Twin Commander 840 flying high. Jason Spoor is First Wing Charter and Management’s vice president and general manager. He will be authoring future Control Column stories, focusing in flying the Twin Commander.
After 21 works working corporate aviation jobs for major companies such as Boeing and Google, Jason Spoor is coming home.
The Indiana native was hired in August to run First Wing’s charter and aircraft management business, a role he is excited to undertake as the Eagle Creek affiliate expands its portfolio.
It may seem unusual for a pilot used to flying Gulfstream G650s and 550s to take a position flying Twin Commanders and managing Cessna Citations and Embraer Phenoms. But Spoor, who has his Master’s of Business Administration and experience running a flight department, said First Wing gives him the opportunity to get beyond the logistics of operating aircraft and into the business side of aviation. Plus he gets to fly Twin Commanders.
“It’s been fun to be able to transition from the Gulfstream to the Commander, which is just as complex and fun to fly, but an entirely new experience,” he said. At first glance Spoor thought that maybe the aircraft would be unstable on one engine or that losing an engine would put the Commander in an unsafe condition. “That wasn’t the case at all. It exceeded my expectations in performance.” He said the hardest part of the transition has been adjusting to slower speeds.
Spoor, who is used to the most advanced avionics of any aircraft in the world said one thing that has impressed him with Twin Commanders is their level of support and upgradability. Aside from datacom, he believes an upgraded aircraft can be on par with the G650. First Wing serves as Eagle Creek’s demo, delivery, and maintenance acceptance crews. They also operate Twin Commanders as company aircraft, which has given Spoor a chance to fly a variety of missions.
With his strong foundation in flight department management, Spoor sees opportunities in increasing standardization, training, and standard operating procedures in the fleet. It’s a challenging task given the range of models, installed equipment, and pilot experience. He, Eagle Creek, and First Wing are poised for the challenge.
