About Us

Black Hound Aviation is a Veteran-owned small business that provides flight training and aircraft rental services for the greater Austin and San Antonio, Texas areas. We are based at the San Marcos Regional Airport (KHYI) in San Marcos Texas.

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Martin Fass is the founder and president of Black Hound Aviation, LLC. The company was founded in 2003 when Marty, contemplating retirement from the Air Force, purchased a new 2003 Cessna 172SP, which he promptly leased to Wright Flyers at San Antonio International Airport. Marty became a CFI and CFII “double eye” in 2005. He retired from the Air Force in 2007 after a 27-year career as a Navigator and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Pilot in the USAF, relocated to San Antonio and began teaching flying in the local area. When Wright Flyers went out of business, he reunited with his Cessna, N172SP, and eventually hung the Black Hound shingle at Redbird Skyport in San Marcos. His ratings and qualifications include an ATP, MEI, FAA Gold Seal CFI, CFII and is a 2-time NAFI Master CFI. Previously he served as a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Mission Pilot and Check Pilot Examiner for the state of Texas, as well as an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE).

Our vision at Black Hound Aviation is to provide professional pilot training with an emphasis on (1) safety and (2) enjoyment. Over his 4 decades in aviation, Marty has experienced a broad range of aviation training and has seen what works and what doesn’t. Too often, pilots are trained just to pass a test. At Black Hound, the test standards are just the beginning. We strive to provide you with deeper knowledge, and with the ability to apply judgment in order to minimize the chances that you’ll ever have to exercise the refined skills and emergency procedures you’ll be instilled with. We do this through some of the most experienced, friendly and highly motivated flight instructors available. Our philosophy is to provide you with a primary instructor to teach and mentor you throughout the training program. At times we’ll introduce another highly qualified instructor to step in and provide a useful “outside” look. In this way, you’ll often gain a new perspective – with the added bonus that by taking you out of the comfort zone you’ve developed with your primary instructor, you’ll be better prepared for the stress of your practical test (the “checkride”). By utilizing seasoned instructors, most of whom have retired from their military or civilian flying careers, we reduce the chances of your instructor leaving for another job during your training, as is common in the flight training industry.

Another area in which we strive to maintain excellence is our aircraft. We maintain them to a very high standard, keep them in hangars rather than out in the open, and equip them with advanced equipment and numerous upgrades from standard. If you’ve been training at another school, we think you’ll notice the difference!

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