REVIEW - Epps Aviation

REVIEW
SUMMER / FALL 2012
770.458.9851
www.eppsaviation.com
IN THIS ISSUE
GOOD NEIGHBOR DAY
page 1
CHAMBLEE RUN &
ROTARY ROLL
page 1
SUPPORTING THE MIGHTY 8th
page 2
PILATUS SERVICE RANKED #1
page 2
EPPS’ PILOTS REACH NEW HEIGHTS
page 2
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
page 3
NDT & CALIBRATION
EXHIBIT AT NBAA
page 3 CREW NOTES
page 3
YANCEY BROS. PROFILE
page 4
Good Neighbor Day at PDK
Many thanks to all of the Epps employees that
came out to lend a hand with the many visitors for
the May 2012 Good Neighbor Day Open House &
Airshow. The day dawned cloudy and overcast, and
there was talk of the show being delayed. Despite
the shaky start, the crowds started arriving right on
time and enjoyed hamburgers, jumping on inflatable
structures and strolling around the Corsair and the
Spirit of Freedom. The winds were a bit too gusty for
the sky-diving team, but Team RV picked up the pace
and set the stage for the rest of the show. The main
hangar held a swing band, a hair-dying station,
Jeff Morris from Epps Aviation Maintenance Dept.
the Frosty Caboose and booths for various community
meets Dutch Van Kirk, Enola Gay Navigator
efforts. An employee favorite was the table where Dutch van Kirk, last surviving crew member
and navigator of the Enola Gay, signed reproduction copies of WWII newspapers. Mr. Pat Epps
and his Bonanza were missed, as the family was attending granddaughter Hailey’s graduation
at the University of Colorado. But Team RV, Team Aeroshell, Skip Stewart, Circus Maximus and
others all put on an excellent show which was one of the biggest in Georgia this year.
Epps Employees and
Community Enjoy the
Chamblee Run & Rotary Roll
Pat Epps,
Lou Alvarado,
founder of
the Rotary
Roll, and
Loren Roberts,
recreation
coordinator
for the city of
Chamblee.
Photo: Courtesy of DeKalb Neighbor • Samantha M. Shal
The Chamblee Run & Rotary Roll 5K race was
held May 5th with the Epps main hangar
serving as start and finish locations. The 5K
race wound through historic Chamblee, but
there was also a second choice for participants
that wished to walk or roll the 1K around one
of the runways. Lou Alvarado, founder of the
“Rotary Roll” portion of the race, was quoted
in the DeKalb Neighbor, “This race gives
those in wheelchairs the opportunity to be a
participant in a community activity and not be
sidelined just watching it…Besides, who gets
to roll their wheelchair on an active runway
once a year?” Congratulations go out to
Eric Salls from the Tool Room who
finished 3rd in his age group,
and Elaine Persons who finished
3rd in her age group as well.
1
Vintage Music and Generous
Fans Support the Mighty 8th
The evening of May 19th brought sights
and sounds from the past as the “Blue
Jeans and Bomber Jackets BBQ” event
was held in the main hangar. The
“Vintage Vocals” (a group reminiscent
of the Andrews Sisters) performed and
the DC-3 was on static display. Adults
of all ages came out for the dinner and
silent action that raised over $61,000
toward an effort to restore the B-17
that is housed at the Mighty 8th Air
Force Museum outside Savannah,
Georgia. The dinner also honored
guests that were a part of the 8th Air
Force. On January 28, 1942, fifty-three
days after the infamous attack on Pearl
Harbor, the 8th Air Force was officially
activated in the National Guard Armory
on Bull Street in Savannah, Georgia.
Of its more than 350,000 members,
26,000 were killed in action and 28,000
became prisoners of war during World
War II. Since 1996, the Museum has
honored the courage and commitment
of the men and women who helped
defeat Nazi aggression by serving in the
greatest air armada the world has ever
seen—the 8th Air Force.
Courtesy of Jake Laughlin Photography • www.jakelaughlinphotography.com
Pilatus Customer
Service Ranked #1
In the 2012 Corporate Aircraft Product
Support Survey of business aircraft
operators, conducted annually by
Professional Pilot magazine, Pilatus earned
the top ranking in the turboprop division
for the 11th year in a row. In the very same
week, readers of Aviation International
News gave top honors to Pilatus in their
annual Product Support Survey, Newer
Turboprops category. Both surveys ask
operators to rate their experience based on
AOG support, responsiveness, parts cost
and availability, technical representatives,
service facilities, warranty administration,
technical manuals, training programs, and
overall product reliability.
