People In Aviation: February 2016

Airbs Helicopters subsidiary Helibras appointed Richard Marelli president, replacing Eduardo Marson. Marelli has been with Airbus Helicopters for 30 years and most recently was v-p of operations at Helibras’s factory in Itajubá. Marson, who served as president of Helibras for six years, will remain chairman of the Brazilian business aviation organization ABAG, which organizes LABACE, until the industry group holds elections next month.

FlightSafety International promoted Daniel MacLellan to senior v-p of operations, responsible for operations of all the company’s training facilities. Most recently v-p of operations, MacLellan also has served as worldwide sales director at the former FlightSafety Boeing, regional marketing manager, assistant manager of the Wilmington center, manager of the Dallas center and regional operations manager for FlightSafety.

Gulfstream Aerospace promoted Nicolas Robinson to regional vice president of new aircraft sales for Africa. Robinson, who has 19 years of industry experience, joined Gulfstream in 2009 as product support regional sales manager for Africa and the Middle East and most recently was director of product support sales for Asia-Pacific.

Constant Aviation named Paul Witt v-p of AOG operations. Witt has 20 years of aviation experience, having served most recently as general manager and executive v-p, operations for Stevens Aviation.

Kacie Hinze was named v-p of sales and channel management for Vessix, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based FBO software startup. Hinze formerly led relationship management for Multi Service Aviation.

The National Aircraft Resale Association recently named its new Board of Directors and Products & Services Member Advisory Council. The new board is led by Ogarajets president and CEO Johnny Foster as chairman. Sabrina Prewitt of Jack Prewitt & Associates is secretary, and Matt Bosco of Axis Aviation Group is treasurer. Other board members include Chad Anderson of Jetcraft, Todd Jackson of Elliott Jets, Mitch McCune of Corporate Fleet Services and Brian Proctor of Mente Group. Wayne Starling of PNC Aviation Finance serves as chairman of NARA’s Products and Services Member Advisory Council. JetNet’s Paul Cardarelli is first vice chairman and Jonathan Levy of Advocate Consulting Legal Group is second vice chairman of the council. Stephan Asper of AIC Title Service is secretary.

UAS International Trip Support named Aminu Idriss as station manager to cover Abuja, Nigeria. Idriss has 20 years of experience working at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, having held ground handling, airline, private and business aviation roles.

Tim Patenaude has joined Elmira/Corning, N.Y.-based FirstFlight as chief pilot. Patenaude, who also will serve as captain of a G550 that will join the company’s fleet next month, has more than 15,000 hours’ flight time and has held numerous pilot and management positions with charter and management companies.

Dumont Aviation appointed Justin Sullivan director of sales. Sullivan has 10 years of business aviation sales experience, previously as founder and president of Ubair and vice president of sale for OneSky Jets.

Matthew Schepers recently joined Banyan Air Service as director of MRO sales. Schepers previously spent 10 years with Duncan Aviation in Lincoln, Neb.

Innotech Aviation named Andrew Wilson western sales manager. Wilson brings 28 years sales experience to the role, having previously served with Viking Air, Qatar Executive and Bombardier Business Aircraft.

Constant Aviation appointed Jason Kanyuh as the Embraer 450/500 program manager. Kanyuh joins Constant with 15 years of aviation industry experience, having previously served as manager of maintenance operations and Hawker program manager for Flight Options.

FlightSafety International promoted Trent Corcia to manager of its Orlando, Fla. training facility. Corcia, who has U.S. Air Force and airline experience, joined FlightSafety’s marketing team in 2012 and most recently was assistant manager of the Wilmington, Del. learning center. The training company named Thierry Pierard assistant manager of its learning center in Dallas. Pierard joined FlightSafety in 2004 as a Falcon 20 instructor in Dallas, and has since held a number of training and management positions, among them his most recent role as director of training. David Opalach has been named assistant manager of the company’s learning center in Wilmington, Del. Since joining FlightSafety in 1999, Opalach has held positions of increasing responsibility in information technology and training operations, including his most recent role as director of quality management systems.

Ruag Aviation promoted John Teager to managing director of Ruag Australia. Teager joined Ruag Australia in 2013 as v-p sales and marketing after serving 32 years in the Royal Air Force and Australian Air Force as well as holding the position of general manager of defense and industry development for the South Australian government.

Michael Fitch has joined Legacy Aviation Services as sales and marketing director. Fitch has 23 years of sales and customer service experience in the aviation industry, having held positions with Air Comm, Meggitt Control Systems and Keith Products.

