Bahama Pilots Association
Bahama Pilots Association strives to be the predominant resource and collaborative community for pilots with an interest in traveling between the continental United States and the Bahama Islands. We provide more than just life raft rentals; our services and tools enable pilots to safely and conveniently embark on adventures in their own airplane to any or all of the Bahama Islands.
You choose your destinations and times, and allow us to help with planning your trip from start to finish. We can assist with all flight planning and contacting US Customs. We can provide you with names of hotels and places to stay, as well as rentals of cars, boats, or golf carts, including radio frequencies, phone numbers, and a checklist for exiting and entering both countries. All of this helps to make your trip less stressful so you can focus on the fun times ahead. We are here to give you and your passengers peace of mind!
While you enjoy your trip, we are here ready to assist you! We not only provide you with the life vests, rafts, and PLB ForeFlight content (including geo-referenced maps and pictures overlaid on top of your ForeFlight maps), but we can also take care of the eApis, and have your Bahamas Customs Paperwork printed and ready for you. We also provide you with free use of the FlashPass app for the duration of your trip, and months after. We help you maintain a high level of safety and preparedness when flying to the Islands of the Bahamas. We do this in part by providing you with survival equipment, but also a fail-safe satellite communication device (no cellular service or Wi-Fi needed); this device also has an SOS button in the event of a life-threatening event in the air, at sea, or on land.
Another great service we provide is our Runway Assistance Program; we can help you fix a flat tire, change a dead battery, or assist with other minor maintenance issues.
Bahama Pilots Association was founded in Miami (Florida) by Jim Peden, a life-long pilot, and CFII for 30 years. Jim grew up spending time at his father’s flight school on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where he got hooked on flying. He and his father spent countless weekends flying out to the Chandeleur Islands, long before it was a wildlife refuge, where they would land on the island's sand beaches and spend time fishing and camping. After moving out west, Jim bought his first airplane and would spend his time flying to Mexico and down to the Sea of Cortez. Now based in Miami, Jim has taken his love of the air a step further, founding the Bahama Pilots Association in order to help share his knowledge and love of island flying.