Epps’ Pilots Reach New Heights
From our maintenance department, Greg
Allen is now checked out to fly the 172
and is working on his private license
with charter pilot & CFI Jay Balestrine.
Steve Morgan completed his instrument
rating recently, and intends to work on
his commercial license and become a CFI.
Joe Jordan has completed his private,
instrument and multi-engine ratings and
is currently working on his commercial
license. Joe and Steve are both flying
with CFI Doc Harkins. Dominick Galleck
is also working on his private license
with CFI James Casey.
From line service, Seth Haddix has
also been checked out in the 172 and
is currently working on his instrument
rating with good friend and CFI
Brandon Reardon. Doc Harkins is also
working with Ryan Casey on his private
license, and Ryan soloed on
June 6th. Nick Potgieter has his
private and instrument rating, but
after a 10 year hiatus is currently
2
working on his commercial in the
172 and Mooney with charter pilot &
CFI Dave Theisen. Wes Baggarly has
received his instrument, commercial,
and multi-engine rating, and would
have completed his multi-engine check
ride sooner if, according to Wes, “Joe
Jordan would quit breaking the Baron.”
He plans to begin CFI training soon,
also with Dave Theisen.
Joe Jordan, Steve Morgan, Greg Allen,
Dominick Galleck & James Casey
Wes Baggarly & Joe Jordan
Nick Potgieter, Ryan Casey & Seth Haddix
Epps Aviation is the Pilots’ Choice
Congratulations to all who have helped raise Epps Aviation from #10 to #4 in the Pilot’s
Choice Award list for the top 50 FBO’s across the U.S. Regionally, we were ranked #2.
Thank you for all of the hard work in making Epps even more popular with the pilots.
Garmin Honors Epps with
Distributor Performance Award
To our Avionics Department from Jim Alpiser, Director of Aviation Aftermarket Sales for
GARMIN: “Congratulations for your excellent performance as a Garmin distributor in
2011. Garmin has created the Silver Award to recognize our top performing aviation
distributors, and we are pleased to present this Award of Exemplary Performance,
one of our most prestigious awards. This award places you in the top 15% of Garmin
distributors worldwide. Thank you for your dedication to our mutual customers.”
NBAA Recognition for
Safety Excellence
George Ulmer, Director of Turbine
Maintenance, was recently recognized for
27 or more years providing professional
maintenance service on business aircraft
without an accident involving damage to
property or injury to persons. George is from
Hopewell, VA and earned his license in 1983
from the Teterboro School of Aeronautics.
George Ulmer and Pat Epps
NDT & Calibration
Exhibit at NBAA
Maintenance Event
Cheryl Giacalone, Calibration
Supervisor, and Sarah Hansen, NDT
Supervisor, represented Epps Aviation
at NBAA’s 27th Annual Maintenance
Management Conference in Nashville,
TN on May 1-3. Both Cheryl and
Sarah commented, “From both our
efforts and having a tradeshow booth
at the show, we have gained several
new customers in the Calibration
department, the NDT department,
and a new customer for the Pilatus
Maintenance department. The
Calibration and NDT department would
like to thank all who have helped
spread the word to new and existing
customers of Epps Aviation about our
capabilities. We have several out-ofstate customers who both ship and
fly their tools in to be calibrated. The
Calibration and NDT department can
still be utilized by customers who may
not need or use our other services here
at the FBO, so please continue to let
people know about us and help Epps
Aviation continue to grow!”
Anton Coy, Director of Charter, was
recognized for 1,500 or more consecutive
hours operating business aircraft without an
accident involving damage to property or
injury to persons. Anton is from Bryan, TX
and attended LeTourneau University where
he received his pilot’s license in 1990 and
a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation
Technology in 1992.
Anton Coy and Pat Epps
Happy Retirement
to Taso Mammas
Best of luck to Taso Mammas who
retired in June after 14 years of service
at Epps Aviation. Taso is returning to
his native Greece where he will help
care for a family member. We wish
him all the best and thank him for all
of his hard work through the years.
