Story ID: 003Oct19
People in Aviation
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Yingling Aviation and Safe Flight Instrument Corp. continue family legacies with the promotions of Andrew Nichols and Matthew Greene.
Word Count: 2132
Yingling Aviation named Andrew Nichols president. Nichols, the son of Yingling chairman and CEO Lynn Nichols, most recently was CFO. He succeeds Lonnie Vaughan, who has served as president for the past seven years and returns to the position of CFO. Andrew Nichols, who earned degrees in finance and business management from Kansas State University and Wichita State University, served in the finance department at Cessna before joining Yingling full time in 2010. In addition, Yingling expanded the roles of Chris Short, director of maintenance, and Rebecca Williams, director of parts. Short now will have oversight of aircraft maintenance, avionics, interiors, and aircraft paint services, and Williams will steer the management of propeller sales, repair, and overhaul services.

Safe Flight Instrument Corp. promoted Matthew Greene to president, reporting to chairman and CEO Randall Greene. Matthew Greene has served with the company since 2004, holding a number of roles in sales and marketing, contracts, and program management. Most recently, he was executive v-p for the firm his grandfather, Leonard Greene, founded in 1946 to explore new ideas in aircraft instrumentation.

Schiebel Group appointed Gretchen West president and CEO of Schiebel Aircraft as it looks to grow opportunities for its Camcopter S-100 UAS. West, who is a co-executive director of the Commercial Drone Alliance, previously was a senior director in the Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) practice group at the law firm Hogan Lovells.

Robert Flansburg joined business aviation services provider Dumont Aviation Group as COO. Flansburg steps into his new role after holding positions as COO for Sikorsky Helicopters, senior director of operations for Dassault Falcon Jet, and director of completions for Bombardier Aerospace.

Stellar Labs appointed Vicki Nakata COO in a move that consolidates the company’s commercialization and business operations. Nakata joined Stellar in April 2018 as v-p of business development and customer success after spending 15 years with companies including Hawaiian Airlines and Booking.com.

Lease Corporation International (LCI) appointed Mark Stevens and Alejandro Kerschen to its advisory board. Stevens previously was managing director of Shell Aircraft and before that, served with the UK Royal Air Force. Alejandro Kerschen is the founder and managing partner of Atlantic Alliance and has more than 30 years of financing experience.

Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) named Gary Strapp senior v-p of global program management and technical services. Strapp previously spent 30 years with NetJets, including holding the roles of technical support and maintenance reliability, v-p of administration, and v-p of finance for the fractional ownership provider.

Karen Ingram joined flight-scheduling software specialist Avmosys as v-p of sales. Ingram has more than 30 years of business aviation experience, including serving as both a regional and national charter sales manager for Executive Jet Aviation, holding the position of national sales director for Bombardier Aerospace/Flexjet, and leading the startup of the Part 135 division of FlightTime.

Heli-One hired Christian Drouin as v-p of operations. Drouin has 33 years of military service culminating in the rank of major general in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Ronnie Hudson was promoted to v-p of Robinson Aerospace and Robinson Aircraft Interiors. Most recently v-p of operations at Robinson Aerospace and general manager of Robinson Aircraft Interiors, Hudson has 27 years of experience with aircraft interiors, structural repairs, and aircraft maintenance. Jody Wagner, meanwhile, has taken over the general manager role at Robinson Aircraft Interiors. Wagner has a 20-year background in cabinet building and detailed parts manufacturing. Mark Karls joined the company earlier this year as general manager of Robinson Aerospace after holding roles with Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah Air Center, Bombardier, and Dassault Falcon Jet.

RTCA named Brett Eastham v-p of business operations and secretary for the RTCA board of directors. Eastham previously spent the past five years as CFO and v-p of business development for the Flight Safety Foundation

Mike Ward joined DAS/Flite as v-p of sales, parts, and component repair. Eli DaSilva, meanwhile, took the role of director of business development, reporting to Ward. Ward has more than 25 years of aviation, previously serving as senior general manager for Spirit AeroSystems, director/GM for Hawker Beechcraft Services and Textron Aviation Services’ MRO in Houston.

Nomad Aviation named Paul van der Blom v-p of aircraft management sales. Van der Blom brings more than 20 years of aviation experience to his new role, most recently as director of commercial for DC Aviation Al-Futtaim, Dubai, and also has held varying senior roles with Hawker Pacific, ExecuJet, Avolus Dubai, TAG Aviation, and Airbus.

Paul Rose rejoined Banyan Air Service as v-p of technical sales. A 37-aviation executive who has served with Bombardier and Hawker Beechcraft, Rose returns to the position he previously held with Banyan for more than 14 years after a three-year stint with Embraer Executive Jets.

Wichita-based Equity Bank appointed Morgan Littell v-p of business aviation. Littell, who is tasked with establishing an aircraft financing division with nationwide services, has 10 years of aircraft financing experience and 20 years of aviation experience overall, including serving in sales and marketing for a Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer.

Krystal Brumfield was named chief of staff for Reach Airports, a U.S.-based airport management joint venture between Munich Airport International and the Carlyle Group’s CAG Holdings. Brumfield, who has been president and CEO of the Airport Minority Advisory Council, has worked closely with airports, Congress, federal agencies, aviation trade associations, and other industry-related organizations.

London Biggin Hill Airport named Bob Graham its first operations director. Graham, who steps into his new role on October 1, formerly held a similar position for Birmingham Airport and has 30 years of airport operations and safety management experience that also includes senior roles with Abertis Airports and TBI Airports.

Jet Aviation named Grischa Schmidt senior director of the Design Studio. Schmidt first joined Jet Aviation in 2009 as a senior designer-project manager, left the company in 2012, and then returned in 2017 as senior project manager for interior design services.

