Professional Pilot, January 2019

Dir of Sales Dan Morrison joined the company in 2002 and now watches over the charter sales and aircraft management 36 PROFESSIONAL PILOT January 2019 Chief Pilot Matt Gasper tried his hand at airline flying before realizing he preferred the personal interaction of charter and corporate work At the same time the parent company now known as Colony Brands has expanded and diversified into other businesses Under the SC Aviation title we now have charter aircraft management maintenance and our newest branch parts We still handle the Colony Brands corporate flights but that is a small percentage of our flights Colombe explains An optimal fleet Another part of their restructuring plan was to acquire both for ownership and management aircraft that their charter customers want to fly in In the challenge of price for return on investment they seem to have found a liking for Hawker jets Director of Sales Dan Morrison states SC takes care of their people and the Hawkers have proven to be a favorite for our customers They are a great combination of cost performance and luxury Of the 17 aircraft on their certificate SC Aviation currently owns 5 Hawkers all 800 850 variants and manages another 7 The rest of the stable consists of Dassault Falcons both 2000s and 900s There is also a Bell 430 available arranged by SC Aviation through HeliFlite for use in the Chicago area We feel the versatility that our fleet offers brings our customers back But also important we make the charter process as easy as we possibly can Our agreement with our managed aircraft includes no wait for owner approval which can sometimes delay a booking We also offer free WiFi on all our flights We want to stay relevant which means a strong online presence as well as online booking and mobile apps which we are looking into Morrison declares We make a commission on charter sales we dont charge for every little thing such as the WiFi adds Colombe As an Illinois registered CPA Colombe also works closely with their owner clients to assist with their financial goals We show our customers we care and more often than not when owners or charter customers come to us they stay he says The right people for the job One of the persons making sure those customers stay is Charter Sales Manager Margaret Clark With over 30 years of experience in aviation the last 18 with SC Aviation shes the right person for the job Her plate is full as she oversees the 6 schedulers and dispatchers who provide quotes to customers set up the trips brief the pilots and as of recently schedule pilots for assigned flights This is a new duty for us this year Weve been learning as we go but it allows us to lighten the load for our operations section Clark explains As far as challenges she is quick to point out the effects of the pilot and maintenance shortages Were already seeing it but we continue to maintain high standards for our pilots We routinely receive calls from customers telling us You could sure tell that was an SC crew because of the way they were treated she relates We have a reputation for getting the job done and doing it safely Every department at SC takes great pride in their job She credits much of this to SC and parent company Colony Brands They really take care of their people as well as the community Not only do we try to hire locally but Colony is very active in charity work This is the best job Ive ever had adds Clark Chief Pilot Matt Gasper On the receiving end of Clarks and her teams hard work is Chief Pilot Matt Gasper Inspired by his US Air Force pilot uncle Gasper earned his private pilot rating in his first semester at Purdue University He joined Piedmont Airlines 2 years after graduation I found out very quickly that the airline lifestyle was not for me he says I wanted the direct interaction doing the flight planning dealing with the customers and it just wasnt there Gasper returned to the FBO hed taught at after college and became chief flight instructor He stayed there until accepting a position with SC Aviation in 2011 I was hired as FO in the Lear then eventually became a PIC pilot in command in the Lear before moving up to the Hawker and now the Falcon 900s In 2014 Gasper earned the assistant chief pilot title which he held until being named chief pilot in 2018 In addition to continuing to take on flight assignments he now oversees the current roster of 47 pilots For safety purposes only SC Aviation pilots are allowed to fly both their owned and managed aircraft and they try to keep each pilot specific to only 1 airframe As Clark mentioned the shortage of qualified pilots is already affecting them We want most of our pilots close to Janesville because all but 2 of our aircraft are based here but the weather and location are not always appealing Gasper notes In the future we may expand the required radius for residency which would allow them to live in major cities like Milwaukee or Chicago When Gasper finds candidates who fit the company culture once hired they receive 5 days of internal training followed by simulator training with CAE then 2 days of homecoming training which consists of company specific items like stocking aircraft and completing expense reports They then begin their Initial Operating Experience for a minimum of 50 hours potentially more if needed Annually all pilots attend a 5 day training session with 2 days of ground 2 days of simulator and 1 day of check rides Safety is the top priority for SC and is never compromised says Gasper This is reflected in their use of a robust online based safety management system which actively encourages safety issue reporting In addition SC Aviation recently received Stage 2 IS BAO certification and anticipates obtaining Stage