Gem Air: Outback Operator Continued from page 19 decision-making skills our pilots learn in the backcoun- try shape our company culture and hold a strong appeal for some pilots. We’ve been very lucky the last few years to have a lot of return pilots and great applicants for positions that we have open. Mechanics, however, have not been as easy to recruit due to a lack of experience on piston aircraft, which is the bulk of the fleet. Explained Jo: “That has turned out to be an elusive skillset, since many mechanics haven’t touched a piston aircraft since they finished training for their A&P license. Applicants usually have experience with either turbine engines and/or varying pieces of much larger aircraft. That doesn’t transfer well to what we do.” Still, Gem Air has been able to build a highly compe- tent maintenance crew, led by Director of Maintenance, Tom Leiphart. In fact, the company performs most of its scheduled maintenance in-house, while engines, propellers, and avionics repairs are contracted out. Nonscheduled maintenance is frequently done in house, as well, although some is shifted to third party vendors on an as-needed basis. Maintenance is carried out in a 4,800 square foot hangar at SMN. Hangar space will be increased by another 10,000 square feet by the end of May 2020 and used for aircraft storage—for both Gem Air and tenant aircraft. Another 3,700 square foot hangar is dedicated to tenant storage. Those hangars, along with over 2,000 square feet of office and passenger space, make up an FBO, operated under the Gem Air name, which provides full services including fueling, light maintenance, a passenger lounge, cargo and baggage handling, and catering arrangements. The FBO, which is staffed year-round, has two on-site, 6,000-gallon fuel storage tanks—one for Jet A, and the other for avgas. About 30,000 gallons and 20,000 gallons—for avgas and Jet A, respectively—are pumped annually. Currently, the FBO has no permanent tenants, but expects that to change with the opening of the new “However we do it, we want to grow thoughtfully, but we do plan to grow.” hangar. “We have had interest from multiple parties,” said Jo. “Our FBO services overall are small, but we intend to see them grow.” Gem Air also offers flight training on a small scale. “We usually have one to four active students, with most going after private licenses, but we have trained people through private licenses, commercial, commercial instru- ment—single engine land, and multi-engine land,” said Jo. “We have also taken our own pilots through ATP flight training.” Along with the FBO expansion plans, Gem Air is con- sidering additional commuter operations in Idaho. “We only run scheduled (commuter) service on our Boise- Salmon route during our slower season—October to May—and use a much more flexible, on-demand model in the summer,” she explained. “However, there is rising demand for commuter service from Boise to other large Idaho communities, and we think we can be a solution for that. Of course, we hope to continue growing with UPS—possibly out of Salt Lake City and other locations. However we do it, we want to grow thoughtfully, but we do plan to grow. Maybe NATA will have some ideas on how we can get it done.” Dan and JoAnn have been NATA members since the 1980s, because they saw membership as a source of information about owning and operating a Part 135 service. Jo explained, “NATA was a big help with that. My parents have also found the workman’s compensa- tion program to be terrific; and we use some NATA training modules for our pilots and linemen. When we’ve wanted recommendations on legal and Federal Aviation Administration issues, NATA has connected us to some really wonderful people and resources.” Aviation Business Journal | Spring 2020 21
