Indiana Flight Center Continued from page 31 I n 1996, the City of Elkhart, Indiana, approached Joe Harnish, the then-owner of Aircraft Management Company, Ltd., with a proposition. Would he consider starting an FBO at the Elkhart Municipal Airport (EKM)? At the time, FBOs at EKM had a checkered history of revolving-door ownership. “There were nine different opera- tors over a period of just 13 years, and most of them had got- ten into the FBO business for all the wrong reasons, such as a perceived get-rich quick or fly-for-free opportunity,” said Brett Zierle, owner and President of Indiana Flight Center. “The city wanted a stable and successful FBO going forward.” Harnish had been with the airport since the 1960s and operated Aircraft Management Company (parent company of Indiana Flight Center)–a long-established private aircraft management business that also provided maintenance support, but not FBO services. Zierle, who began his aviation career working for Harnish nearly 30 years ago while still a college student, recalled that his boss was initially hesitant about getting into the FBO business. “But, we talked about it, and decided this was something we could do for the long-haul,” he explained. Zierle, who began acquiring an ownership stake in Indiana Flight Center in 2010, pointed out that Harnish, now retired, mentored his career. “Joe was a wonderful mentor—and still is,” he said. The stability sought by the City of Elkhart for a success- ful FBO has been realized, with nearly 22 years of opera- tion under the same management, and a current workforce of 16, of which 13 are full-time. The key to Indiana Flight Center’s success, explained Zierle, has come down to one thing—service. “Indiana Flight Center built a repu- tation emphasizing excellent service,” he remarked. “We treat the Cessna 150 customer the same The key to Indiana Flight Center’s success has come down to one thing—service. as we would a large business jet operator. And, we are always trying to find ways to improve upon our service.” 32 At the same time, Indiana Flight Center has diversi- fied its services. At one time, most FBOs were “one- stop shops,” offering a variety of services to the aircraft owner. “The FBO was the place where an aircraft opera- tor could go for everything—not only fuel, but mainte- nance, modifications, flight training, aircraft rental and aircraft management,” Zierle said. “But, by the 1980s and ‘90s, many FBOs chose to focus on one or two items, with fuel being the most important. When we started Indiana Flight Center, we decided to be a one-stop shop in the historical sense, providing fuel, aircraft manage- ment, flight training, aircraft rental and maintenance. We have never considered specializing in any one service.” That decision turned out to be a critical one for the sur- vival of the business, especially in 2008, when the recession knocked the wind out of general aviation–causing fuel sales to tumble, and forcing many FBOs to close their doors. “This shows that if we had relied mostly on fuel sales, we would never have weathered the recession, and would proba- bly not be in business today,” added Zierle. “Even for a small town FBO, there is definitely a need to diversify services.” Indiana Flight Center is a branded Phillips 66 dealer with a storage capacity of 20,000 gallons of Jet A and 12,000 gallons of avgas in underground tanks. For self- service piston aircraft customers, the FBO also maintains a 1,000-gallon capacity above-ground tank. About 80 percent of the company’s fuel sales is Jet A, which Zierle reported is likely to hold steady for the foreseeable future. The fuel is dispensed directly from the tanks as well as trucks–one with a jet fuel capacity of 3,000 gallons, and another which holds up to 1,500 gallons of avgas. The company’s policy of reinvesting in itself has also been a key factor to its longevity. For example, Zierle is currently looking to add additional hangar space to expand aircraft storage and maintenance services, and to take on more man- aged aircraft. Currently, Indiana Flight Center operates two hangars, each with a total of 22,500 square feet for aircraft storage. “We can accommodate most large cabin business jets, including all members of the Challenger and Falcon families, and up to the size of a Gulfstream IV,” he explained. Of the two hangars, one “main hangar” includes the FBO services center, which utilizes 6,000 square feet of space for the lobby, lounge and office. The other han- gar has 3,000 square feet of office, lobby and lounge space. Under current planning, the two facilities, Aviation Business Journal | 4th Quarter 2017
