Aloft AeroArchitects has selected Scott Meyer to succeed Robert Sundin as CEO. Sundin is retiring after more than 40 years in the aviation industry. Meyer brings 30 years of aerospace and business aviation experience, beginning in engineering in advanced technologies and later, holding roles including CEO of the Comlux America MRO and completion center and COO for North American operations at Flying Colours.
JetAviva is transitioning leadership with Emily Deaton taking the helm as CEO. Deaton, who had been COO, succeeds Tim White, who has led the aircraft brokerage firm since 2016 and is taking the role of vice-chairman. Deaton joined jetAviva in 2019 as v-p of sales after serving as manager of CRM strategy and customer experience for Embraer Executive Jets.
Web Manuals promoted Paul Sandstrom to COO and Krister Genmark to v-p of sales worldwide. A 10-year veteran of Web Manuals, Sandstrom was previously chief revenue officer and director of operations for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Genmark joined the company in 2016 as a regional manager for the Americas and was responsible for setting up Web Manuals’ North American office.
The Association of Air Medical Services elected its 2022-2023 board of directors, naming René Borghese, administrative director for Duke LifeFlight in Durham, North Carolina, as chair and Kolby Kolbet, chief clinical officer for Life Link III in Bloomington, Minnesota, as chair-elect. Other officers include James Houser, CEO of STAT MedEvac in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, as secretary/treasurer, and Deborah Boudreaux, assistant v-p of nursing for Teddy Bear Transport at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, as the immediate past chair.
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) promoted Ryan Waguespack to executive v-p. A former charter and management executive at Summit Aviation, Waguespack joined NATA in November 2018 as senior v-p of aircraft management, air charter services, and MROs. In addition, the association brought long-time FAA official Keith DeBerry on board in a full-time capacity as senior v-p of safety and education. DeBerry, who has 45 years of aviation experience including more than two decades in FAA leadership roles, had previously served as senior advisor of regulatory affairs in maintenance for the association and before that had been director of the FAA Academy. Meanwhile, Mike France, who was managing director of safety and training, is leaving the association after 13 years to join Magpie Human Safety Systems.
Jake Banglesdorf was promoted to executive v-p for at Assent Aeronautics. Banglesdorf joined Assent Aeronautics in 2019 after serving with Charlie Bravo Aviation.
USAIG has promoted MC Ernst to senior v-p and Special Risks Underwriting Department manager. Ernst has served with the company for more than nine years, becoming airline underwriting manager in 2018 and then senior v-p in 2020.
Bombardier realigned its international sales leadership team with the departure of v-p of international sales Christophe Degoumois, who is leaving after 17 years with the company. As part of the transition, Bombardier named Emmanuel Bornand as v-p of sales for Europe, Russia, CIS, the Middle East, and Africa. Bornand has served with Bombardier since 2008 and previously had been a regional v-p for Europe. Stéphane Leroy is adding sales in Asia-Pacific and China to his role of v-p of sales for specialized aircraft. Leroy has a 20-year background with Bombardier and has spent eight years in Asia. Bombardier also named Michael Anckner v-p of sales for U.S. corporate fleets, specialized aircraft, and Latin America. Most recently v-p of worldwide Learjet sales, corporate fleets, and specialized aircraft, Anckner has served with Bombardier for 11 years.
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy named her leadership team, selecting Dana Schulze to serve as managing director. Schulze previously was director of the Office of Aviation Safety and has served as an aircraft system safety engineer, chief of the aviation engineering division, and chief of the major investigations division for the organization. Succeeding Schulze as head of aviation safety is Tim LeBaron. LeBaron, a pilot and a former aircraft mechanic, joined the NTSB as an intern in 2003 and since has led more than 300 airplane crash investigations.
The Naples Airport Authority named Byron Gray director of FBO Services for Naples Aviation. Gray has more than two decades of general aviation industry experience, including holding leadership positions with several international FBO chains and most recently serving as national sales manager for a national fuel supplier
Cutter Aviation promoted Kevin Reedy to director of safety and Chadd Garvy to chief pilot of its charter and flight management department. Reedy, who has more than 30 years of experience in aircraft quality assurance maintenance management and customer service, joined Cutter in November 2011 as aircraft maintenance supervisor was promoted to maintenance manager in 2015 and chief inspector/accountable manager in 2017. Garvy, who flies both the Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24, joined Cutter in 2019 after serving as a senior instructor and check airman in a flight school that has more than 350 students.
