Flight School Move to Boeing Field Triggers Controversy

Rainier Flight Service was granted 12 aircraft tie-downs, angering more than 100 aircraft owners on a waitlist.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at 03:33 PM ET

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Aerial view of King County International Airport-Boeing Field looking south down Runway 14R toward Mount Rainier [Credit: King County]

Key Takeaways:

Rainier Flight Service (RFS), the largest flight school in Puget Sound, has relocated its primary operations to King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI) due to unsustainable costs at its previous Renton Airport location.
This move aims to fill the flight training void at KBFI created by the recent abrupt closure of Galvin Flying Service, with RFS positioning 12 aircraft and pursuing additional facilities for maintenance and ground school.
King County prioritized RFS's commercial flight training operation over individuals on a tie-down waitlist at KBFI, justifying the decision based on the FAA's "best and highest use" principle and regional aviation needs, a stance supported by AOPA.

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Rainier Flight Service (RFS), the largest flight school in the Puget Sound region in Washington state, now has an operation at King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI).

RFS is positioning 12 aircraft at KBFI in tie-downs located on the southwest side of the airport, and school officials report they are also in pursuit of a small hangar to conduct maintenance operations and pilot briefs.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.