| PIANO MAN
If you own a piano and you live in an aviation community, then you needto call Jim Mears. His business is piano sales and maintenance; his hobbyis flying. He sometimes gets to combine the two by packing his piano-tuning tools into his Cessna 180 and flying off to see a customeron an airpark or near an airport somewhere in central Florida. Mears, born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, wanted to fly "to get around faster than driving." He started flying in 1982 at the Palm Beach International Airport while living in West Palm Beach. He earned his private pilot’s license in 1983. At the time he was the owner of the South Florida Piano Center. His mother lived in Ocala and he’d frequently come to visit her. Eventually he ended up living here himself. While working on his pilot’s license he bought a 1969 Cessna 172. "I bought it $10,000 and sold it after I got my license for $16,500. Even after [paying for] instruction I still made a profit!" he said. He was flying a Cardinal RG at the time he moved to Ocala. "I ran Yellow Pages ads up here for piano tuning and repair, then would fly up here for long weekends only. I could fly back and forth and do business, then do my regular business in West Palm…eventually I sold that business and moved here." He saw an ad for a place for sale at Shady International Airport, an airpark community in southwest Ocala. "When I saw it, it was barren. Three people put three runways together to make one over 5,000 feet long," Mears recalls. Of the people still there from the inception of the airpark, he’s the person living there the second longest. The community has really grown, with homes now built along both sides of the runway running east/west between SW 27th Avenue and I-75. In the time that he’s been flying, Mears says he has owned 12 airplanes. Once he was living here he earned his multi-engine rating at the Ocala Airport and purchased a Cessna 310…"but it was too thirsty" for his wallet. Next came a Cessna 150. "The 150 was more reasonable and used less gas and wasn’t all that much slower. Then I got a Turbo Mooney." He only owned that for three months, selling it because he was tired of struggling with a serious mechanical problem. Along with his neighbor Alan Eadie, a mechanic, he bought an RV 4 project next. It was a partially-started kit and they expected to have the Plane flying in three months, but it took four years. Finally he has settled on his current steed, a beautiful Cessna 180 from Indiana which he took in trade on the RV-4. Concerning his piano business Mears says, "I wanted to stay small, but I now have over 5,800 clients including school districts, churches, and the University of Florida. I had a store on 200 but closed it down and now work out of my home doing tuning and repairs. That’s where my airplane comes in handy. My clients don’t mind picking me up at an airport," so he flies around to customers in Cross City, Cedar Key, and Crystal River. For more information about the North Florida Piano Center Mears can be reached at 237-8355. NEW FLIGHT TRAINING OPPORTUNITY If you read this column in the south part of the county there’s a new place to learn to fly located closer to home for you. FreeFlight Airport in Coleman, in Sumter County, has opened its new business on the field, Central Florida Flight School. They are now offering a private pilot’s ground school as well as flight training in a brand new Alarus CH 2000. The day, night, and IFR two-place trainer has all state-of-the-art Flight instruments and avionics. Jack Moore is the FAA Certified Flight Instructor teaching in the Alarus. He has over 5,400 hours of flight experience and more than 1,500 hours as a Gold-Seal CFI. His other ratings include commercial, multi-engine, seaplane, helicopter and Air Transport Pilot. He believes using the Alarus is a good value for the student pilot or as a rental to certificated pilots as well. To contact the new flight school call (352) 748-6596 or e-mail freeflight@cfl.rr.com or contact Jack Moore directly at (352) 748-9578. |
| Wings ‘n’ Things Aviation May 10, 2004 |