, which proves the market to have a very important potential. One of the problems he confronts is the fact that the leasing firms aren’t used to the air craft contracts.

For the seaside tour lasting 20 minutes with a Cessna 172 plane the person will have to pay 1.2 million lei plus VAT, and an hour long trip in the Danube Delta costs 7.4 million lei. As well 20 minutes of flight with the helicopter cost 3 million lei, and an hour long aero-taxi flight costs 32 million lei for groups of maximum 4 passengers.

FLYING SCHOOL

One can parachute for 22 euros if he has a license and could take flying lessons if he is a beginner for which he has to pay from 200 to 900 euros. The aerodrome has authorization for being a flying school, from which one can get a privet pilot license. The aerodrome in Tuzla is the property of Air Adria, after it has been taken over from the Utilitarian Air Craft in 1999. With a total surface of 360,000 square meters the aerodrome has two ways, a 1,200 square meters hangar and two administrative buildings. Since September 2003, Air Adria has become the Diamond Aircraft GmbH (an Austrian company) representative in Romania. The Austrian company produces one and two engine airplanes having two and four seats respectively.