Seattle-Based Galvin Flying Abruptly Closes

So began an email sent late last month to employees of Galvin Flying, the oldest operating flight school at King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI), informing them that the business was closing after 94 years in operation.

The 40 or so employees learned about the closure November 21, while around 100 customers were informed about the closure in an email the next day, a Galvin spokesperson who asked not to be named told FLYING.

There would be no severance pay or cashing out of unused vacation days, employees were told.

The email said Galvin was no longer capable of providing a valuable and competitive service to the aviation community: “Simply, the ability to offer general aviation services at Boeing Field is no longer feasible.”

Skip Moshner, owner of Galvin, did not respond to FLYING's numerous requests seeking comment.

Galvin provided flight and ground training from private pilot up through airline transport pilot under both Part 61 and Part 141 and was also a PSI testing center where pilots could take the knowledge tests required for certification.

According to an FAA spokesperson, “Part 141 flight schools that close for business are required to surrender their certificate to the jurisdictional [flight standards district office] FSDO.” A representative at the Seattle FSDO said he could not confirm that the surrender had taken place.

Several Galvin employees told FLYING that there were recent discussions of Rainier Flight Center, located at nearby Renton Municipal Airport (KRNT), possibly buying Galvin after the city of Renton terminated Rainier's lease at the municipal airfield. Those talks, however, fell through, the employees said.

Gordon Alvord, co-owner of Rainier Flight Center, would not comment on Galvin's closure but did confirm that his flight school was leaving Renton Municipal Airport because the lease had been terminated by the city, which owns the airport. As a result, Alvord said Rainier Flight Center will be increasing its operations at satellite facilities at Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW) in Gig Harbor , Auburn Municipal Airport (S50) south of Seattle, and Snohomish County Airport/Paine Field (KPAE) to the north.

According to Galvin marketing materials, the company has trained more than 20,000 pilots since it opened in 1930 when Jim Galvin, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and experienced pilot, opened Galvin Flying Service on Boeing Field with his Ryan B-1 Brougham. The fledgling company offered flight training, charter flights, and aerial photography.

At the time of its opening, the U.S. was experiencing the golden age of aviation with pilots like Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Roscoe Turner, and Jimmy Doolittle frequently appearing in newsreels and newspapers with stories of their pilot exploits. They helped to inspire thousands to pursue flight training. 

In the days leading up to World War II, Galvin trained college students who would go on to join the armed forces. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Galvin joined the Navy, serving in the Air Ferry Command.

After the war, Galvin returned to mostly civilian flight training. The business also became a sales distributor for aircraft such as the Globe Swift, Piper, and Bellanca. 

When Galvin retired in the 1980s, his nephew Peter Anderson took the controls. He continued to grow the business, and the company began to supply aircraft support, such as fueling and aircraft storage in addition to flight training and PSI testing services. 

In 2014, Galvin was purchased by Landmark Aviation, a chain FBO company. The company kept the name, along with Galvin's logo featuring the silhouette of a 1930s-era aviator wearing a cloth helmet.

In 2015, Galvin Flying was sold again—to Moshner, a Seattle-based professional pilot and designated pilot examiner (DPE).

Locally, Galvin was known as a pipeline for pilots who sought careers at the airlines, such as Horizon and Alaska. Many of them did their initial training at Galvin, and then went on to become instructors there to build experience.

Three days after employees received the email, there was no outward indication that Galvin was closing for good. Photographs and airline models remained on display in the FBO lobby. Office equipment, advanced aviation training devices (AATDs), and offices remained ready for use. The "Wall of Success"—where check rides and solos were documented—was still in place.

The Galvin spokesperson said that the closure meant the aircraft, AATDs, and other equipment on leaseback would go back to the lease holders, while the Galvin-owned aircraft, such as its Cessna 150s, would likely be sold.

Kenni Brioso, area general manager for Signature Flight Center at Boeing Field, said he received a call November 21 from a Galvin representative who said that the flight school was submitting a 30-day notice. The caller said, “They were going bankrupt," Brioso said. "It was Galvin’s decision to terminate.”

Brioso would not give exact numbers on Galvin's current lease payment but said it was around $25,000 a month and that there had not been an increase “in some time.” Brioso said he could not confirm that there was to be an increase but said if there was, it would be no more than 2-4 percent.

Brioso said Galvin has until the end of the year to vacate the building. 

Officials of King County, which owns and operates the airport, expressed shock over the abrupt closure.

“We have learned that Galvin Flying intends to shut down its operations at King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KCIA) effective Sunday, November 24, 2024," county officials said in a statement. "We are surprised and saddened to hear this news, as Galvin has operated out of our airport for decades. Many of the pilots who use our airport got their training at Galvin, and indeed several of our own staff have taken flight training from them.”

According to the statement, Galvin Flying is a subtenant of Signature Flight Center, and the cost of the lease—including any potential increase— is not under county control. 

“However, the company does hold a flight training business permit from KCIA that is in good standing through the end of February 2025,” the county said. “This apparent action to end operations is a business decision made by Galvin, and not prompted by any dispute with KCIA.” 

In the early 2000s, there were several flight schools at KBFI. Galvin was one of two large flight schools. Both offered Part 141 training and had large fleets of single-engine Cessnas, a smattering of Piper twins, and a few Cirrus aircraft. Smaller operations had a handful of airplanes and offered Part 61 training.

The flight schools were located on the east side of the airport in buildings owned and operated by King County. Over the decades, many schools closed and their  buildings razed, with corporate hangars springing up in their place. 

Galvin Flying was the last flight school for fixed-wing aircraft at KBFI. It was also known as the most expensive flight school in King County, with a fleet of Cessnas and a pair of DA 42 Diamond TwinStars, and multiple AATDs. The clientele ran the gamut from people enrolled in airline pipeline programs to those who wanted to learn to fly for fun.

Given Galvin’s reputation for excellence and long history, the closure also came as a surprise to many in the local aviation community, including Summer Martell, a DPE who has been supplying check rides to Galvin trained pilots for more than 20 years. 

Martell, who flies a corporate jet as her day job out of KBFI, said that over the last decade many of the spaces once occupied by flight schools with piston-powered aircraft were replaced by corporate box hangars. She added that the training provided at Galvin was always top notch.

“They trained generations of airline pilots, ambulance pilots, cargo pilots and recreational pilots,” Martell said. “It’s very disappointing to see them go away. It’s like the closing of a college or university as if they were a Seattle institution.”