We've heard 'a picture is worth a thousand words.' So we're going to let our NBAA-BACE photos do the talking.

Big Announcements Were Made!

Duncan Aviation Named 2018 North American Winner of Bombardier Authorized Service Facility Excellence Awards (AGAIN!!)

Duncan Aviation Chairman Emeritus J. Robert Duncan (center) and Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Lake (right) accept the award from Bill Molloy, Vice President of Aftermarket Sales and Commercial Strategy, Bombardier Business Aircraft.

Robert & Todd Duncan Joined Us At NBAA

We're Proud Of Our Team Members

Couldn't do it without them. 

Static Display: Luxury Dornier 328

Learn more about it by watching this video. 

We Talked With Customer

A Lot Of Customers

We Got Down To Business

But We Relaxed And Had Fun

Hundreds of aviation professionals, operators, enthusiasts, and students alike, stopped by our booth. We appreciated meeting every single one and thanked them for coming. 

We had fun. Hope you did too. See you next year

Everyone is talking about the pre-owned market being stronger at the start of 2018 than it was last year. However, I’m going to venture a guess that most of us have heard this story a good number of times year after year. In fact, the number of green shoots stories that were published throughout the period of the Global Financial Crisis really did wear thin with most of us in the sector. What actually happened was that we all started to ignore the spin and looked at such media with some considerable cynicism.

So, what’s different this year?

The start of 2018 was a real whirlwind with a significant increase in deals, reducing inventory, and just about every broker attending Corporate Jet Investor London at the end of January was talking of a real market shift. At long last we were starting to see that buyers had choices. So did sellers. There was even bullish talk of it being a buyer’s market. In reality, then, as it is now, there are sectors of the market that are performing extremely well while a few are still lagging behind.

According to AMSTAT, sales in January increased by more than 12% followed by sales reductions in February and March, bringing the end of the first quarter of 2018 to a disappointing 5% reduction in retail transactions. However, there’s a buzz in the market more so than we have seen in recent years.

A few sectors really have come alive and whilst overall inventory for sale is now around 9.5%, there are many aircraft where the percentage is just 2% or 3%. Unfortunately, the overall market is hugely skewed by far too many older aircraft remaining for sale for far too long. The reality is that many will never sell and serve no real purpose other than to unfairly inflate the for-sale statistics.

Looking at this in greater detail according to the latest AMSTAT data, 27% of the aircraft for sale are more than 30 years old. This statistic rises to 46% when considering those over 20 years. Just 21% are 10 years old or less. If we remove the aircraft that are probably never going to sell, the market statistics look a lot better. For now we are stuck with the skewed history. Even so, there’s a clear trend of reducing inventory over recent years and more importantly over recent months, as well as plateauing values so there are real signs of improvements.

At Duncan Aviation we have had a promising start to the year and have seen a good number of sales and acquisitions complete during the first quarter. As a result of this, we are busy looking for new opportunities to sell aircraft. If you feel that Duncan Aviation can assist you in the sale or purchase of an aircraft for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Please phone me at +44 7836 352 676 or email at Tim.Barber@DuncanAviation.com. You may also reach out to me via my LinkedIn or Twitter (@Tim_Bizav) accounts.

If you are going to EBACE, please stop by our booth – #E89 – to find out more.

Oh, and the hot sectors I mentioned earlier? I’m afraid you’ll have to speak to us to find that out!

show announcements.

Yesterday, Tuesday, March 27, 2018, during an in-booth reception at the 61^st Annual Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) International Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas, Duncan Aviation was named a Gogo Business Aviation Top Dealer for 2017. Duncan Aviation received the highest Gogo Business Aviation dealer honor, The Gogo Business Aviation 51,000 Five. Representing a pinnacle of achievement, the award’s name was inspired by the highest altitude reached by aircraft in the business aviation industry–51,000 feet.

