The Duncan Download Blog: Business Aviation Advice & Observations

In 1991, there were a number of aircraft broker dealers conducting business in ways that were less than completely ethical. Several concerned individuals in the industry joined together to address the lack of standards and issues.

Robert Duncan was among them. 

"There were a lot of things happening that affected the ability of honest broker dealers to conduct business in the aircraft-resale market. We knew we had a stronger voice if we band together and formed an association," Robert says.

The founders of NARA (pictured in 2004 left to right) Robert Duncan, John Foster, Jack Prewitt, Dan Dickinson, Susan Sheets, James Markel, Johnny Gantt, Jerry Smith, Matt Huff and Johnny Foster.

The National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA) was formed to establish a set of standards for member companies to follow that raised the ethical bar. Each company who joined promised to abide by a code of ethics and represent the best interests of their customers. Together, they formed a lobbying organization for the benefit of the general aviation industry.

Every year since the association was formed, members of Duncan Aviation's Aircraft Sales team have remained actively involved. In 2010, Steve Gade, vice president of business development and marketing, was appointed to serve as the association chairman.

"NARA gives a prospective client, whether buying or selling an aircraft, a safe and trusted place to conduct business," says Steve. It also gives associate members access to resources and services they may not have available in-house, such as insurance, legal and title. This great wealth of resources is a result of the network of NARA members.

To find out more about our long histories with other industry alphabet associations, read the Spring 2015 Duncan Debrief.

Today, Duncan Aviation team members across the country are celebrating Duncan Aviation’s Founder’s Day. Saturday, August 22, marks the 93^rd birthday of our founder, the late Donald Duncan.

That day is made more special as it is also the birthday of his grandson Todd Duncan, Chairman Duncan Aviation. And keeping with the theme of family birthdays, in the not too distance future on September 24^th, Chairman Emeritus, J. Robert Duncan will be celebrating his birthday.

And so we celebrate!

Founder’s Day gives us all the opportunity to pause and reflect on Duncan Aviation’s past while also looking forward to a promising future. This would not be possible without the hard work, dedication and attitudes of each of our team members. Thank you to all of your contributions to the success of Duncan Aviation.

We also want to thank our many customers, partners and friends throughout the aviation world. We appreciate your business and friendship. 

In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed this day, August 19, to be National Aviation Day to celebrate the history and development of aviation. This date coincides with the birthday of Orville Wright who, together with his brother Wilbur, made significant contributions to powered flight.

Today, like every other day of the year, Duncan Aviation celebrates aviation as the largest, family owned business aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company in the world, with over 2,000 employees. We celebrate with gratitude, as the perseverance of the Wright brothers has made a huge impact on the lives of everyone within business aviation. 

For the next two days, Duncan Aviation will celebrate its Founder’s Day, commemorating Donald Duncan’s birthday. Donald is the company’s founder and the grandfather to Duncan Aviation’s Chairman, Todd Duncan. This is a day for Duncan Aviation team members to pause and reflect on Duncan Aviation’s rich history while looking forward to a promising future.

Duncan Aviation’s Chairman, Todd Duncan, visits the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, while on a family vacation.

That history is based upon a set of ideals passed down from Donald through Robert Duncan, Duncan Aviation’s Chairman Emeritus, and now to Todd Duncan. These values are dedicated to keeping a family culture as the company grew, no matter how many employees or locations. From the beginning, Duncan Aviation’s Core Values were not something that had to be memorized or learned by employees because they were simply a description of who they were and how they did business every day. Duncan Aviation team members embody excellence and a passion for aviation that shows in their work every day.

Duncan Aviation Across Six Decades

Duncan Aviation was established in 1956 in Clarinda, Iowa, during the prosperous years after WWI and earliest years of business aviation. You could say they have been in the business from the beginning and played a major part in its early development.  

Over the next six decades, Duncan Aviation grew from a single location in Omaha, Nebraska, to an international business aviation pioneer with locations all across the United States and team members around the globe.

Duncan Pride

Aviation is obviously very important to us. We live it every day. For many team members, who hold personal and commercial pilots license and still go flying on evenings and weekends after they have spent their entire day or week working on someone else’s aircraft, it is a passion. They say it’s in the blood.

Watch Duncan Aviation’s Core Values video, as team members express why the company’s Core Values resonate so much with their teams and how they can be seen in every aspect of their workday.

Let’s All Scream For Ice Cream

Every day is the National Day of something. And because there are so many things wanting their day in the spotlight, some have to share. So while we reminisce about aviation history, how it’s changed and where it’s headed, go out and grab your favorite soft-serve because it’s National Soft Ice Cream Day too!  

"As we grow, our issues are not just our issues, but issues we share with others. By becoming active members of our industry associations, we have an opportunity to be side-by-side with our industry peers, competitors and customers, to learn their concerns and needs so that we can come alongside them and help them exactly when they need us. It is only through the conversations and relationships we gain by being active in these associations that we move our industry forward."  

