Strategic investments are always a risk. You do your best to survey the market and make solid projections, but ultimately it comes down to a gut feel and taking a bit of a leap. Clearly Matt Hagans and the leadership of Eagle Creek Aviation have good guts because their investments in facilities, STCs, equipment and people have served them and the Twin Commander community well over many years.
By any measure Eagle Creek is one of the largest and most active Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Centers in the network. The company has been an integral part of the airplane’s service network for more than 40 years. Based at the Eagle Creek Airport in Indianapolis, they also operate two FBO locations called First Wing Jet Center at the Indianapolis Executive Airport and Frankfort/Clinton County Airport. The company recently sold the Naples Jet Center in Florida, also a Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center, to Bruce Byerly.
Over many decades supporting Twin Commanders Eagle Creek has played a central role in many projects including helping to develop the Grand Renaissance program. Eagle Creek owns the STC for the Garmin G950 install, and they recently completed the first install for the Genesys 3100 digital autopilot. Eagle Creek also performs the factory authorized training for maintenance technicians, and they are responsible for a large portion of the yearly Twin Commander sales transactions. Then there’s the service offerings.
Scott Dillion, President
With a full avionics shop, major and minor repair service, mobile AOG support, paint and interior capabilities, and a large supply of parts, the company is a tip-to-tail provider of Twin Commander service. President Scott Dillion said the shop is as busy as it has ever been, especially with new avionics installs. Currently they are quoting three months out for bigger jobs. Even smaller installs, such as retrofitting with the 3100 autopilot, requires a bit of lead time. They’ve already installed three in the first month of approval. Like many shops, the lead times are due to floor space and a shortage of quality technicians.
Randy Morelock, Vice President of Maintenance
To better serve customers and reduce turnaround time, Eagle Creek recently started a second shift in the shop. Far from just throwing a few techs on a schedule, a second shift is an expensive proposition that requires parts and administrative support, supervisors, and of course hands-on technicians. “We only have so much floor space and we have to turn the airplanes faster,” said Randy Morelock, the recently promoted vice president of maintenance. The second shift is primarily focused on 150-hour inspections to remain competitive in that area. Morelock said it has cut turn times, and that they’re already seeing some benefit.
Second shifts only work if you have people to fill the schedule. Pilot and technician recruitment is a big challenge for Eagle Creek, as it is for many shops these days. Dillion sees it as a focus area over the next few years. Fresh A&Ps out of school can ask for more an hour in some locations.
Rick Branch, Executive Vice President
Eagle Creek has also recently added personnel to the parts department, primarily to examine and inventory their stock of Twin Commander parts acquired years ago that is worth an estimated $20 million. Morelock said that working with the cache of parts is a constant surprise. The team regularly discovers items previously considered unavailable, leading to some excitement that the community will soon have access to thousands of new items. In all the stock has 8,000-part numbers, and Morelock’s team is working feverously to add about 100 a week to their inventory.
Executive Vice President Rick Branch said they are also investing in valuable cores and other rotables to support the marketplace. He sees renewed interest from owner-operators based on the additional parts sales, busy shop, and robust aircraft sales operation. “There’s a lot of excitement for the Twin Commander within Eagle Creek,” he said.
The additional parts inventory, cores, and rotables are just some of the examples of owner Matt Hagan’s belief in the airplane, and the bright future it will continue to have. “Customers can be comfortable in their investment,” he said. “There’s plenty of support within the community.” He said it’s not like other airframes that wait months for parts while they sit AOG. To his knowledge no Twin Commander in the country is sitting in limbo waiting for parts. And he points to the strong values across the entire line, and especially in later model years.
“Twin Commanders are going to be around for a long time after I’m gone.”
