Aero Air Has a Long History of Excellence
In the era of large multinational corporations controlling everything in aviation from manufacturing to services, and FBO consolidation run rampant, Aero Air stands as something of an anomaly. The company that began in 1956 is still family owned today, and over the years they’ve grown from a flight school to an aircraft sales, maintenance, and upgrade facility, as well as major regional provider of airborne firefighting resources and medevac charter.
Aero Air was started by Swede Ralston as the Ralston Flying School. The current name and FBO came in 1962, the same year the company started selling Twin Commanders. At that time the company was also a Piper distributor, and was told it couldn’t represent both brands. Ralston flew to Oklahoma City and, carrying a check for a new airplane, convinced Aero Commander executives to award him the Commander distributorship.
Over the years Aero Air sold more than 200 new Commanders. That ended when Commander production ceased in the mid-1980s. Aero Air then transitioned to selling, servicing, and upgrading existing Commanders. In 1998 current president Kevin McCullough changed the company from focusing solely on sales, maintenance and the FBO to a more full-service aviation operator. In 2012 they purchased Madras, Oregon-based Butler Aviation, which brought them into the air tanker market.
Aero Air President Kevin McCullough stands in front of photo of company founder Swede Ralston.
Between the medevac charters and air tankers, Aero Air employs 100 pilots who fly 34 aircraft, including Twin Commanders outfitted as medevacs. In all the company is 200 employees strong. With five hangars it is the largest operation at the Hillsboro, Oregon, airport. Although it services many different types of aircraft, Aero Air’s experience and reputation as an expert on Twin Commanders is what brings in many owners.
Aero Air’s depth of experience starts at the top. General Manager Matt Isley is the former President of Twin Commander Aircraft, and he knows the airplane inside and out. Isley speaks highly of Aero Air’s Twin Commander capabilities and history. The Factory Authorized Service Center was the first to install a Garmin G600 in the Twin Commander. And its capabilities extend from minor panel upgrades to major restoration. These days, much of the work centers on ADS-B installations, according to Isley. “No one should have issues with their Commander when it comes to ADS-B options,” he said.
The company is also known as one of the most active Twin Commander parts sales centers in the world. Nick Freeman runs the parts operation. Isley said Freeman has developed a network of Twin Commander fleet operators over the years, and Aero Air sells parts directly to them so they can maintain their own fleets. “If there’s anything going on with a Twin Commander part Nick knows about it.”
That inventory and expertise extends to the road. Aero Air regularly dispatches a road team to go to a customer aircraft and fixes it in the field. That’s one of the many services that are only available from certain Twin Commander Authorized Service Centers. Isley believes strongly in the network’s ability to keep the airplanes in top form. “The Commander is so robust and can take so much that some folks don’t think they need to maintain it at a service center,” he said. “But it’s better to bring it to a service center because we have a strong relationship with the OEM, we know the information, we have the training, and we know all the latest and greatest that’s going on from a maintenance and parts perspective.”
Isley said they see aircraft all the time that haven’t been maintained by a Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center. Aero Air can upgrade those aircraft and bring them back to proper factory standards. “It’s always interesting to see what was done from a maintenance perspective.”
Between Aero Air’s expertise and Twin Commander Aircraft’s commitment to the airplane, Isley said he feels confident about the airplane’s future. “We really value our status as a service center and our relationship with the OEM,” he said. “The only OEM we don’t have service issues with is Twin Commander.” Considering Aero Air has relationships with other top manufacturers that are still producing aircraft – that is a strong endorsement.
