Brunswick Air = A Sky Full of Fun

April 8, 2018 Biz Q&A No comments

Brunswick Air
Story by Kass Fincher
Barb Olsen-Gwin and her husband Rich Gwin own Brunswick Air at Cape Fear Regional Jetport. Recently I sat down with Barb to learn more about the business.

What are your and your husband’s backgrounds; have you always been in aviation?
I worked for Ozark Airlines in St. Louis in a variety of administrative positions – accounting, payroll, marketing – not on the airplanes. While I was there, TWA bought out Ozark and I spent 12 years with them in similar roles. Rich was in the maintenance department; at one point he was VP for Operations for TWA. In 1997, he was offered a job with a cargo airline in Ann Arbor Michigan. We got married and moved there. Then Rich got a job offer to work for Piedmont Airlines – a subsidiary of US Air – on the eastern shore of Maryland. We loved it there; it was 30 minutes to the beach, 30 minutes to the Chesapeake Bay. Two years later, US Air was starting up a new airline – Potomac Airlines – and Rich was recruited to help with that, so we moved to the mountains in Roanoke, Virginia. I got a job at an FBO – Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation – my first exposure in general aviation. I did it all – talked on the radio with the jets coming in, handled office duties, sold sectionals. It was fun! Then 911 happened; they shut down Potomac Airlines and moved us to Charlotte, where he went to work for US Air.
How did you end up here?
When Rich retired from US Air in Charlotte, we moved here in 2003. I worked in real estate sales; he rehabbed houses. He missed the aviation activity, so in 2007 we started Cape Fear Airworks to offer maintenance services. He has the FAA certification for airplane mechanics that’s called an A&P – it stands for airframe and powerplant – which means he can work on airframes as well as engines.
And you have your pilot’s license?
Yes! But it took a span of 22 years from when I first started. In my early 30s in the late 80s when I was working for Ozark, I decided to take flying lessons. I started meeting all these general aviation pilots, and the camaraderie is what really got me into it. I flew 20 hours, soloed, flew one more hour after that and then I stopped. I was a single mom at the time with three kids and ran out of money. After I soloed, I thought, yes, I can do this, I can come back to this someday. So, fast forward many years, and in the summer of 2010, Rich said let’s buy an airplane so you can finish up your flight training, then I can start and get mine too! He knew everything about the airplanes but didn’t know how to fly one. So we bought a two-seater Cessna 152, the basic trainer in the industry, and I started to fly again. Dennis Faver, one of our flight instructors who’s been with us since the beginning, was my instructor and took me to my check ride. I got my license in March 2012.
When did you open Brunswick Air?
There was a different flight school here when we had just the maintenance shop, but we started hearing rumors they might leave. So when the other school left in 2010, Howie Franklin, the airport director, called and asked if we wanted to start a flight school. We decided that we would, but we had no idea what we were doing.
So what are your roles now?
Rich runs the maintenance shop. In the past he was in upper management; now he’s turning wrenches again and he’s having a ball! Our maintenance shop has customers coming in from other areas; probably 75% are from elsewhere. People fly their airplanes to the maintenance base they want to use. Rich is training two other young mechanics – one just got his A&P certificate and the other is doing on-the-job training. I am the president, bookkeeper, marketer, tax person, everything. Dennis told me you are such a great face for the flight school because you’re a woman. People have the image they’re going to walk in and see some gruff old guy, so I hope I’m an inviting presence.
Tell me about the flight school. How many students do you work with and what licensing do you offer?
A private pilot’s license requires 40 hours minimum; most get 65-70 hours before getting their license. We usually have maybe 12 solos per year and 10 or 12 check rides. At any given time we have 15-20 fairly active students. It’s the largest part of our operation – maybe 75% of our revenues. We have six instructors; they’re all part-time, retired, and do it because they love flying. Our flight instructors just teach; they don’t do any administrative tasks, and they love that. They just want to teach and be in the airplane. They tell me when they want to work and I just fill in their dance card. I manage the flight school, so I’m the glue that holds everything together.
Do most people who start training end up getting their license?
Not always. There’s a huge dropout rate – probably 80%. People will come in gung-ho and fly three or four times, and that’s when they have their little epiphany. You have to really want to learn to fly; you have to throw yourself into this. I actually try to prepare people for that – I tell them that after three or four lessons you’ll probably come to that mental speed bump; if you can get over that you’ll get more confidence and you’ll be fine.
