Flight school opens at airport in Cd’A

Post Falls native Jeff Fouche has launched Latitude Aviation, a new flight school based at the Coeur d’Alene Airport.

The school is based in a hangar at 2820 W. Cessna Ave., on the west side of Pappy Boyington Field.

Latitude Aviation conducts flight training with a Cessna 150, a two-seat, single-engine general aviation plane with tricycle landing gear.

“The airplane is perfectly built for training,” Fouche says.

Latitude Aviation also plans to acquire a Cessna 170, which is a four-seat plane with tail-dagger landing gear, he says.

“We’ll use it for primary as well as tail-wheel training,” he says.

Fouche says flight students generally spend between $6,500 and $8,000 to qualify for a pilot license, including costs for instruction, pilot supplies, and exam fees.

Students learn to fly at their own pace, he says.

“It could be as fast as a month,” he says. “Some people take a year or more. It depends on their schedule and the time they’re willing to commit to it.”

Fouche says he’s been flying for 10 years, having qualified for a pilot license shortly after he graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in mechanical engineering.

He says he originally took up flying to become a pilot for international humanitarian organizations, but found that flight instruction is his calling.

“I enjoy instructing,” he says. “I find it rewarding in helping people achieve what is for some a lifetime dream.”

Latitude Aviation has two part-time instructors in addition to Fouche.

—Mike McLean

Online car buying platform starts up

Daniel Reyes, of Post Falls, has launched Haggle Champ, a new online platform meant to help consumers find good deals on vehicles. 

On its website, hagglechamp.com, prospective buyers submit the category, make, and model of the car they are looking for, and that information goes out to a network of car dealerships, says Reyes. 

Dealers make offers and the consumer can choose the best contender. Reyes says once a contender has been selected, the dealers are re-alerted and can then make better offers for the consumer.

  “Basically we get car dealers to fight over you,” says Reyes. He adds that the consumer remains anonymous until they have made a final selection. 

Reyes says he had the idea for the business after looking to buy a car himself. Rather than go to different lots, Reyes says he emailed dozens of dealers telling them what he wanted and asking for their best offer. 

“They all went nuts,” Reyes says. He says his phone was “blowing up” with calls and emails from dealers, all trying to make the best offer. 

Reyes says Haggle Champ’s network of dealers is mostly local, but the business does network to a handful of dealerships across the country. 

It doesn’t cost the consumer anything to make a submission, Reyes says. Rather, primary revenue comes from membership fees the car dealerships pay. There are, however, premium membership offers for consumers, says Reyes. 

Reyes says Haggle Champ doesn’t have any employees other than him, but he would like to look into hiring in the future. 

 

—Kendall Heintzelman

Mail Box Center expands its services

Karen Lucas, owner of Mail Box Center, at 9116 E. Sprague, says she is now a Transportation Security Administration trusted agent, which means she can take applications for a TSA Pre Check designation, enabling low-risk travelers to move through security screening at participating U.S. airports more efficiently. 

The new program was established recently to expedite the screening process at airport checkpoints for domestic and international travel for travelers who have no criminal backgrounds. 

Interested applicants must visit an application center or an airport to apply for the designation, providing information that includes name, date of birth and address. Applicants also will be fingerprinted and required to provide identity and citizenship documentation. A nonrefundable application processing fee of $85 is charged, Lucas says. 

Lucas, who has owned the mail shop on Sprague for 28 years, says a short interview is required at the time of application and then applications are sent to TSA to perform background checks. 

The Mail Box Center is also a self-serve copy shop, and provides other services such as packaging, shipping, scanning, and email. 

Lucas says once applicants are approved, they will receive a notice from TSA and may use the designation when booking travel on an airline. 

 

—Judith Spitzer

Brew Gear opens in East Central area

 A new business called NW Brew Gear has opened at 25 N. Napa, in Spokane’s East Central area, to sell growlers and growler accessories, says owner Michael Scally. 

A growler is a container that’s purchased and refilled with a microbrew or cider at a brew pub or other craft beer outlets. 

Scally says he sells wholesale to accounts nationwide, as well as locally, and now has a small 800 square foot retail space to sell to local customers, which also serves as a showroom. Scally leases a total of 2,000 square feet of space at the Napa location, where he decorates the growlers with logos or other various screen-printed or laser-etched writing, he says. Several different types of growlers are available, including plastic, stainless steel and glass containers.

The company sells accessories for craft brew drinkers as well. Scally offers what he calls a TapIt cap, which keeps beer fresh by keeping the contents of the growler under a constant pressure without introducing oxygen. A valve on the end of the hose enables drinkers to pour one glass at a time. 

He also offers several products for carrying the growlers. 

The costs for the growlers, which come in 32- and 64-ounce sizes, range in price from $4 for a plastic type of growler to nearly $100 for a stainless steel growler.

Scally, so far the only employee of the business, says NW Brew Gear will typically be open from Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

 

—Judith Spitzer