People in Aviation: March 2018
Sonnie Bates becomes CEO of Wyvern, Peter Maurer retires from Diamond Aircraft and Avant Aerospace appoints Donald Snodgrass as president

Sonnie Bates has stepped in as CEO at Wyvern, succeeding Art Dawley. Bates has a more-than-30-year aviation background that includes service in the U.S. Air Force, as well as senior roles with Baldwin Aviation, the International Business Aviation Council, CAE, and his own firm, Corporate Aviation Solutions.


Avant Aerospace appointed Donald Snodgrass president, overseeing Avant teams in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado in addition to his current responsibilities as president of Dallas Aeronautical Services (DAS). Snodgrass, who has served as DAS president for 13 years, has also held roles with Chromalloy Gas Turbine, Aero Fabricators, ILFC and Lufthansa Technik Composites, among others.


Peter Maurer, who has led Diamond Aircraft’s Canadian operations for nearly two decades, is retiring. Scott McFadzean, who has been chief operations officer, is succeeding Maurer as CEO, and Kevin Sheng is taking the role of COO.


Dassault promoted RĂ©my St-Martin to senior v-p/COO of Dassault Aircraft Services (DAS). St-Martin, most recently vice president and general manager of DAS Little Rock, joined Dassault Falcon Jet in 2013 as senior director after serving as president at Discovery Air Technical Services in Canada.


Metrojet appointed Lanny Schindelmeiser general manager of its maintenance, repair, and overhaul operation in Hong Kong. Schindelmeiser, who has more than 20 years of business aviation experience, previously has held senior positions with Ameriflight, as well as with Bombardier in the U.S., Canada, and Tianjin.


Global Jet Capital appointed Mike Christie as vice president-sales, Midwest U.S., and Jeremy Dials as vice president-sales, South Central U.S. Christie, who most recently led a team of middle market relationship managers for Huntington Bank, has more than 20 years of  experience working with clients in the middle, large corporate, and high-net-worth individual markets. Dials has more than 15 years of experience in the equipment finance industry, most recently as vice president at GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services


Quest Aircraft appointed Hitoshi Moriguchi vice president of production. Moriguchi, who will continue to serve as executive vice president and as a board member, joined Quest in 2016 after serving with Honda Motor Company for 35 years.


Gulfstream Aerospace named Ron Aldrich vice president and general manager at its service and completions facilities in Appleton, Wisconsin. Aldrich joined Gulfstream in 1996 as an industrial engineer and since has held leadership positions in Savannah and Brunswick, Georgia, including as general manager of the Brunswick service and completions center.


The company also appointed Becky Elliott general manager of its service center in Brunswick, Georgia. Elliott has 20 years of experience with Gulfstream, having previously spent three years as director of operations at the Savannah, Georgia, and also holding a role as director, final phase operations in Savannah.


The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) added William Ayer to its Board of Trustees. Ayer, an AOPA member since 1980 and previously chairman of the AOPA Foundation Board of Advisors, was a former chairman of Alaska Airlines, founded Air Olympia, served with Piper Aircraft, and also held board positions with NBAA and Honeywell.


FlightSafety International promoted Alex Thurmond to manager of St. Louis learning center. He succeeds David Glass, who is retiring from full-time employment. Thurmond joined FlightSafety in 1998 as an instructor and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, from program manager, director of standards and training, and most recently assistant manager of the St. Louis center. Succeeding Thurmond as assistant manager is Johnny Cruz. Cruz joined FlightSafety’s Atlanta center in 2001 and has served as a cabin safety subject matter expert for Embraer models and director of the center’s quality management system.


Ron Jennings joined C&L Aviation Group as regional sales manager. Jennings has 33 years of corporate aviation industry experience, previously at J.A. Air Center and Constant Aviation.


The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) named Doug Kreulen president and CEO. Formerly COO of MNAA, Kreulen has served as acting and later interim president and CEO since July 2017 and previously has served as director of operations for Huntsville International Airport.


Ashley Bowen Cook was named vice chair of the Wichita Aero Club (WAC) Executive Committee. Cook, who is vice president/brand director at Greteman Group, has held roles with the WAC since it reestablished in 2008, including managing the gala for the past nine years as well as chairing the selection committee for the WAC Trophy.


Exclusive Aircraft Sales appointed David Kay director of aircraft sales. Kay has nearly 25 years of industry aviation experience, having previously served with companies including Emery Air, J.A. Air Center and Chicago Piper/Des Moines Flying Service.