Dave Salvador, Vice President of Aftermarket Sales and Regional Managers Andy Fernandes and Chad Ostertag presented the award to Duncan Aviation Vice President of Components Services & Satellite Operations Mark Cote and Duncan Aviation Business Development Manager Kevin Miesbach. Cote and Miesbach accepted the award on behalf of Duncan Aviation but expressed there was a large group within the company who contributed a great deal of time and effort to achieve this status and all deserve to be recognized.

L to R: Gogo Vice President of Aftermarket Sales Dave Salvador, Gogo Regional Sales Manager Andy Fernandes, Duncan Aviation Vice President of Components Services & Satellite Operations Mark Cote, Duncan Aviation Business Development Manager Kevin Miesnach, and Gogo Regional Sales Manager Chad Ostertag.

“It is an honor to be recognized as one of Gogo's top dealers again this year,” says Cote. “But everyone from the technical expert who wrote the sales quotes to the engineers who drew up the prints, and from the technicians who installed the systems to the quality control personnel who returned the aircraft back to service all deserve to be recognized for their contributions.” He went on to say that without the outstanding teamwork that goes on every day at Duncan Aviation, this accomplishment wouldn't be possible. This is the sixth time Duncan Aviation has received the Top Dealer Award dating back to 2011.

Duncan Aviation is a market leader in business aircraft internet installations with Wi-Fi and is proud to partner with Gogo. Their products have met and exceeded customer needs and expectations for both aircraft communications and High Speed Data solutions.

Broadband internet systems with in-flight Wi-Fi capability can be completed at any of Duncan Aviation’s major service locations in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; or Provo, Utah. In addition, upgrades can be completed at any of Duncan Aviation’s avionics satellite locations. For a complete list of Duncan Aviation's avionics locations, go to www.DuncanAviation.aero/locations.

Last week more than 1,100 exhibitors and attendees from all 50 United States and dozens countries walked the floors of the 2017 NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hundreds of them, aviation professionals, operators, enthusiasts, and students alike, came to the Duncan Aviation booth.

Here's a pictorial recap of our time at 2017 NBAA.

  Big Announcements Were Made!

Duncan Aviation Named North American Winner of Bombardier Authorized Service Facility Excellence Awards 

Keith Hickman, Manager, Authorized Service Facilities, Bombardier Business Aircraft, presented the award to Robert Duncan, Chairman Emeritus, and Aaron Hilkemann, President and CEO, Duncan Aviation during a ceremony at NBAA-BACE.

Duncan Aviation and GE Aviation Collaborate to Provide ADS-B Benefits to GE’s OnPoint℠ Customers

Nate Klenke, Duncan Aviation Sales Manager; Elizabeth Bevacqua, GE Services Marketing, Business & General Aviation; Chad Harris, GE Aftermarket Services & Customer Support Leader, Buseinss and General Aviation; Mark Francetic, Duncan Aviation Regional Avionics Sales Manager; Mike Minchow, Duncan Aviation Vice President of Sales.

We Participated In Panel Discussions

 Robert & Todd Duncan Joined Us At NBAA

Some Of Our Work Was On Display At Static

(Photo courtesy of Gogo Business Aviation)

Gogo Demonstrates Avance L5 Advantage

We Talked With Customer

A Lot Of Customers

Duncan Aviation will have video phones in its NBAA booth to connect visitors with experts who stayed home. 

Although Duncan Aviation will have about 25 representatives available to visitors at its NBAA-BACE (National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition)booth #C9125, there is no doubt that they will be asked about team members who didn’t make the trip. With more than 1,250 team members who develop strong relationships with customers, vendors and partners, it would be impossible for Duncan Aviation to bring everyone with close contacts at the show.

To make it easier for these visitors to reach out to team members not at the show, Duncan Aviation will have two video phones in its booth that will be connected to Duncan Aviation’s phone system and ready to provide video calls with experts back home.

