COMMANDING PRESENCE Tim Carpay – Gemini Air Group’s Steady Hand

Gemini Air Group owner Tim Carpay moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, more than 25 years ago when the owner of a Beech Hawker jet he was managing in Vancouver, British Columbia, asked him to come along on his own move south. “It was not a difficult decision,” Carpay said. He swapped damp cold for dry heat and has never looked back.

Modest and forthcoming, Carpay’s expertise in charter and aircraft management eventually blossomed into the Gemini Air Group, a charter, management, and maintenance facility based at the Scottsdale Airport. Carpay began flying in the 1970s in the Canadian wilderness. For 10 years he flew Beavers and Twin Otters and eventually moved up to charter and medevac in light jets. That’s when he started his first aviation company, which included aircraft management.

Although the Hawker owner brought Carpay to Scottsdale, he sold the airplane within a year and a half, leaving the transplanted northerner to find work in what was still a relatively new environment. His expertise and approachable style made the transition somewhat seamless, and in just a few years Gemini was born.

Many pilots start aviation businesses seemingly unaware that the demands of running a company conflict with their desire to fly as much as possible. Although he does help with the charter flying when things are busy, Carpay believes running the business is his first priority. “At the end of the day you’re the one who’s going to answer the question,” he said. So whether on the road, in the office or flying himself and his family to their place in Montana, he is always engaged and available to help guide Gemini into the future.