Todd Duncan, Duncan Aviation chairman

Duncan Aviation has been a member of the Aviation Electronics Association (AEA) since 1970 after Ron Hall (above), a retired Duncan Aviation avionics sales rep, attended his first AEA convention in Kansas City.

According to Ron, those early conventions were small, with only about 150 people and booths consisting of little more than cardboard structures with a table.

In those early days, AEA drew companies together to discuss their frustrations and share their ideas and successes with the latest technical information. Even though many were competitors, they shared anyway in order to make the industry better. Ron says it was this collaboration that helped Duncan Aviation to grow from a small radio and instrument shop into an experienced facility with technicians specializing in the maintenance, repair and installation of the latest in avionics technology.

Duncan Aviation Avionics Sales Rep Ron Hal was an AEA board member for 20 years.

Shortly after his first convention, Ron joined the AEA Board of Directors and stayed for 20 years. During those two decades, Duncan Aviation hosted three regional meetings in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 1985, Ron was named the AEA Member of the Year. And because of his dedication and continued involvement in AEA during his entire career, he received the AEA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011—the highest honor bestowed on an AEA member.

Duncan Aviation's AEA involvement and influence didn't end with Ron's retirement. Gary Harpster, avionics installation sales rep, stepped up and actively participated at several regional and national AEA events. As a well-known expert in the industry on NextGen technology, he has presented educational sessions to operators around the world.

Gary was an active board member, serving as vice chairman and chairman of the board for several years. He also served on the AEA Trusteeship Committee and was named 2008 AEA Member of the Year.

Another chapter in Duncan Aviation's AEA history unfolded in 2014, when Mike Minchow, manager of completions and avionics sales, was among the newly elected directors selected by the members of AEA.

Today, AEA boasts nearly 1,300 member companies in 43 countries.

In The Trenches

Business aviation association governing boards work to benefit our industry as a whole, bringing about long-term changes and future growth. But oftentimes, it’s in the trenches of the subcommittees and regional events where the day-to-day issues that impact business aviation are addressed. Many of Duncan Aviation’s tech reps, department leaders, regional managers and sales representatives meet many times a year in these industry subcommittees.

AEA Subcommittee

Mike Chick, manager of engineering certification—SMS/21

In 1966, NBAA was the first industry association Duncan Aviation joined. Our first NBAA booth was a purple foam structure in a 20 x 20 space, where 10 team members greeted attendees and explained who Duncan Aviation was.

That was just the beginning.

For nearly 49 years, Duncan Aviation has participated in the annual NBAA Convention and Exhibition. No longer relatively unknown, we are one of the first places to stop for many convention attendees. But our participation and influence at NBAA goes well beyond the convention hall.

For a total of 21 years, Duncan Aviation has maintained a presence on the NBAA Associate Member Advisory Council (AMAC), beginning with Robert Duncan in 1983. As members, he, Duncan Aviation Chairman Todd Duncan and President Aaron Hilkemann contributed to council discussions and activities to identify and improve communications among membership segments. Each has served or is currently serving in a leadership position. Aaron also served a two-year term as council chairman. In these roles, each became associate member advisors to the NBAA board.

Jeannine Falter, vice president of business development, is a five-year member of the NBAA Corporate Aviation Management Committee (CAMC), which provides programs and tools to help aviation managers meet business objectives.

She served two years as co-chair of the committee's annual NBAA Leadership Conference. This leadership conference is the only industry event of its kind, where business aviation managers and executives gather to focus on sharpening leadership and professional skills, networking and sharing ideas.

"The NBAA Leadership Conference is a great opportunity for industry leaders to be exposed to ideas and thought-leaders that they otherwise may not have access to," says Jeannine.

She was also a current member of the NBAA Maintenance Management Committee, whose purpose is to address the high-level, strategic issues pertinent to maintenance operations. This group is currently working on a long-term project to align the professional standing of aviation technicians with current and future technology by updating the level of education, training and expertise.

To find out more about our long histories with other industry alphabet associations, read the Spring 2015 Duncan Debrief.

In The Trenches

Business aviation association governing boards work to benefit our industry as a whole, bringing about long-term changes and future growth. But oftentimes, it’s in the trenches of the subcommittees and regional events where the day-to-day issues that impact business aviation are addressed. Many of Duncan Aviation’s tech reps, department leaders, regional managers and sales representatives meet many times a year in these industry subcommittees.

It was a massive amount of work completed in a short amount of time. However, it still delivered on time and squawk-free with a transformation nothing short of spectacular. 

When this Falcon 900B arrived at Duncan Aviation, the interior workscope completely changed at the last minute, allowing very little time to preplan the changes and nearly nothing for material lead time.

We think we nailed it. What do you think? 