In addition to satisfying this social aspect of the NBAA show, the phones will be available if area experts in the booth are working with other visitors and unable to connect with someone who stops by.

“ADS-B and connectivity are hot issues again this year ,” says Lori Johnson, Duncan Aviation’s Marketing Communications Manager. “In year’s past, there has been a line of visitors waiting to speak with our avionics representatives. This will allow them to reach out and get answers faster than waiting while still having a face-to-face conversation.”

For more information, visit Duncan Aviation at booth #C9125 during this year’s NBAA convention from October 10-12, at the Las Vegas Convention Center at the Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, or watch for announcements at the Duncan Aviation NBAA-BACE webpage. 

They say the business of business aviation happens at EBACE (European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition). No where did that happen more than the Duncan Aviation booth. 

Over three days during EBACE 2017, hundreds of attendees stopped by to say hello, giving our team the opportunity to connect with customers, business partners and friends. We value this time to strengthen established relationships and forge new ones. 

According to the EBACE website this year's show occupied more than 40,000 square-meters of exhibit floor by more than 400 exhibitors. The static display featured 56 business aircraft. EBACE 2017 attendees came from more than 100 countries, from the European region and beyond.

We had a lot of fun. Hope you did too. Have a look at our EBACE 2017 photo album below.

We talked with many customers. 

Conducted a lot of business.

Gave away many gifts!

Saw many impressive aircraft.

We had a lot of fun. We hope you did too. See you next year. 

Dennis Kruse, Benjamin Viveros, Rodolfo Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzalez, Joe Tulowitzki, Alfredo Garcia, Chris Gress

This was our first year at HAI HELI-EXPO as an exhibitor. We had so much fun and met so many very important people; we will be back next year.

OK…we admit it. We are HAI HELI-EXPO exhibitor newbies and should have been at this show years ago, but we are not rookies when it comes to aviation component services. In fact, we are one of the oldest, most established avionics and accessory service companies in the world.

• Component shop technicians with over 1,944 years of experience
• 40,000+ aviation component service and support capabilities
• Authorized sales and factory service center for all the industry’s top-line brands including Rockwell Collins, Honeywell/Bendix King, Avidyne, NAT, Garmin, Chelton/Wulfsberg and JET/BF Goodrich/L3
• We are the only authorized Universal Avionics Service Center in the United States. 
• Helicopter avionics available for immediate exchange

AOG Services (800.568.6377)

We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for component AOG support. So whether you call us at 2 PM, or 2 AM, you will get a live person, experienced in component sales, repair, and overhaul support. We can schedule your exchange or repair anytime, day or night.

Component Repair / Overhaul Services

• Technical / Repair / Overhauls Services: Contact our go-to guy, Jerry Cable, Component Tech Rep.
• Online repair & overhaul capabilities, components inventory search: https://myduncan.aero/online/parts/index.jsf

In the News

• Duncan Aviation Expands its Helicopter Avionics Capabilities http://www.duncanaviation.aero/news/duncan-aviation-expands-its-helicopter-avionics-capabilities
• Duncan Aviation to Perform NDT Inspection for Enstrom Helicopter Service Direct Bulletin http://www.duncanaviation.aero/news/duncan-aviation-to-perform-ndt-inspection-for-enstrom-helicopter-service-direct-bulletin
• Overhauling NAT (Cobham) Avionics Units http://www.duncanaviation.aero/intelligence/2013/July/overhauling-nat-cobham-avionics-units

So you see. We may be new (to the HAI HELI-EXPO), but we’re not new. We’ve been around awhile, owned by the Duncan family since 1956. Few companies in the aviation industry, if any, are 60 years old and still operating under the same name. We have seen competitors come and go and companies bought and sold, some several times.

But, if you are looking for a company that has truly demonstrated stability, integrity, longevity; a company that will be here to support you not only this year, but for years to come, Duncan Aviation is the company you want to do business with.

"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.