West Star Aviation appointed Josh Peterson avionics technical sales manager. Peterson, who has an aviation career that spans 25 years, joined West Star in 2002 after serving as a cargo aircraft mechanic with the U.S. Navy and then as a maintenance technician working on firefighting aircraft.


On Air Dining has appointed Alex Berry head of strategy and development. Berry has 20 years of business aviation experience, having held senior positions with companies including NetJets, VistaJet, Bombardier and Chapman Freeborn before starting his own consultancy alexberry.com.


Premier Jet Center appointed Michael Lawrence operations manager. Lawrence has 20 years of aviation industry experience, recently as general manager for Key Air.


Trans-Exec hired Aaron Cummings as director of business development. Cummings has a background in charter operations, having previously served at Scottsdale Corporate Jets, Aero Jet Services and Advanced Air Management.


Executive AirShare promoted Caleb Gillaspie to assistant chief pilot. Gillaspie joined Executive AirShare in 2013 as a Phenom 100 copilot and since has been qualified as captain in the King Air 350, Phenom 100 and Phenom 300.


Baldwin Aviation named Chris Young director of safety solutions. Young has 25 years of aviation and leadership experience in the U.S. Navy, air medical operations, aircraft manufacturing, aviation safety and technical publications, and is a member of the United States Helicopter Safety Team.


Robert Brega joined Traxxall Technologies as regional sales director, Northeast, covering a territory from Virginia to Maine. Brega formerly spent 29 years with Duncan Aviation, most recently as regional manager.


Elliott Jets hired Duncan Jones as executive sales director. Jones was founder of Aircraft Intelligence and also has served as an aircraft sales manager for Atlantic Aero and vice president of sales for Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing.


Awards and Honors


GE Aviation CEO and president David Joyce, Bigelow Aerospace founder Robert Bigelow, and ForeFlight co-founders Tyson Weihs and Jason Miller were among the list of honorees for 15th annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards. The awards are presented annually to honor those who have made significant contributions to aviation.


Joyce, who also serves on the boards of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Aerospace Industries Association, among others, is the recipient of the Lifetime Aviation Industry Award. Bigelow was selected for the newly renamed Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award, and Weihs and Miller share the Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award.


Other Living Legends honorees include Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), selected for the Harrison Ford Aviation Legacy Award; Jack Dailey, who is retiring from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and received the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Award; and Mike Silva, a retired news helicopter pilot and Bronze Star recipient who was recognized with the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award.


Frank Franke further was selected for a special Legends Wings of Help Award for his assistance in founding Aviation Without Borders. Meanwhile, the slate of a half-dozen new Living Legends inductees included Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association president Mark Baker.


Final Flights


D.L. “Whitey” Varney, who built a legacy of safe flying over a 40-year career as a corporate pilot and director of aviation, passed away on January 17 from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86.


Born on April 20, 1931 in Logan, West Virginia, Varney became interested in flying while serving as flight deck director on the USS Kula Gulf in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s. Following his service, he earned a commercial pilot certificate at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and embarked on a career in business aviation in 1957.


Over the next four decades, Varney flew as copilot, captain, and chief pilot and served as director of aviation for a number of top corporations, amassing more than 18,000 accident-free flying hours in a range of business aircraft. During his time, he flew CEOs, celebrities, foreign dignitaries, and former U.S. presidents, and was rated on 14 business aircraft. He supported aviation at Allied Chemical, American Can, General Foods, Combustion Engineering, Dun & Bradstreet, National Intergroup, and Coastal Oil.


In 1967, Varney helped guide a lost single-engine airplane to safety in poor weather in Wisconsin while piloting his own turboprop. In 1990, he participated in flight operations that involved the successful transport of U.S. American hostages who had been held in Iraq by Saddam Hussein.


Over his career, Varney had received numerous pilot safety awards from FlightSafety International, as well as from NBAA. In 1974, then Finland President Urho Kekkonen recognized Varney with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion.


Adam Ashley Klein, who co-founded West Palm Beach, Florida-based Exclusive Charter Service (ECS) in 2004, died on January after a battle with cancer. He was 42. Born July 14, 1975, Klein originally was involved in the technology sector and had run a technology department for an international bank. But an interest in aviation led him to team with Jason Johnson to help found ECS. Through his stewardship, the company has grown into a full-service charter and management firm with seven U.S. locations.


Klein, who had taken up flight lessons, was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer in April 2017. A father of two children, he had channeled his experience into fundraising for children’s cancer and was active in charities including the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Angel Flight, among others.


Those activities came in addition to ECS’s work in hurricane relief, most recently delivering thousands of pounds of goods to the Caribbean in the wake of the hurricanes that ripped through the region late last summer.