Airplane Manager: Simple, Intuitive, Comprehensive, and Affordable
Technology in aviation is expanding in a non-linear fashion, with personally owned, advanced-technology airplanes having avionics, auto-flight, and other capabilities (like auto-land) that were unthinkable just a few years ago. But the business and regulatory management requirements of owning and using such aircraft have become more complicated than the technical operation of the machines we fly. This is where Terry Cooper and his company, Airplane Manager (www.airplanemanager.com), come into the picture. Airplane Manager helps organize your flight department by organizing schedules, airplane expiration items, maintenance, crew limitations, and passenger data.
After being a pilot my entire career and managing aircraft, I recently stumbled across a new solution in Airplane Manager to help better organize a flight department. Even today, scheduling a corporate or charter flight (or personal business flight) may seem as simple as just throwing a note on a staff member’s desk and saying, “make this happen.” But there is a lot more going on in the background. Is the pilot for the flight available, has he/she had proper crew rest, what about day/night currency, medical certificate status, compliance with FAR 135 drug testing, flight checks required by the FAA approved and monitored Operations Specification? Then there is the airplane. What about inspections, annual, maybe 100-hour, compliance with AD’s and service bulletins? Inspection needs can become quite complex if progressive maintenance is in play. How much fuel remains after the last trip, how much to add, what about payload limits, taxi/takeoff weights? Will the plane be back in time for its next flight and are any additional inspections needed before it can launch? How about the arrival airport: what is the price of fuel, could another airport or FBO save you some money, need a rental car, perhaps catering or overnight accommodations? And who is going to prep the plane for a next day’s departure, like cleaning and attention to inflight “necessities.” Then, of course, there is information that Uncle Sam, states, local communities, or airports may be needing, given draconian tax laws. Oh yeah, how about the landing fees and hangar cost? There is a lot more to consider, but this does give one an idea of the details that must be considered.
Airplane Manager is a corporate/charter scheduling software, you say? Often heard, “I don’t really need that … I just use my aircraft for an occasional flight” or perhaps you think, “I just have my plane on a lease back with a local charter company, they do all the scheduling… or maybe, “I do share my plane with a couple of other partners, but my accountant takes care of all the details.” Sound familiar? There are some pretty sophisticated corporate aviation departments that are using Google calendars and spreadsheets. Don’t we all wish operating an airplane commercially, or in a shared manner, was that easy. Regrettably, the details that are missed in operating a quasi-commercial/corporate operation come home to roost in a bad way when an FAA or IRS audit come into play.
Let’s go back in time, like when this writer began taking flying lessons. To launch a training flight, one simply flipped the pages of a big ledger to see when a plane might (never for sure) be available, and then look around the office to wake up a napping instructor and hope that the old A-65 in the Aeronca would not take more than just a few hand swings to get it started. The school’s owner did the maintenance, although it was never known if he was actually an A&P. Yep, pretty simple.
Airplane Manager was conceived in 2006, while Terry was a corporate pilot flying a G450 and G200 out of Orange County, CA. Understanding that the industry needed a web-based flight scheduling software that would serve corporate and charter operations, Terry set out to build his idea and prove the concept of aircraft operation and scheduling. Terry and his staff created Airplane Manager, a computer software that is setting the pace in the industry. Terry began his career by joining the U.S. Coast Guard and becoming an aircraft mechanic and flight crew member. After graduating from West Virginia University, he completed his flying at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, FL. Shortly after graduation, he began his flying career at a Lear jet charter company based in Florida. Terry has since flown fire patrol, air charter, cargo, check rides, air ambulance flights, and corporate jets. By the age of 34, Terry had gained seven type ratings and was a captain on a Gulfstream G450 out of Orange County, CA. It was at that time that Airplane Manager was born, and many years later the dream continues!
In a recent conversation, Terry said, “My days in charter flying and corporate operations were fun and challenging, all at the same time. I got to fly some great airplanes and meet terrific people, but an otherwise ‘good day’ could turn bad very quickly when details of a flight operation were overlooked. Very often, well intended, and skilled pilots, mechanics, accountants, and support staff are given the task of handling flight operations details, and important considerations can simply be missed.” Terry continued, “It occurred to me that corporate and charter flying needed a software that brought everything together in one place that would be easy to use and hard to mess up. We wanted programs that catered to the diverse needs of charter/corporate operations. Tasks involved with pilot scheduling do not need to delve into the financial matters, just as maintenance does not care much about catering. We chose the name Airplane Manager, because it is a fully dedicated management system, not just a digitized ledger book. Airplane Manager is highly customizable with access limits.”
Terry shared personal experiences; “It is probable that several different divisions within a company may share access to flying staff or aircraft. It is hard to find a pro-pilot who has not showed up for a scheduled flight, only to find that another need or use renders a plane, crewmember or required service unavailable. We take this reality into account with Airplane Manager.”
As our conversation continued, this writer discovered that we shared common perspectives regarding a fast-growing aspect of personal aircraft ownership. Terry observed that aircraft partnerships and corporate aircraft management is the fastest growing segment of the industry. Prior to the pandemic, commercial airline travel was the dominant form of travel for business and now it has shifted to corporate aviation.
Today, many of these companies have sworn off airlines; just too much trouble and a lack of dependable or convenient schedules. They are buying advanced technology, piston aircraft, single engine turbo-props or even light jets and operating them privately under FAR 91.
There are certainly tax advantages to having a company plane, but these corporate operations are completely unprepared for the complexity of running such an operation. These folks do the best they can, but details get missed. At best, letting the details get past you means tax or economic loss. At worst, it means a significant safety issue may exist. “Over half of our new customers now fall into this corporate category, with Airplane Manager helping them run like a pro,” said Terry.
This writer and pilot, likes the many integrations offered by Airplane Manager bringing all of the many tools and services available within the aviation industry directly to your scheduled flight. No more the charter pilot wandering around the pilot lounge at some big FBO, trying to reach “dispatch” on the cellphone with only one bar, wondering what is going on. With more features and function that can be covered in this short article, take the time to visit www.airplanemanager.com and view the videos that demonstrate Airplane Manager in action. It is a trip worth taking!
