HIRATAGAKUEN - Academic Corporate Body

The Aviation Operations Division of Hiratagakuen, a Japanese school corporation, runs the Kobe Air Center at Kobe Airport in Kobe, Hyogo. The division was set up in March 1997 and moved its main base to the Kobe Air Center when the building was completed in 2009. It received service center certification from Cirrus in January 2010.

About the company

Hiratagakuen began helicopter flight training in 1993 and started airplane operations and training in 2009 with Cessna 172P, 206G and 208B aircraft, adding a Cirrus SR20 and a Beechcraft G58 in 2010. The division flies air ambulance (doctor helicopter) services for hospitals in several prefectures, along with charter, sightseeing flights and aerial photography. Its helicopter maintenance gained ISO 9001:2008 certification in 2011.

Services

The maintenance team handles inspections required by regulation, annual airworthiness inspections with test flights, troubleshooting and repair, and avionics and equipment changes. It also helps owners choose and buy aircraft, including import, ferry flights and paperwork, and offers hangar storage.

FBO and facilities

The Kobe Air Center hangar is 100 m wide, 40 m deep and 16 m high and can take aircraft up to large business jets. The FBO supplies AVGAS 100LL and Jet A-1 and offers a private lounge with direct aircraft access, conference rooms, ramp handling, crew transport, flight planning support and catering. The center also trains commercial pilots for fixed-wing and rotorcraft licenses and the instrument rating, using its own simulators.

Cirrus services

Cirrus Aircraft Authorized Service Center.

• Maintenance for Cirrus SR20, SR22 and SR22T aircraft
• Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) overhaul
• Garmin avionics service
• Garmin dealer
• Avidyne avionics service
• Composite and paint repair
• Air conditioning service
• Cirrus parts

Source: Cirrus Aircraft service center locator (October 2026) and the company’s website.