Antonio Santos joined Montreal-based business aviation support company Acass as director of sales. Santos previously held positions with Bombardier, Siemens, Rolls-Royce Canada and Rolls-Royce Germany.

Meridian, a private aviation company based at Teterboro Airport, promoted Kirk Stephen to director of marketing. Stephen, who joined Meridian in 2011 as marketing manager, has 20 years of marketing experience.

Duncan Aviation appointed Kevin Miesbach components/OEM new business development manager. Miesbach has a 30-year career working with Duncan, most recently as avionics component repair manager. Lee Bowes has taken on the role of regional manager for the Central U.S. Bowes, who has 17 years of business aviation experience, joined Duncan Aviation in 1999 as a marketing specialist and most recently was the Southwest U.S. regional manager. Duncan also named Brian Andrews interior manager for its Battle Creek, Mich. facility. Andrews has served with Duncan for 17 years, beginning as an airframe technician and most recently holding a role in airframe service sales. In addition, Brian Leitschuck has joined the company’s paint and interior completions sales team. Leitschuck, who originally joined Duncan in 1999 as a weekend shift interior completions specialist, is rejoining the company after serving as a design engineer for Gulfstream.

Metro Aviation named Becky Ross director of transport business services. Ross previously served as the assistant v-p of emergency services for Vidant EastCare in Greenville, N.C., and also has worked with Metro as a consultant for an operational customer.

Global Jet Services hired Gary Winkle as an instructor. Winkle, who has 20 years of aviation experience, joins the company with a background in Gulfstream aircraft and avionics systems.

Metro Aviation named Ed Stockhausen director of safety. Stockhausen, who has a 38-year career, joined Metro from Air Methods, where he had spent the past decade as vice president of safety.

William Jewer has joined Innotech Aviation as Central U.S. regional sales manager. Jewer has 35 years of aviation experience and 20 years in business aviation, previously holding roles as senior project manager, authorized service facility manager and customer care account manager for Bombardier Business Aircraft.

Banyan Air Service appointed Missy Roberto manager of the Banyan Pilot Shop. Roberto has worked in retail since 1987, including stints for a family-owned men’s clothing store, The Limited, Gap, Bath & Body Works and Cache.

Awards and Honors

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame will induct four new members during a ceremony that will be held June 9 at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum at Rockcliffe Airport in Ottawa. To be inducted are Frederick Carmichael, Kathleen Fox, Ross Lennox and Beverley Shenstone.

Carmichael spent more 60 years as a pilot and aviation mentor in the North-West Territories. In 1955 Carmichael became the first aboriginal person in the North to get a pilot certificate and started two aviation companies, Reindeer Air Services and Antler Aviation. Fox was appointed chair of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board in 2014 and has held a number of senior management and air traffic roles with Nav Canada. In addition, she has been involved in sport aviation, parachuting and flight instruction.

Lennox, who died in 2013 following an aviation career spanning six decades, had served as chief test pilot and head of flight operations for Pratt & Whitney Canada and retired with more than 23,000 hours in his logbooks. He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, spent 20 years as a helicopter pilot in the Canadian north and shortly after joining United Aircraft of Canada in 1963 flew the first unescorted helicopter transit of the North Atlantic. Shenstone, who died in 1979, is recognized as the aerodynamicist responsible for the design of the elliptical wing of the Supermarine Spitfire. He was part of the team that created the specification leading to the Canadair North Star and conducted applied research into airborne radar systems at the National Research Council.

Tracey Curtis-Taylor completed a flight from the UK to Australia on January 1 in a Boeing Stearman, retracing the 1930 solo flight by Amy Johnson. Curtis-Taylor departed Farnborough Airport on October 1 in a 1942 Stearman named the Spirit of Artemis. The flight encompassed 13,000 miles and 50 legs that crossed 23 countries. Curtis-Taylor will be a keynote speaker at the 2016 International Women in Aviation Conference March 10-12 in Nashville. In conjunction, Johnson will be posthumously inducted into Women in Aviation International’s (WAI) International Pioneer Hall of Fame. Johnson, the first woman to hold a ground engineer license in the UK, completed several record-setting long-distance flights, including a transatlantic flight to the U.S. in 1933.

Final Flight

Reade Genzlinger, a director and secretary/treasurer for the Recreational Aviation Foundation, died January 4 when his airplane, a Yak-52, crashed near Alpine, Wyo. He was 61. Also killed in the accident was a passenger, 17-year-old MacKenzie Ruston. Genzlinger, who learned to fly in gliders and has restored a number of aircraft, had served on the Recreational Aviation Foundation board since July 2012. He had a career in accounting, trust administration and estate planning.