Go to the ramp at the Naples airport in Southwest Florida during the winter months and you’ll be treated to more of the biggest and latest corporate jets than almost anywhere else in the world. It’s no secret that Naples has long been a warm-weather haven for the one percent, and for the past 15 years they’ve had a top-level Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center at their disposal.
The Naples Jet Center opened in 2007 as a southern outpost to Eagle Creek Aviation. To help launch the new business Bruce Byerly stepped away from his family’s longtime Service Center in Peoria, Illinois, to be a sweat equity partner. “My plan was to be a partner and owner in the Naples Jet Center,” Byerly said. “As it turns out, the negotiations took a bit longer than expected.” Byerly and his wife, Lynn, with the support of a few minor partners, took ownership of the facility on July 1, 2020.
What began as a second location to Eagle Creek has greatly expanded over the years. Today NJC is an independent FAA repair station and has the approval of the Mexican aviation authority as well.
NJC has all the facilities and functions you would expect from a Factory Authorized Service Center. They stock and sell Twin Commander parts, do panel upgrades and avionics repairs, and have extensive maintenance capabilities.
Those capabilities should grow considerably over the next few years. NJC recently received approval from the airport to construct 45,000 square feet of hangar space, which will bring its total footprint to 120,000 square feet. It will make NJC the biggest corporate operator on the airport. “The additional hangar and customer area will give us the opportunity to reconfigure and optimize the rest of the space for maintenance,” Byerly said. “As it stands, we have a maintenance and customer area that’s bursting at the seams.” The project should be completed in about a year if all goes well.
Jim Goodwin, Director of Maintenance
Byerly thinks NJC has two capabilities that make it especially competitive in the Service Center network. One is sheet metal repair. Byerly had just ferried an airplane that was damaged by a ground crew that will undergo major metal repairs at Naples Jet Center. It’s just one of many jobs the company performs every year. He puts the skill of the technicians at the top of the industry.
The company also has quick AOG service using a Commander. “The company support vehicle is a Commander,” he said. “We talk the talk. We own the airplane. We’re committed to its support.” He gave the example of flying a spare tire to the Bahamas on three-hour’s notice. “Guys aren’t buying 40-year-old airplanes without comfort in the support package.”
Naples Jet Center also has some charter assets, including a Dash 10 900 Commander, perfect for island runs. It can operate from short fields, unimproved strips, and outposts without fuel. Byerly brought up the example of the Turks and Caicos Islands, where he had just flown 600 miles to pick up six people and bring them back, all without getting fuel. “Tell me another airplane that can do that.”
NJC runs an FBO operation for its clients and handles all the associated customer needs including hangar storage, charter dispatch, maintenance management and anything else needed while the city provides the fuel. “There’s good demand for a high level of service,” Byerly said. “Those people who want a private space and a higher level of concierge service, we can provide it in our area. That’s our focus—personal, private service.”
Finally, for anyone looking to buy or sell a Twin Commander Byerly now functions as the sales department for both NJC and Byerly Aviation. He returned to Byerly in 2017 with the support of new owners.
The market for aviation in Florida, and Twin Commanders in the Southeast, looks better than ever, according to Byerly. NJC services a few Commanders already based in Florida, and it is the only Service Center in the region. “The growth has been positive all the way through the pandemic, and now it’s accelerating,” he said. “It’s the right place to be in aviation.”