Randy Stromski joined King Aerospace Commercial Corporation (KACC) as director of quality assurance. Stromski formerly was site manager for ACET Hawaii, where he supported C-40 (B737-700) aircraft and subsystems and also has held leadership positions with Viasat San Diego, Mokulele Airlines, Gogo, AAR Aircraft Services, Bombardier Aircraft Services, and Premier Turbines.
Catherine “Cat” Buchanan joined the Stack as director of business development. Buchanan brings 15 years of business aviation charter and brokerage experience to her new role, primarily in the United Arab Emirates, including head of brokerage and FBO Sales at Royal Jet, sales manager at Chapman Freeborn, and passenger charter analyst at Air Charter Service.
Aaron White joined MRO Insider as director of sales. White’s aviation career began as a business development manager in aviation recruiting and SaaS startup and he also has served as a research analyst and sales associate for an aircraft sales/acquisition company.
Avports appointed April Gasparri manager of the Westchester County Airport. She succeeds Peter Scherrer, who served as manager of the airport since 2005 but has been promoted to v-p of airport management services and is part of the Avports executive team. A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot-in-command, Gasparri has 15 years of experience holding various leadership roles at the Port Authority of New York and Jersey airports and with Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).
Coleman Jet Solutions named Mike Pryor director of market intelligence. Pryor has more than 30 years of aviation industry experience, most recently serving as an acquisitions and sales executive, but also as an assistant general manager at a Signature Flight Support FBO and as manager of administration for Priester Aviation.
Joe Irwin was named aviation maintenance technical trainer for West Star Aviation in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Irwin, who has a degree in occupational education with an emphasis on instructional design and course development, formerly spent 20 years in the U.S as an F-16 crew chief and also as a training manager.
Duncan Aviation appointed Sarah Warner as its landing gear service sales rep. Warner, who previously had a background in raising livestock, veterinary pharmaceutical sales, and the non-profit sector, joined Duncan Aviation in February as a component customer sales and service rep.
The City of Charlotte named Linda Macey airport business and revenue director. Macey brings 25 years of aviation experience to her new role, most recently as assistant v-p of revenue development for the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
Metro Aviation appointed Jay Thanabalasundrum avionics manager at Metro Aviation. Thanabalasundrum previously had served as interim avionics manager for Metro Aviation and has 23 years of avionics experience, beginning as an installer.
West Star Aviation promoted Dean Zimmel to satellite manager of its Minneapolis, Minnesota base and Bob Peyman to technical sales manager of Bombardier Challenger and Global business at its East Alton, Illinois facility. Zimmel has served with West Star for more than three years and has 35 years in all of aviation experience, also including with Mesaba Airlines, Dallas Airmotive, and General Dynamics. Peyman has more than 23 years of corporate aviation experience, obtaining his airplane and powerplant certification in 1999.
Final Flights
Langhorne Bond, who had served as FAA Administrator from 1977 to 1981 and remained involved in Washington aviation and transportation circles in the decades following, died on January 29. He was 84.
“Langhorne was a charismatic administrator with a strong focus on safety and a deep love of all things aviation,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “His leadership at the FAA helped to establish the safety-driven foundation for which our national airspace system is known today.”
While at the helm of the FAA, Bond steered the early phases of a computerized national air traffic control system that paved the way for today’s next-generation ATC system, NBAA said. The Air Traffic Control Association in 1999 had honored Bond with its Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award as a “father of ATC.”
Born March 11, 1937, in Shanghai as the son of international aviation executive William Langhorne Bond, Bond had a long history of public service, including as a special assistant to the Undersecretary of Commerce for Transportation from 1965 until the formation of the Department of Transportation (DOT) in 1967. He also had served as Secretary of Transportation in Illinois and as president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials before receiving the nomination from then-President Jimmy Carter to the FAA Administrator position.
He subsequently held roles with the Urban Mass Transportation Administration and the National Transportation Center, as well as for years served as a consultant. He also was a former board member of Embraer Aircraft.
The business and general aviation community collectively mourned the passing on Sunday of legendary Tuskegee Airman Brigadier General Charles E. McGee on January 16, He was 102.
McGee, who remained active and a visible member of the aviation community throughout his life, was a U.S. Army Air Force and U.S. Air Force pilot who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He flew a record 409 combat missions and achieved multiple honors, such as the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with two clusters, and two Presidential Unit Citations. He was known as a trailblazer who strived to pave a path for all aviators.
“General McGee’s accomplishments are so extraordinary as to be almost beyond belief,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “But even more impressive than all he did was the way in which he did it. He was the very personification of excellence, service, grace, humility, and dignity. To be in his presence was to be in the presence of greatness.”
