About

Arcadia's Vision

Arcadia believes that aircraft follow people. We have assembled a superb team of industry professionals whose careers have been epitomized by their high ethical standards, attention to detail, commitment to transparency and a genuine love of this industry.

We have committed ourselves to building out infrastructure at multiple locations throughout the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions that will deliver to our tenant customers, both individual aircraft owners and corporate flight departments, an unsurpassed level of service for the care, storage and management of their aircraft.

We believe that what sets us apart is our ability to anticipate our customers’ needs.

We believe that what sets us apart is our vertically integrated offering (facilities and services) that allows the company to provide cost effective solutions to the industry’s most demanding challenges.

We believe that what sets us apart is our commitment to transparency – we measure success over the long term and understand the important of aligning and communicating our business objectives with the interests of our owners at the outset of the relationship.

See our recent Forbes feature

Company Overview

Arcadia Aviation provides premium services to the rapidly growing fleet of corporate and private jet aircraft servicing the Eastern Region of the United States.

The combined increase in the number and utilization of jet aircraft has taxed existing general aviation facilities. While the impact of this growth is being felt across the entire national airport infrastructure, it is particularly acute at hub airports like Washington DC’s Dulles International, New York’s Teterboro and other airports located near the nation’s major metropolitan markets.

Private aircraft owners and corporate fleet operators who base their aircraft at these major metropolitan airports compete for space and attention with transient aircraft. High levels of transient activity have contributed to crowded airspace, ramp congestion, service delays and cost escalations at these locations.

Driven in equal part by the growing congestion, lack of available space and the prohibitively high costs of fuel, hangar rent and other services, tenant operators based at primary major market airports are beginning to move their aircraft to “reliever” airports to take advantage of their cheaper fuel, greater availability of hangar storage and better service.

Arcadia Aviation was founded to provide these tenant operators individuals and corporations, managed aircraft customers and corporate flight departments – with an alternative that offers a scope of benefits that we believe is unique in the industry:

• Maximum Flexibility: With development beginning on over 160,000 square feet of hangar space [Link to Corporate Aviation Facilities page], Arcadia has the space to accommodate any customer need.
• Customized Programs: Arcadia’s vertically integrated service offering (full service FBO, hangar storage, refueling, FAA certified repair station, FAA air carrier certificate) means we can customize a program to meet any customer need.
• Value Economics: Arcadia’s inexpensive hangar space and advantaged fuel purchasing programs create a compelling economic rationale for relocating your flight department ‘remotely’.
• Total Transparency: Arcadia’s belief in total financial transparency means our customers understand upfront where our profit centers are; with all other expenses being passed through at cost.

Management Team

Robert Garrett, Jr., President

rgarrett@arcadiaaviation.com

Rob Garrett oversees the overall management of Arcadia Aviation, the sales and marketing of new corporate hangars and Arcadia Aviation's acquisitions of new facilities. Previously, Garrett managed the operational turnaround of The Excel Group, a $30 million consumer products' company, on behalf of a private equity firm. During his tenure he refocused the business around a core profitable customer base, established Wal*Mart as a top 3 customer and rebuilt the senior team by hiring well-respected sales and marketing professionals from throughout the industry. Prior to Excel, Garrett worked for Sony Corporation where he was the senior financial executive of a joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Sony Pictures. He has also worked for Scripps-Howard. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Business School, and has been a private pilot since 1997.

David Brinson, Senior Vice President of Operations

dbrinson@arcadiaaviation.com

Brinson oversees both the operations of Arcadia Aviation's FBO and the construction of the company's new hangars. Brinson has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of the general aviation industry. For much of his career, he worked for Landmark Aviation (formerly Piedmont-Hawthorne). During his tenure there, he spearheaded the design, construction, staffing and management of Piedmont's Dulles (IAD) FBO - which grew to be the most profitable property in the company - before becoming the regional manager with ultimate responsibility over five of the largest and most profitable FBOs in the country. Additionally, his experience includes overseeing Part 141 maintenance and Part 135 air charter operations, hangar construction, fuel farm design, aircraft sales, the negotiation of dealer supply contracts, and the development of creative fuel management strategies that maximize bottom line performance. Brinson is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and a commercial pilot with 9,500 hours under his belt.

