Professional Pilot, November 2019

Airbus Helicopters is always at the top The company is really focused on providing outstanding customer service I find these helos to be exceptional and always ahead of the times Airbus is always working on improving its products and it shows when the new helos come out Its hard to beat Joseph Drummelsmith ATP Helo CFI Airbus AS365N3 Citation CJ4 Learjet 45 Chief Helicopter Pilot Drummelsmith Acquisitions Maineville OH Sikorsky S 76 has a proven and reliable track record Its the one I trust and like Its been around since 1976 and I think it is not only dependable and trustworthy but also a sexy looking helo It has always been one of my favorite helicopters Michael Zangara ATP Helo CFII Sikorsky S 76 Chief Pilot Associated Aircraft Group Highland NY Pratt Whitney is 1 for our fleet because it has great products and outstanding support Honeywell also has great products but its product support could be improved upon My all around favorite has to be Pilatus because its craftsmanship is phenomenal service provided is great and the company follows up on your case Steve Cirino ATP Pilatus PC 24 PC 12 Beechjet 400A Eclipse 500 Av Dept Mgr Supervisory Pilot U Haul Aviation Desert Hills AZ Each of my aircraft have been equipped with Garmin avionics since the 1st GPS 100 AVD which was an incredible breakthrough I also used the GNS430 and GNS 530 Great versions of avionics As far as aircraft my top 3 would have to be the Piper Navajo Chieftain converted by Colemill Beechcraft Baron 58 and King Air 90 For powerplants I choose Pratt Whitney Lycoming now Honeywell and Continental Aerospace Technologies All 3 are excellent powerplant manufacturers because they produce reliable and durable 20 PROFESSIONAL PILOT November 2019 products They also provided great customer support Thomas Rivera ATP King Air 90 Beech Baron 58 Piper Navajo President Owner ATR Realty San Juan PR My top aircraft are the Cessna 182 Skylane and the Aspen Evolution 1000 I avionics I favor the Collins Pro Line 21 suite in the Textron Citation CJ4 and King Air Douglas Harding ATP CFII Citation CJ4 King Air B200 C90GTi Cessna 182 Skylane Chief Pilot Harding Pilot Service Castro Valley CA Its really impressive how reliable robust and well built Pratt Whitney engines are I have over 2 decades of flying aircraft equipped with P W engines The aircraft have been the Beechcraft T 34C Mentor T 6B Texan II and Leonardo AW139 and Ive never had any major problems with the engines As far as avionics Honeywell comes to mind because of its product quality and reliability The Primus Epic flight management system is well designed and equally supported by the company Michael OBrien ATP Helo CFII Leonardo AW139 Captain PHI Cantonment FL Never experienced a Honeywell powerplant failure I cant say the same for others Cessna aircraft have always been dependable and durable Regarding avionics Garmin has done more for the advancement of modern avionics Very pleased with Garmin products Ronald Butts ATP Hawker 800A Instructor FSI Red Oak TX Currently fly a Challenger 601 and a King Air 350 Both planes are great to operate The Challenger has gotten up in age and some components are hard to acquire It would be nice if companies would support their products for the duration of their lifespan Unfortunately that is not the case Overall our planes are taken care of and Im happy with the manufacturers for making good quality products Ryan Johnson ATP Challenger 601 King Air 350 Captain DC Air Denair CA Airbus provides the finest postpurchase customer pilot support without question Thomas Conard ATP CFI Beechjet 400 Pilot Travel Management Co Pittsburgh PA What is your type of flying Corporate Part 91 Fractional 91K Charter 135 Airline 121 Police EMS SAR Offshore Military FW or RW How did you come to choose this area And how do you see the future for your area of professional flying I chose Part 91 partly due to a down cycle in airlines hiring when I left the US Navy It was the best decision even if it came serendipitously It is definitely the best fit for me I see a future beset with challenges of retaining top talent over the next several years Longer term I see automation moving in and the days of pilots coming to an end Greg Woods ATP Challenger 300 Beechcraft 1900D Senior Director Peabody Energy St Louis MO I do contract flying in Part 91 and a small 135 charter operation Currently aviation seems incredibly active and positive If my current situation changes it seems clear that there would be plenty of opportunities to move into Every area of aviation seems to be doing better than it has for years Doug Chapman ATP CFI Phenom 300 Cessna Centurion T210 Skylane CE182 President Dir of Ops Montana Aircraft Belgrade MT