Other members of the aviation community shared those sentiments. Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), called McGee “a true American hero and the kindest and most humble patriot I have ever known." Added Bunce, who is also a member of the Arsenal of Democracy Executive Committee, which honored McGee's service during the 2015 and 2020 commemorative flyovers: "His dedication and service to our nation went far beyond his time and distinction as a three-war combat fighter pilot. He has been a role model to so many of us and even into his centenarian years, he tirelessly promoted education and careers in aerospace to future generations.”
AOPA president and CEO Mark Baker, whose association last year honored McGee with the inaugural Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Aviation Inspiration Award, said: “He will always be known and treasured as a true inspirational American. We are very fortunate to have known General McGee and have had him in our lives.”
Born Dec. 7, 1919, in Cleveland, McGee established his mark as a leader with the Tuskegee Airmen, the Army Air Corps' first African-American fighter squadron—the 99th Flying Squadron that was named for the initial training the airmen received in Tuskegee, Alabama.
McGee trained in Boeing PT–17 Stearmans and later flew fighters that included the North American P–51 Mustang and Curtiss P–40 Warhawk. He flew 136 combat missions with the Tuskegee Airmen, according to AOPA, and flew a further 100 combat missions in the Korean War and 173 in the Vietnam War.
Beyond his service, John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows and also an Arsenal of Democracy Executive Committee member, noted that McGee “helped put a face on the triumphs, sacrifice, and patriotism of the people who helped to win World War II while also serving as a source of motivation and inspiration for the tens of thousands who heard him speak about his time as a Tuskegee Airman.”NBAA noted that McGee was a key supporter of the Commemorative Air Force’s Rise Above initiative, which highlights the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Air Force Service Pilots to help inspire future generations.
In addition to participating in the Arsenal of Democracy festivities honoring the 70th and 75th anniversaries of the end of World War II, McGee would travel to events such as EAA AirVenture—including just this past year—and worked in partnership with the various associations.
NBAA helped celebrate McGee’s 99th birthday with a flight in Virginia captained by Jet It founder and CEO Glenn Gonzales, and for his 100th birthday AOPA celebrated with McGee with a flight in a Cirrus Vision Jet from Frederick, Maryland, to Delaware, where he was greeted by more than 100 U.S. Air Force personnel at Dover Air Force Base, the association noted. McGee flew that flight and AOPA senior photographer David Tulis, who was on board, said, "The landing was like butter. You barely knew it happened.”
AOPA’s Baker was on hand for the 102nd birthday celebration at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas.
Innovative Solutions & Support (IS&S) founder, chairman, and CEO Geoffrey S.M. Hedrick, 79, died on January 12 from complications arising from a sudden illness, the company announced yesterday. “We extend our deepest sympathies to Mr. Hedrick’s wife, daughter, and loved ones. We will miss the creativity, keen intellect, and leadership Geoff has shown over the past several decades,” said IS&S vice-chair Glen Bressner.
Son of Paul Harrington Hedrick and nephew of Carl Krause who both participated in the development of a Sperry Mk 19 gyrocompass design to enable under-ice navigation at the North Pole, Geoffrey Hedrick spent his entire professional career in the avionics industry, founding IS&S in 1988.
After studying to become an electrical engineer at Cornell, he briefly worked at the aviation instrument subsidiary of Bulova, according to the company. In 1971, he founded Harowe Systems as a joint venture with an aerospace hardware organization, and by 1978 that company had grown to the point that it was acquired by Smiths Industries. Hedrick continued to steer Harowe under its new ownership and eventually was named president and CEO of Smiths Industries North American Aerospace Companies.
A decade after that sale, he established Exton, Pennsylvania-based IS&S, initially developing digital fuel quantity indicating systems. Since then, the company has branched into numerous aircraft systems surrounding flight guidance and displays for general aviation, commercial, and military aircraft. Recently, IS&S has been gaining approvals for a number of applications for its ThrustSense autothrottle.
Over the years, Hedrick amassed nearly 100 patents in the electronics, optoelectric, electromagnetic, aerospace, and contamination-control fields.
“The entire aerospace industry has lost a giant whose commitment to safety enhancements through upgrades in avionics typified the name of the company he founded - Innovative Support and Services,” said Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. “Geoff was always looking at platforms in both the military and civil sectors to improve performance through the development and equipage of advanced avionics capabilities. Aviation owes a lot to Geoff Hedrick, and he will be tremendously missed.”