I’ve heard the general aviation industry is challenged with attracting young people. Do you find that to be true here?
Not really for us. We have a wide variety of ages; right now we actually have six students under age 20. We also have a few under 16 who know they want to fly and their parents want them to have the opportunity. So they come out every couple of months to learn and keep their interest. They can’t solo until they’re 16. And flight training is not inexpensive. You have to count on at least 55 hours and maybe $8,000 – $10,000 over a year’s time, knowing you’ll get weathered out a bit. Scheduling training time can be tough for younger people who are working; the vast majority can only fly once a week, so they need to budget for a year’s time. Our instructors are so excited to work with young people because they see themselves; they see what they were like as teenagers.
As a woman who got her license, are you in the minority?
Yes, there are not very many women in aviation. Of the 650,000 active pilots in the country, only maybe six percent are women. We’ve had six women students in the years we’ve been here. Kathy Nicholas is the commander for our local Civil Air Patrol squadron. Kayla Keith got her license between high school and college. She went into a top notch aviation school and is currently finishing up her sophomore year. If she stays the course, she will walk right into an airline job.
Tell me about your air tours – is that an important part of your service?
Air tours are just a small part of our revenue, but they are a good way to reach tourists to the area. We have two commercial pilots who do the tours. They love it because they just get to fly. The tours are designed to take families or groups – just three people and the pilot in a four-seat aircraft, our Cessna 172. I named the tours using the aviation alphabet – for example Bravo, Romeo, Whiskey – to correspond to the areas they fly over. The newest one is Tango, which stands for the tides; we go up over the ocean and come back down the river.
And you also rent out your airplanes?
Yes, it’s maybe 20% of our business. We have three aircraft available for rent by the hour.
Do you offer promotions to let people try out flying?
Yes! Our Discovery Flight is a 30-minute flight – you’re sticking your toes in the water to see if you enjoy flying. People give it as a gift all the time. You can check it out without making the flight training commitment yet. I did a special last June and offered a $69 promotion. I think we flew 40 people – graduation gifts, Father’s Day gifts. We were blown away by the response; it was the most we’ve ever had.
If someone wants to learn how to fly, what is your advantage as a flight school choice?
I think the fact that we have such senior flight instructors makes our company really professional, but it also makes it fun. Nobody takes themselves too seriously,, but their professionalism is so ingrained in the way they teach flying. And there are not many options close by. Air Wilmington just got bought out, and I understand they will not be offering flight training. The next closest schools are probably Fayetteville and Raleigh.
What other things make your business successful?
The fact that we own our maintenance shop is huge. Most flight schools have to pay for that; we own it, so that allows us to keep maintenance expenses down. But safety is top of mind for Rich, given his background. Our instructors love that he’s proactive and so safety conscious. The airplanes are highly reliable because he’s used to having programs in place to keep ahead of the airplane’s maintenance needs.
You operate in a pretty busy airport for a small community like ours. Why is that?
There are a number of businesses out here – helicopter flights, skydiving, our flight school and tours. Not to mention the number of private pilots coming and going, and the flights coming in to take people to Bald Head. We contribute operations, and that’s the name of the game to get grants for the airport. One takeoff and one landing counts as two operations. So when we have someone learning ready to solo, they may do 10 takeoffs and landings, that’s 20 operations. When we have six students, we could easily do 100 operations a day. And that’s just us – it doesn’t include the helicopter or sky diving businesses.
What plans do you have for the future?
We have been talking with someone who has a complex airplane that we could use for commercial training. You need 250 hours to get your commercial license, where you can fly for hire. We think there could be a fair amount of demand for this; there is a shortage of pilots now and regional airlines are paying better, even giving signing bonuses.
Brunswick Air is a family-run business with experienced pilots ready to teach you or help you just tour our beautiful coastal area from the air. Give them a call and enjoy the experience.