When RJ Gomez made his way to Oklahoma many years ago to work at a Twin Commander Service Center, he was initially thankful to be using his talents and knowledge of the storied airplanes in a place entirely new to the Venezuelan native. The company went bust a year later.
Gomez jokes that at the time he was cursing out the friend who helped get him the job, but life has a way of working out sometimes. Soon he was able to put together the resources to purchase the business, and now almost two decades later he and the entire Twin Commander community are better off for it.
Legacy Aviation Services, on the west side of Oklahoma City, is a full-service Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center, and Gomez and his longtime team continue to steer the helm. At one time the name of the company was more vision and less description, but today it can proudly claim to be both. Gomez’s vision is now one of the longest-operating service centers still within the founder’s family. That’s saying something in a network of proud, family-owned businesses.
The company serves as the FBO at the C.E. Page Airport (RCE), which means pilots have access to good fuel prices and a full range of comfort facilities. But it’s what goes on in the hangars that draws most Twin Commander owners to Legacy. The team will expertly upgrade your panel, hang new engines, and perform the full range of routine and AOG maintenance, but Legacy is perhaps best known as being expert in airframe work. The company employs highly experienced fabricators, and Twin Commander Aircraft representatives have traveled to Oklahoma many times over the years to work hand-in-hand to develop new airframe upgrades and parts.
Also unique to Legacy is its hydraulic and component shop. When Gomez acquired the hydraulic refurbishment line of business from Higher Planes, it gave them the only in-network hydraulic and component repair and overhaul shop. Now instead of having to work with an independent company outside the network, owners can work directly with Legacy for all their hydraulic needs. Gomez said that other service centers send their hydraulic components to Legacy because of their expertise, experience, and the ability to keep it in the Twin Commander family.
The shop is approved to perform more than 30 repair and overhaul processes on components such as the inner and outer landing gear bodies, accumulator, drag brace assembly, power brake valve, nose gear steering cylinder, flap/gear selector, landing gear forks, axles, and more.
Business is brisk at Legacy and the shop is scheduling far into the future. Gomez said that their overall business is probably 60 percent domestic and 40 percent international, but that the component shop is more like 55 percent international and 45 percent domestic. The high rate of international business comes from many long-term relationships, and international approvals from Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Like all business owners, Gomez worries about inflation, the impact of fuel prices, the cost of labor and parts, and how all of that will impact flying activity. However, these days the bigger concern is the supply chain, and how challenging it can be to perform the work in the time he expects of the shop. Although some parts, such as batteries, tires, engine parts, and certain avionics have been in short supply for many months, occasionally an unexpected delay occurs due to worldwide supply challenges.
As an experienced technician, manager, and business owner, Gomez tries hard to ensure everything his team needs to serve their customers is ready and waiting to go when it’s needed. He jokes that he fights with his accountant to stock more common replacement parts, even at great expense and risk, knowing that the gamble will likely pay off when a customer needs it and it’s out of stock everywhere else. The parts department has even received calls from Australia looking for parts that no one else in the world has carried, a testament to his knowledge and foresight.
Experience counts a great deal in aviation. It is evident from the first time you meet a pilot, technician, or business owner. In the case of a Twin Commander Factory Authorized Service Center, it manifests as a smooth juxtaposition of factory support and local expertise that ensures owners access to the most qualified technicians, best-equipped facilities, and business owners who have extensive experience working on Twin Commanders. In Gomez’s case, that’s approaching four decades.