Bombardier named Jeff Cole sales director, Northeast U.S., with a territory including New York City, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Cole brings more than 25 years of experience to his new role, including with new and preowned business jet sales, as well as with technical marketing and sales support.

Robert Randall was named to the newly created position of director of strategic business development for Universal Avionics. Randall, who has 35 years of avionics experience, joined Universal Avionics in September 2008 as Midwest regional sales manager and later became U.S. senior sales manager.

John Shea joined Helicopter Association International as director of government affairs. Shea formerly served as director for government relations and interim president for the National Association of State Aviation Officials.

TAG Aviation named Joanne Goodall director of customer services for the UK. Initially working with cargo and commercial carriers, Goodall joined TAG in 2017 as a client relations manager and before that served with a Swiss-based FBO and maintenance company.

Hervé Rousselle was appointed regional sales manager for Europe for Universal Avionics. Rousselle, who will steer the companies growth in France, Luxemburg, Italy, Belgium, and French-speaking areas of Switzerland, has more than 20 years of business and general aviation sales experience, including with GE Aviation, Parker Hannifin, and Dover.

Jeremy Ojerholm joined aviation services provider Meridian as a charter sales executive. Ojerholm, who most recently served as director of charter sales and business development at Bohlke International Airways/M&N, will be responsible for growing the overall retail charter business as well as focusing on business development in the South Florida market.

Alex Almonte joined Western Aircraft as regional sales manager. Almonte, who will cover the Southwest and Midwest region territories for Falcon, Gulfstream, Embraer Legacy/Praetor, and Hawker customers, previously was v-p of operations with Sentinel Aviation, regional sales director for StarPort Aviation, and regional sales manager with Constant Aviation.

Connecticut-based on-location aviation aircraft, avionics, safety, and professional development training provider Global Jet Services has added experienced Falcon aircraft instructor Rob Fisher to its Dassault-Falcon maintenance training program.
Awards and Honors
NBAA has selected long-time pilot and business leader Ross Perot Jr. as this year’s recipient of the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award. First presented in 1950, the Meritorious Service Award is considered among the association’s highest honors, recognizing “extraordinary lifelong professional contributions to aviation.”

Chairman of his family investment firm The Perot Group, Perot is the founder and chairman of Hillwood, a global real estate development firm that drove the development of Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas. In addition, Hillwood has frequently operated its business aircraft on humanitarian missions into challenging situations globally.

At 23, he made a mark as the copilot of the “Spirit of Texas,” a Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II, on the first round-the-world flight in a helicopter. He served eight years in the U.S. Air Force and later led a 14-year effort to establish the U.S. Air Force Memorial in Washington, D.C. More recently, Perot has become active in the urban air mobility market, including a partnership with Uber Elevate.

Perot is involved in numerous organizations, serving as chairman of the EastWest Institute and on the boards of the Dallas Citizens Council, Vanderbilt University, and the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

Wilson Air Center founder, business aviation advocate, and philanthropist Robert A. Wilson is this year’s recipient of NBAA’s 2019 John P. “Jack” Doswell Award. The award recognizes “lifelong individual achievement on behalf of and in support of the aims, goals, and objectives of business aviation.”

A retired lieutenant colonel with the Tennessee Air National Guard, Wilson founded the fixed-base operation and aviation services chain in 1996 in Memphis, Tennessee. Since then, Wilson Air Center has added locations in Charlotte, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Houston, Texas.

He has been active within the business aviation community, serving on NBAA’s Security Council, as well as on the boards of the Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association and Citation Jet Pilots Association. He additionally is executive v-p of Kemmons Wilson, serves on the executive board of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Wilson further has become involved in numerous charitable organizations, donating time and airplane use for flights with Make-A-Wish Mid-South Foundation and the Veterans Airlift Command. Through his Robert A. and Susan C. Wilson Foundation, Wilson funded the original and renovation of the Wilson Timeless Voices of Aviation Theater at the Experimental Aviation Association Education Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Barrington Irving, who in 2007 became the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world in a single-engine airplane, will be recognized with NBAA’s 2019 American Spirit Award for his continued effort to inspire young people to pursue aviation and aerospace careers.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Irving grew up in Miami believing that college football was his only opportunity to pursue higher education, NBAA said. But a Jamaican airline pilot provided guidance and mentoring that led Irving to instead pursue a career in aviation.

“Those experiences set Irving on a course that culminated in his 97-day solo flight around the globe in a single-engine piston aircraft—appropriately christened ‘Inspiration’—to demonstrate to young people worldwide that they could also achieve their dreams,” the association said.

Irving subsequently founded Experience Aviation at Opa-Locka Executive Airport, along with the Experience Aviation Learning Center dedicated to empowering middle and high school students in the Miami area to pursue STEM careers, including within aviation and aerospace.
Final Flight
C.G. “Hank” Henry, the long-time chief pilot for West Houston Airport who flew dignitaries such as of Charles Lindbergh and Glenn Curtiss, died on August 7. He was 94. A renowned flight instructor involved in aviation throughout his life, Henry amassed more than 35,000 hours in flight time and flew more than 300 models of aircraft, according to the West Houston Airport.

Born on Jan. 10, 1925 in Crossville, Tennessee, Henry learned to fly at an early age and joined a B-24 crew flying missions over the English Channel during World War II. Later, Henry managed flight operations for an FBO in Galveston, Texas, and later served as the chief pilot/test pilot for Navion Aircraft and mechanic and pilot for Guinn Flying Service in Pearland, Texas.

His five-decade tenure with West Houston Airport began in 1973. Over the years, he held positions with the airport that included maintenance supervisor, charter pilot, certified flight instructor, chief pilot, and FAA-designated pilot examiner. He held numerous ratings and was a recipient of both the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award and the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.