Mac’s Air Service Has Come a Long way

That happened yesterday, but I was planning to fly the 180 to Miami University Airport (KOXD) in Oxford, Ohio, for a look at my friend Troy MacVey’s newest operation at Mac’s Seaplane Service and maybe take advantage of the lowest price in avgas in the area.  

But what a splendid day it turned out to be.

Depending on when and where you learned to fly, maybe you stopped in at the local airport and chatted with an instructor or just somebody hanging around the office–maybe sitting outside on a bench or lawn chair. Probably, if it was a big airport, you had to call in advance and were briefed on the procedure to get in the gate and then into the building. 

Once inside, everything was impressively efficient but kind of sterile—no hangers-on and no lawn chairs, just individual offices for instructors and other rooms with simulators. And you learned that the flying courses, or even just hourly rentals, were astronomical in price.

Around here, the average price for a private pilot certificate in a Cessna 172 is about $15,000. And in a Diamond DA-20 it’s more like $20,000. For a complete professional pilot course, the cost would eclipse $100,000 and probably be eligible for a bank loan.

At smaller local airports such as Red Stewart Airfield (40I), a grass strip in Waynesville, Ohio, you can train for a private ticket in a Cub or Champ and then upgrade to a Cessna 150 for about $6,000. Plus, you’ll become part of a wonderful community of genuine characters and excellent airmen.

Or at Mac’s Seaplane Service in Oxford, you can get a single-engine land certificate in a Cessna 140 and 170 (taildraggers) for about $7,000. Plus, unique to this area, go for a commercial single-engine seaplane rating for an extra $2,500.

This isn’t to downplay the importance of big flying schools. For some people, the decision to get the loan and dedicate themselves to an extended and vigorous path toward acquiring all necessary certifications and ratings in about eight months and then work as a flight instructor for several years accumulating the necessary time (and whittle down the debt) for a shot at the airlines makes sense…I guess.

But it’s buyer beware. There was a recent online article from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association about a student whose flight school declared bankruptcy and closed the doors when she wasn’t that far into her training. She lost the entire amount paid for a complete training package. 

Better to receive competent advice from a good lawyer who can explain the risks. The legal advice won’t be free but well worth it before spending $100,000-plus for a training package.

MacVey is a talented, devoted, and interesting guy. He grew up in Ames, Iowa (about as far from water as you can get), and you know the story. Always fascinated by airplanes, he began hanging around the airport as a teenager—another airport kid. And he had his eye on an airplane on floats hanging in an old barn.

Over time, he graduated from menial airport jobs to taking flying lessons and eventually checking all the boxes. He instructed and then flew in a variety of single-engine and multiengine air taxi planes. In time, he also became an A&P mechanic and then an IA. Next step was to leave Iowa to fly for Comair, a Part 121 airline based in Cincinnati.

After about 12 years, MacVey left Comair (which would shortly cease operation), and for some reason, which I couldn’t drag out of him, renewed his fascination with seaplanes. He began instructing in that refurbished Cessna 140 from the barn and then acquired a Cessna 195 on floats. He also had a Cessna 310 that he used for multiengine ratings at North Vernon, Indiana.

At his operation in Rising Sun, Indiana, a quaint town on the Ohio River not far from Greater Cincinnati, business was about half sightseeing rides and half instruction. There’s a relatively straight stretch with usually calm water on the river from Rising Sun down toward Madison, Indiana, which, keeping a sharp eye out for logs and debris, was an ideal training site.

Cincinnati Approach Control appreciated the operations that added to its traffic count. Rising Sun was glad to have this unique attraction and helped build a hangar and a ramp. That’s where I met him—flying the 140 was sweet. The 195 took nearly a mile to get into the air.  

But seaplane flying in Ohio and Indiana isn’t a winter sport. So, he opened a flying school and maintenance facility at North Vernon and eventually the all-purpose operation at Oxford. Nearby Brookville Lake is an ideal spot for splashdowns and water takeoffs.

Now, MacVey has a stable of airplanes, including two Cessna 140s on floats, a 170, and the 195. The 310 and a 172 are used for land instruction, so it’s quite an operation.

And the cherry on the cake is his Kingfisher—an experimental two-seat amphibious aircraft designed and marketed by Earl William Anderson, a retired Pan Am airline captain who first flew the airplane in April, 1969. The single engine has a tractor propeller mounted in a nacelle above a Piper Cub wing.

I flew it with MacVey and was amazed at how well it performed on the lake. The Kingfisher is no speed demon, though, as it cruises at about 85 mph and has a two-hour range. But, oh my, is it fun!

After years of relying on the FAA for a seaplane DPE (which sometimes took months), MacVey finally became a land and seaplane designated examiner for most everything. He often travels around Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana administering practical tests. Josh Thompson works for him as a full-time instructor, and there are a number of ex-Comair pilots with instructor ratings who help.

Oxford’s Miami University Airport is a truly interesting place. The runway has been resurfaced, and there’s a maintenance hangar.

The most interesting part is the terminal building that was built in 1943 for the Civilian Pilot Training Program during World War II. MacVey has converted it into an old-fashioned FBO lounge with sofas and a soda machine, and the usual cadre of pilots and friends hanging around.

It took me right back to the 1960s (except for his fancy simulators).

This column first appeared in the November Issue 952 of the FLYING print edition.