FORT WORTH, Texas, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Aviation Services, a leader in the helicopter services and aircraft industries for 37 years, today appointed Michael Bashlor as President. Bashlor was previously Vice President-Operations and Director of Maintenance for Rotorcraft Leasing L.L.C. ("RLC"), of Broussard, LA, a large helicopter fleet operator with a substantial technical support, MRO, and completions business that Bashlor oversaw during a period of unprecedented growth there. Bashlor managed a fast growing workforce of nearly 200 technicians and helicopter mechanics at RLC. As President of T.A.S. Mr. Bashlor will be responsible for overseeing all day to day operations for civilian helicopter completions and MRO, military helicopter retrofits, all supporting shops and services, plus the customer service, marketing, financial, and administrative teams of this aggressively growing enterprise. Bashlor will report directly to Ranger Aerospace.

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Bashlor succeeds Tim Woodard, the former president of TAS, who was recently appointed to the new position of Vice Chairman of TAS.

Steve Townes, CEO of Ranger Aerospace and Chairman of TAS, said: "Mike Bashlor brings over 25 years of well-rounded experience in the helicopter arena. As a certified mechanic, senior technical officer, commercial rated helicopter pilot, and even an owner/operator of his own turbine helicopter, he's seen and done it all. The helicopter business has put Mike in just about every position a person can have in a company like this, including in such far-flung places as the Orient, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, Alaska, and Europe. He brings a well known knack for positive leadership, technical depth, and measurable results. I've walked his shops -- his people loved him there. I predict that our employees, customers, and suppliers will also love what Mike brings to our operations as the new President of TAS."

Michael Bashlor's accomplishments and contributions at Rotorcraft Leasing L.L.C. are noteworthy. As the officer in charge of all technical operations there, he managed the tripling of the RLC fleet support apparatus, with almost 200 technical personnel servicing a fleet of nearly 100 turbine helicopters. RLC, like TAS, is also a private equity-owned company, so Bashlor is accustomed to the rigors and expectations that go with that type of ownership. Mr. Bashlor was instrumental with his large technical team as RLC tripled in overall size and profits, including absorbing and integrating three acquisitions, all the while increasing customer satisfaction, safety, completions and MRO throughput, and other performance metrics.

Discussing the management of technical operations in a high growth setting, Bashlor said, "I believe that people make the difference, from the front line employees up to the institutional shareholders. When people are clear on their direction and goals and you have full support of the stockholders, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished through proper planning and sheer persistence. I look forward to meeting customers and getting their feedback on how we can improve our already excellent operations at TAS. I'll take similar feedback from our outstanding employees."

Mr. Bashlor's earlier career accomplishments include technical leadership roles with Papillon Helicopters and Temsco Helicopters. He has also been an instrumental contributor to "TOPS," the Tour Operators Program of Safety, which is affiliated with numerous members of the Helicopter Association International.

About Texas Aviation Services

Texas Aviation Services, with 140,000 square feet of facilities at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, TX, is an independent helicopter technical services company with 37 years of successful history. TAS specializes in both civilian and military helicopter completions, retrofits, MRO, avionics systems integration, interiors, paint, component overhaul and engineering. Originally founded in 1971, TAS performs complex customizing projects on civilian Bell, Eurocopter, Agusta, and other helicopter types, and extensive retrofits on military Blackhawks. The Meacham Airport operations are one of the largest of their type in the mid-South, with the capacity for scores of helicopter projects per year. Additional information is available on the Web at http://www.texasaviationservices.com. TAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranger Aerospace & Aeronautics, Inc. (http://www.rangeraerospace.com). Other Ranger subsidiaries include Integrated Flight Systems (http://www.integratedflightsys.com) and Platinum Aviation Group (http://www.platinumaviation.com).