Business Spotlight: Aviation Enterprises teaches, leases and repairs

For Pam and Mel Humphreys, owners of Aviation Enterprises, the expansion couldn't have come at a better time.

On Nov. 1, officials at the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport announced the airport would receive $26.1 million in federal funding. The funding, which will be used to modernize the primary runway and extend the secondary runway, will allow the airport to handle more flights and accommodate larger aircraft.

Only three months earlier, Aviation Enterprises moved into a new 30,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the airport. The building reflects the company's continued commitment to growth and expansion.

According to the Humph-reyses, Aviation Enterprises has doubled in size each year since it was founded in 1993. The company's rapid growth is due in part to the wide variety of services it offers.

In addition to chartering, renting and leasing aircraft, the company performs aircraft maintenance and trains pilots. The Humphreyses also help clients locate and buy their own plane. Many of these clients later store their aircraft in rented hangar space provided by Aviation Enterprises.

"We have an evolutionary relationship with many of our clients," Mel Humphreys said. "They start out using our charter service, then some of them decide they want to pilot their flights, and they enter our flight school. Later, they look to us to help them buy their own aircraft, maintain it and hangar it."

Originally, Aviation Enterprises specialized in aircraft maintenance. In fact, most of Aviation Enterprises' staff of 23 work in the company's maintenance department, which is headed by Dave Will. The company not only services and repairs its own fleet of planes, it also does on-call maintenance for major airlines that fly aircraft out of the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport, and Aviation Enterprises' hangar is large enough to accommodate any size corporate aircraft.

In March, Aviation Enterprises expanded the scope of its maintenance and service operations when it purchased Springfield Avionics, a company that sold and repaired the electronic equipment used on aircraft. According to the Humphreyses, the average age of an aircraft in use today is 20 years old, and replacing avionics systems in older aircraft has generated a considerable amount of business for the company.

In addition to its hangar, Aviation Enterprises' new building also contains 5,000 square feet of office space and a lobby for customers. Pam Humphreys designed the offices and lobby, which have a futuristic and modern look.

"Most of our clients are professional people doctors, lawyers, salespeople and we wanted to provide them with an upscale facility," she said. "We're the type of company that pays attention to little details. We stress quality and professionalism more than we do price."

Many of Aviation Enterprises' clients, particularly those that fly with the company on a regular basis, have a pilot's license or want to earn one. According to Pam Humphreys, Aviation Enterprises is the only Cessna Pilot Training Center in the Springfield area.

In addition, Aviation Enterprises recently began offering associate and bachelor degree programs in aviation through Utah Valley State College. The UVSC, which is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, offers students a chance to get the training they need to become certified flight instructors, corporate pilots or captains for a commuter or major airline.

Under UVSC's program, classes may be taken and completed via the Internet while flight training is offered through Aviation Enterprises. Currently, Aviation Enterprises has four planes that are used for flight instruction, including a brand-new Cessna 172, and students in both programs have the option of financing their instruction.

Although the Humphreyses believe the UVSC program will help attract new customers, the biggest source of new business will probably come from their aircraft charter, rental and leasing services thanks to federal funding that will increase the number of flights to and from the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport.