Popa - Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association

44
Service Centers Update
Boise, Idaho
March 1, 2009
Pilatus owners from Northern California to North Dakota
now have a solution to address interior upgrades and repairs.
Western Aircraft’s new Re-Completion Center in Boise, Idaho
has been busy since its launch in late 2008.
Many PC-12’s are now over 10 years old, and owners are
wanting interior upgrades and improvements, so Western
Aircraft decided to invest over $1 million to create a topnotch
“Re-Completion Center” for its customers. Highlights
include:
o Nearly 10,000 square feet of shop and offi ce space.
o State-of-the-art cabinetry and upholstery equipment
that rivals the largest shops
o Two separate, Italian-built spray booths: one to handle
adhesive sprays for soft goods, and the other handles
cabinetry to ensure the smoothest contamination-free
fi nish on veneer work.
o Customers have access to the Western Aircraft Re-
Completion Design Center, where they can meet
with the Interior Designer to view and select material
options in a well-lit, quiet atmosphere.
The company’s fi rst major job was a complete refurbishment
to an early serial number Pilatus, transforming its original
commuter-style interior into a beautiful, upscale executive
confi guration. Western Aircraft has also done numerous
partial interior jobs from recovering old seats and side panels
to designing new fl oor plan options that address individual
needs for customers, in addition to modifi cations on Falcon,
Hawker and King Air aircraft.
Mike Slattery is the V.P. of the Re-Completion Center, and
brings a thorough knowledge of the aircraft interior industry
with over 30 years of experience of working for several major
aviation companies. Prior to coming to Western Aircraft,
Slattery served in various Interior/Completion leadership
positions with KC Aviation (now Gulfstream), Bombardier
and Savannah Air Center in Georgia.
Devin Frizzell joins Western Aircraft from Savannah Air Center
working as an Interior/Exterior Designer, designing high-end
custom interiors for private and corporate aircraft, such as
Falcon, Challenger and Global Express. The experience he
gained in creative problem solving will help Frizzell create
custom options and ideas to Pilatus and other Western Aircraft
customers.
“Devin brings an excellent reputation, professionalism and
creative fl air to help customers get the look and feel they
want in their aircraft. He is not only great at fi nding beautiful
wood and fabric that were not available when the Pilatus was
purchased, but he also has great ideas on how to solve seating
problems and address noise concerns ,” said Colleen Back, Vice
President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development.
Steve Denny, Interior Shop Manager has over 20 years
experience working with aircraft interior, refurbishment, and
completions. Prior to coming to Western Aircraft, Denny
worked as Interior Department Manager for Stevens Aviation
and also served at West Star Aviation.
“With Steve Denny managing the Re-Completion Center, we
have expanded the breadth of services to our customers, and
they can take heart in knowing they will get high quality interior
services that we stand behind—just like our other services
at Western Aircraft,” said Mike Slattery, Vice President of
Aircraft Service.
“Some people may wonder why we would launch a large,
full-service interior shop during challenging economic times,
said Colleen Back, Vice President of Business Development
at Western Aircraft. “We strive to be on the leading edge
of Pilatus services—and since the PC-12 fl eet has grown to
a critical mass and many are now over 10 years old, adding
the interior shop makes complete sense. Frankly, we have
not seen the slowdown of work that many shops have—many
of our customers continue to request upgrade options, from
large to small jobs. We now have the right people and the best
equipment in place, which is exactly what we need to give our
customers what they deserve.”
Mike Slattery, Devin Frizzell, Steve Denny