Interior Transformation

Before and after

Left-hand aft divan added replacing two club seat and a closet. Read the 2015 Spring Duncan Debrief for more interior before and after photos.

Avionics Upgrade

 EFIS to CDS/R. Read the 2015 Spring Duncan Debrief for the complete list of avionics upgrades.

Exterior Enhancements

New LoPresti BoomBeam landing lights. Complete new exterior paint scheme. Read the 2015 Spring Duncan Debrief for more exterior enhancements. 

Fresh out of pre-buy, this Gulfstream V needed a makeover to breathe life into a dark interior. The deep blue and gray chairs and carpet made this large 13-passenger cabin feel dated and constrained. The customer's expectations were clear. Clean it up. Lighten it up. Open it up.

Take a look, the transformation was amazing.

That is just the beginning. Continue reading the Spring 2015 Duncan Debrief to see the stunning before and after photos. 

Over W. K. Kellogg airport in Battle Creek, Michigan, the skies are filling with hot air balloons as the 2015 Field Of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival kicked off yesterday. Over the weekend, everyone in the area will be looking up to watch as colorful hot air balloons float peacefully by. The launches will take place at the airport and other various locations around Battle Creek.

Watch Sugar Bear inflate to life in this photo series

Also taking to the air over the July 4^th weekend will be several aerobatic stunt planes performing for the air show. These brave pilots and their agile planes began arriving at Duncan Aviation on Wednesday ahead of the main event.

Just prior to the public airshow, one local World War II Veteran got the ride of his life with Aerobatic Champion and airshow pilot Rob Holland. Together with sponsor Window World, Rob created the Hero Flight Program as a way of giving back to the U.S. military veterans for their service and sacrifice.

This year’s World War II Veteran is Ken Rabbit. He was in the Army Air Corps in the legendary 8th Air Force as a ground crewman, working on B24s, B17s and C47s. Ken was also a pilot, once owning a Stearman Biplane. He just turned 90 years old. 

Ken and his wife, Pat met with Rob prior to the flight in Duncan Aviation’s Battle Creek lobby.

In the April 2015 Duncan Intelligence, Dave Ungvarsky, Hawker tech rep, talked about how some of the information in Chapter 24 of the AMM goes unnoticed or unheeded.

During a recent project, the Duncan Aviation Hawker airframe team troubleshot an aircraft with intermittent static plate heat. Their investigation revealed a damaged terminal block which most likely resulted from improper torqueing of the terminal nut and improper orientation of the terminals themselves.

Most of us are familiar with the torqueing of fasteners as required in the AMM for the task being performed. If no specific torque value is noted, then we rely on Chapter 20 (Standard Practices) for determining the proper torque value. Unfortunately, sometimes the information on torque loading contained in Chapter 24 (Torque Loading of Electrical Connections) goes unnoticed or unheeded.

That appears to be the situation here with the damaged terminal block. Not only were the terminals not oriented correctly, it appears an improper torque was applied.

Chapter 24 contains essential information to assure that electrical connections are properly made to ensure that systems operate correctly and are safe.

Duncan Intelligence

Do you want to read more technical articles about the Hawker airframe? Go to the Hawker Duncan Intelligence archives  here.

For more than 18 years, Duncan Aviation has been producing the Duncan Intelligence, a free, technical newsletter for business aircraft owners and operators.

Written in-house by experienced technical reps, each edition includes technical tips and advice on topics and trends in business aviation.

It's free. Subscribe now and have it sent directly to your in-box every month. 

Arjen Groeneveld has been the European Regional Manager for Duncan Aviation for five years. When he first started knocking on doors and talking about the company to European operators, he was met with… “What is it going to cost me?” This came as no surprise to him, because Europe was a relatively new market for Duncan Aviation.

They wanted to know why they should fly their aircraft to the other side of the pond to have service performed. In the beginning, Arjen admits that the euro to dollar exchange rate (near 1.5) in 2011 had a huge impact on getting business in the door.

Customers like Nataly and Ernst Langer, owners and pilots of a Bombardier Global 5000 out of Germany and Klaus Rasmussen, technical manager of Denmark-based Air Alsie, were among the many European operators who took advantage of this economic benefit and gave Duncan Aviation a try. What they found was a company that offered comprehensive airframe services at the highest quality and shortest downtime.

Arjen Groeneveld, European Regional Manager.

Now in 2015, euro to dollar exchange rate has dropped significantly. But that hasn’t stopped international operators from making the journey.

Business aviation operators in Europe are a small group and they talk to each other. As a result, Duncan Aviation’s reputation as a company that delivers top quality service at a great value, quick downtime and always worth the trip has spread.

“We have customers who fly from Europe to have maintenance completed at one of Duncan Aviation's United States locations,” says Arjen. “The fact that they're willing to make that trip tells us we're doing something right.

This is why they come: Worldwide Business Aircraft Operators Tell It Like It Is