George Smith, Senior Vice President and Director of Flight Operations

gsmith@arcadiaaviation.com

George Smith has over 40 years experience in general and commercial aviation. Through the early 1990s, he managed the flight departments for: A.M.F., Inc., Barnes & Noble, and Litton Industries. In Spain, he started Roca Industries Corporate Flight Department. In the mid-1990s, Smith founded Aero Smith Inc., an FBO operator with locations in Hagerstown, MD and Martinsburg, WV. Smith began his career as a member of an antisubmarine task force in the U.S. Navy that was based on the U.S.S. Intrepid. Additionally, he has flown as a commercial pilot for Allegheny Airlines. Smith has logged 23,000 hours of flight time, including 17,000 hours in corporate jets.

 

Alexei Mack, Vice President, Client Development

amack@arcadiaaviation.com

 

Alexei Mack joined Arcadia Aviation in October, 2008, bringing over 40 years of experience as a pilot and Founder, Chairman, President and  CEO  of International Jet Management.  Mr. Mack holds an Airline Transport Certificate with more than 22,000 hours of unique flying experience.  He flew as a contract pilot for the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, and flew out of Andrew’s Air Force Base as a contract Pilot for the Department of Defense.  In 1976 and 1984, Mr. Mack flew presidential candidates on their campaign tours as well as many dignitaries both in the government and the private sector throughout his career.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Williams College of Liberal Arts and is a Graduate of the Spartan School of Aeronautics.

Michael Gauvreau, Vice President, Aircraft Sales & Acquisitions

mg@arcadiaaviation.com

Michael brings eleven years of successful aircraft acquisition and disposition experience, distinguished by a true understanding of his fiduciary responsibilities to his clients. He has focused his career on developing managed aircraft fleets through aircraft sales and approaches each transaction with an emphasis on the post-sale operational logistics of managing the purchased aircraft assets. Michael also brings broad experience in the completion process of new aircraft. Throughout his career and most recently with International Jet Management, Michael has been an authorized purchase agent for several high-profile individuals and Fortune 500 corporations.

 

Kenneth E. Sowa, Vice President, Managed Aircraft

ksowa@arcadiaaviation.com

 

Ken Sowa brings over 30 years of corporate aviation experience. Sowa oversees Arcadia’s aircraft management services group. Most recently Ken was VP, Managed Aircraft for Key Air, a Waterbury Oxford-based management company. Prior to Key Air, Ken was Regional Director, Business Development for TAG Aviation where he was responsible for developing new clients for the company’s fully managed and charter managed aircraft, as well as aircraft sales programs. He began his career as an aircraft technician for the Learjet Corporation and progressed over the years to hold numerous senior management positions in aircraft sales and aircraft management with companies such as Flight Services Group, Piedmont Hawthorne and Bombardier. Ken is a graduate of Dutchess Community College in New York.

 

Robert Sunderlin, Vice President, Aircraft Maintenance

rsunderlin@arcadiaaviation.com

Robert brings over 30 years of experience in maintaining corporate aircraft. He has run several high profile Part 145 repair stations including Signature’s regional maintenance center in Birmingham, AL as well as positions of prime responsibility within corporate flight departments including maintenance foreman for Halliburton Services and Chief of Maintenance for Twentieth Century Fox. As owner of his own Van Nuys, CA based maintenance shop, Sundel Aviation, he has handled all aspects of inspection and maintenance for a wide range of corporate and private aircraft specializing in Gulfstreams, Hawkers, Citations, and Lears. Recently, for King Aerospace, he established an FAA Certified Repair Station for Learjets and Gulfstream aircraft serving as Chief Inspector with ratings for Lear 30 and GII through GIV series aircraft. In addition to managing Arcadia’s Part 145 repair station he oversees maintenance for the firm’s Part 135 operations.

 

Robert Lecky, Dispatch Manager

rlecky@arcadiaaviation.com

Rob Lecky, an FAA Part 121 Licensed Dispatcher, oversees the dispatch operations for Arcadia’s fleet of owned and managed Part 91 and 135 aircraft. For the past 15 years he has been instrumental in handling the complex logistical arrangements for corporate flight departments such as Lehman Brothers Aviation and several leading aircraft management companies including Atlantic Aviation, TAG Aviation and Jet Aviation. Robert’s dedication to operational safety and premier service comes from the exceptional training he received during his tenure at these well known companies. His keen insight and inventiveness have helped software development teams design key operational tools and revamp industry procedures. Robert Lecky is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and holds an Aeronautical Science degree with a concentration in flight.

 

Mark Hill, Charter Sales

mhill@arcadiaaviation.com

 

Mark Hill oversees the Charter Sales operation for Arcadia on both the retail and wholesale level. He brings 12 years of aviation background to the company. Prior to joining Arcadia he has worked with Executive Fliteways, TAG Aviation and Air Rutter in various Charter Sales capacities. He brings extensive heavy jet, international and financial road show charter experience to Arcadia. His attention to detail and high customer service skills have been recognized by numerous Fortune 500 companies. Mark is a graduate of Dowling College on Long Island with a BA in Aviation Business Management.

Hank Willard, Vice President, Business Development

hwillard@arcadiaaviation.com

Willard brings thirty years of experience in commercial real estate having represented corporate and institutional clients in site selection and the acquisition and disposition of office, industrial, and high-tech facilities. He has developed innovative systems and fulfilled contracts with Fortune 500 companies for auditing and documenting facility expenses. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he is a private pilot and aircraft owner.

 

Michael Harvey, Director, Westwind Technical Services

mharvey@arcadiaaviation.com

 

Mike brings to Arcadia over 30 years of aviation experience. He has spent the majority of his career as a Technical Services Representative for the Israeli Aircraft Industries’ (IAI) line of business jets. In 1985 Mike was hired by IAI lnternational and relocated to Augusta, GA as a field service representative. IAI became Astrajet in 1987, and then Galaxy Aerospace in 1997 until the company was purchased by General Dynamics in 2000 and merged with Gulfstream. In 2001 Mike relocated to Technical Operations at Gulfstream (Savannah) to provide Westwind, Astra, Astra SPX, G100, Galaxy and G200 tech support. Prior to IAI, he was employed by Atlantic Aviation (ILG) as a Westwind technician when Atlantic was the North American distributor for the 1124/1124A jets. Additionally, he served as DOM for Presidential Airways in NE Philadelphia, a 135 operation with two Westwinds and another managed aircraft. Mike is currently a member of the Worthington Aviation Westwind operator advisory panel. He is a graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

PRess RELEASES

• 06.01.09: Arcadia Aviation expandsd its maintenance capabilities by adding Hawker Beechcraft HS 125 700/800
• 11.18.08: Arcadia adds new aircraft and opens office at Dulles
• 10.01.08: Arcadia hires Rob Lecky as Dispatch Manager
• 06.16.08: Arcadia hires Ken Sowa as VP, Managed Aircraft
• 05.29.08: Arcadia hires Michael Harvey as Director, Technical Services
• 04.08.08: Arcadia hires Michael Gauvreau as VP, Aircraft Acquisitions and Sales
• 01.17.08: Arcadia Acquires FBO at Sullivan County International Airport
• 09.17.07: Arcadia Nears Completion on Hangar 1A
• 01.09.07: Arcadia Bringing New Jobs to Berkeley County
• 11.20.06: Arcadia Acquires FBO at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport

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