Taso and Bones
Crew Notes
The families of Epps employees are expanding in various ways, so we send our
coworkers congratulations and support. Best wishes!
• Steve Morgan from Maintenance and his wife Doreen became foster parents on
August 6, 2011. The three children - Cris, age 7; Chance, age 5; and Greg, age 4
lived with them for several months.
• Jason Laughlin from Line Service and his wife Beth had a baby girl, Carrigan, on
January 1, 2012. She was the first baby born for the year at their hospital.
• Vera Laine Jordan was born to Joe Jordan from Maintenance and his wife Casey
on May 29th, 2012.
• Though they were legally married a few months ago, Greg Smith from IT
and Allie Ray from Charter celebrated a destination wedding in July in
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
3
SUMMER / FALL 2012
770.458.9851 • www.eppsaviation.com
REVIEW
Customer Profile - Yancey Bros. Co.
Epps Aviation is supported by our customers, and one of our most faithful customers throughout the years
is Yancey Bros. Co. They have been based at Epps almost from its beginning and share a few similarities with
our own company. Yancey, like Epps, is a family-run local Atlanta company that began as a hardware store
(reminiscent of Ben T. Epps’ own electrical contract garage) back in 1914. Their stock was geared specifically
to government road construction, even offering the striped uniforms for convict labor. Brothers Goodloe and
Earle soon turned their attention to becoming tractor dealers, and sold their supplier’s entire stock of the
Holt Model 45 tractor in a 12-month period using only a photograph. That supplier eventually became
The Caterpillar Tractor Company. A long partnership with Yancey Brothers began, and today Yancey Bros. Co.
Scott Perry & Mickey King stands alone as the nation’s oldest Caterpillar dealer.
The company continued to expand, and eventually there was the need for air travel. This new phase for the company began in
1965, and because of PDK’s easy-to-access location and a similar company philosophy with Epps, a business affiliation was forged
that has spanned 47 years. Yancey has had other opportunities for hangar space both at PDK and other airports, but they have
chosen to stay with Epps because of the long-standing relationship and excellent service they have received throughout the years.
Also like Epps, Yancey has employees that have worked with the company for decades and every year it honors multiple employees for
30+, and sometimes, 40+ years of service. While Chief Pilot Mickey King and former Chief Pilot Scott Perry haven’t reached that point
just yet, Scott has flown with Yancey for 14 years and Mickey has flown 11 years.
With only one other Chief Pilot in the company history, J. W. Epps (no relation),
pilot stability is a key part of the flight department’s historically safe operation.
Mickey says with pride: “We, as a Yancey aviation team, are empowered by Senior
Management to focus on ‘Safety First’ every single flight and Epps helps us make
that happen. The safety culture at Yancey and comprehensive support from the
Epps professionals are two of the main reasons we consider ourselves one of the
best flight departments anywhere.”
Visit www.yaaatlanta.org for registration and details.
Youth Aviation Adventure (YAA) is a fast-paced single day event for youth age 12 to 18.
Join us at Epps Aviation, DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, for YAA on Saturday, October 20th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Share your enthusiasm for aviation with the kids in your life!
Epps Aviation
1 Aviation Way
DeKalb-Peachtree Airport
Atlanta, GA 30341
REVIEW
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The Other Side of The Story
Mike Pickett arrived as a customer in 1971 wanting to buy a Piper
Aztec. He told me he needed a twin propeller airplane to haul
fresh shrimp every day from Panama City to Atlanta to supply the
restaurants in the area. I told him the Aztec cost near $80,000 and
he could carry nearly the same load in a $40,000 Cherokee 6.
He had the good sense to do the most economical thing and
bought a used pick-up truck!
He needed some space for his refrigeration and set up shop in Hangar
2 where our Parts Department is now located. I let him know we did
not need any fish smell in our hangar, and he told me “no smell – they
will be frozen.” The first load soon arrived and three days later there
was the most awful, rotten fish smell in all of Chamblee. Mike had
shucked the shrimp and pitched the shells in the empty dumpster
by the back door! I hired him right away to get him out of the
fish business.
SUMMER / FALL 2012
770.458.9851 • www.eppsaviation.com