Founded by Herb Elliott in 1936 as Elliott Flying Services and operated for more than 50 years with his wife, Arlene, Elliott Aviation continues to be a family-run organization in a time when the aviation industry is awash with ownership changes, mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, joint ventures and spin-offs. The couple’s son, Chairman and CEO Wynn Elliott, now runs the company, which is experiencing a period of significant growth due to investments in its facilities and expansion of services.

Ron Jennings, director of technical sales, says that Elliott is a one-stop shop that offers a full range of aircraft services "but still has the family-type atmosphere." It’s very unusual to find a company that still has the same ownership after more than 70 years, especially in the aviation industry, he adds.

"A lot of companies have been bought, sold, traded, owned by corporate companies and that sort of thing. There are very few of us left," Jennings points out.

Headquartered at Quad City Intl Airport in Moline, Ill., Elliott provides maintenance, parts, FBO and flight support services, avionics, interiors, painting, and aircraft charter, management and sales from three other locations — Des Moines Intl Airport in Iowa, Flying Cloud Airport in Minneapolis, Minn. and Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Neb. The company employs approximately 450 people, with around 250 stationed in Moline. Included in the total figure are approximately 200 aircraft mechanics.

The Moline location serves as the home of the company’s completions center, which began offering interior design services, woodworking and cabinetry, avionics modifications, noise reduction installations and painting, in 2003. A recent expansion doubled the amount of workspace at the center, adding 10,000 square feet to the existing facility.

Opening the completions center signaled an important moment in Elliott’s growth. "Basically our completions center propelled us into a new level within the industry," explains Jennings, helping expand the company’s focus from primarily turboprops to a larger emphasis on corporate jets.

In summer 2007, Elliott relocated its paint and interior design center into the main lobby at Moline, separating out those services in an effort to increase awareness and attract more aircraft owners, operators, flight department managers, pilots and passersby that visit the terminal. The design center provides various displays of carpet samples, fabric and plating options, leather and veneers, overhead and LED lighting, countertops and other interior features.

In addition, aircraft owners and operators can use Elliott’s EnVision 3-D modeling software to preview and choose colors, textures, patterns and materials for their cabin from a database containing thousands of samples, giving them a feel for what the end product will look like, according to Meghan Welch, completions designer. One of the most important functions of the design center is to learn about the wants and needs of the customer, she says, as well as the typical mission profile of their aircraft. This allows designers to present several options to the customer.

Elliott’s ownership also sees the value of investing in the company’s infrastructure. An $8-million expansion recently opened at Des Moines Airport that encompasses 62,000 square feet, including three 15,000-square-foot hangars, each with another 3,000 square feet of office space. An 8,235-square-foot FBO features a 3,000-square-foot lobby, conference room, pilot lounge, workstations and flight planning area.

In recent months, the company has also renewed long-term agreements at two of its bases — a 40-year lease at Des Moines and a 45-year deal at Moline. Elliott also continues to bolster its regional sales representation in various locations around the U.S. and allocate more resources into research, customer feedback, and sales and marketing programs.

Service Center Network

Elliott is an authorized service center (ASC) for all Beechcraft and Hawker models, as well as the Socata TBM700 and 850. Embraer has also chosen Elliott to be an ASC for its Phenom 100 and 300, which are scheduled to enter service in mid-2008 and mid-2009, respectively.

The company focuses on turboprops and light to medium-size jets, with a majority of work performed on Hawker Beechcraft products, Cessna Citations and Dassault Falcons. Jennings says that the company continues to work on service center and sales agreements with other manufacturers.

By working with several different manufacturers, Elliott has been able to broaden its experience on a variety of airframes and offer many products in a single location, "meaning that if you don’t want to buy an airplane that we have, we can sell you another brand or find what you want to more suit your mission, versus going somewhere else and buying from someone else," Jennings says.

STC Programs

Elliott’s STC list encompasses a wide variety of cockpit retrofits, flight instrument updates and interior modifications for several aircraft, covering upgrades on Beechjets, Citations, Falcons, Hawkers and King Airs, as well as the Bombardier Challenger 600 and Learjet 35/36.

Among the most popular STC installations are major modifications on King Airs, including BLR Winglets, TAWS, RVSM and Raisbeck performance upgrades. For jets, items such as TCAS II, FMS, enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGWPS), HUD, synthetic vision (SVS) and other safety products are on the STC list.

Elliott is a BLR Winglet dealer for the King Air 200 and 300. Jennings says that winglets are popular among King Air operators because of the fuel savings, ability to climb quicker and improved control. "In today’s market, any savings in fuel and/or operational costs is a good option, whether for a Hawker or a King Air."

Popular avionics programs include Elliott’s elite series cockpits, flat panel displays, TCAS, flight data recorders, uplink weather and chart boxes. The company is an authorized sales, service and repair center for 28 different avionics manufacturers. Mark Wilken, director of avionics sales and product development, points out that replacing avionics that are 20 or 30 years old with newer units will increase reliability, which relates to lower cost of maintenance.

In addition, the company has created specific modifications for various operators. The elite series retrofit allows owners to install a three-display Universal Avionics EFI-890R primary flight display and Universal’s FMS. Elliott has received STCs for the elite series on several airframes, including the Citation I – III, V-series and VI, Falcon 10 and Falcon 100. Wilken explains that while the current program involves just the Universal product, future elite series installations will include cockpit equipment from other manufacturers.

For interiors, customers tend to favor in-flight entertainment systems, Internet connectivity through datalink, Iridium phones and XM radio, as well as LED lighting, windows with electronic shades, and heated and lumbar seats.

"Essentially, you can get heated seats in your car, why not put them in your airplane?" Wilken says.

Designed specifically for the King Air, Elliott’s sound management system — currently flying on more than 400 King Airs — reduces cabin noise by using active and passive noise controls. Built by Ultra Electronics, the UltraQuiet active noise control unit generates waves 180 degrees out of phase of unwanted sound to lower noise, applying similar technology in noise-canceling headsets but on a broader and more complex scale.

Parts

Elliott Parts Solutions (EPS) carries between 15,000 – 20,000 individual part numbers valued at more than $6 million. Moline serves as a main location for parts, but the other three sites also carry a large inventory. In-stock parts are typically shipped the same day the order is received, and for a part that is not in stock, Elliott will locate it and send it to the customer’s preferred destination. Jennings explains that Elliott’s inventory contains many common parts, such as tires, brakes and rotables, as well as some specific parts for Beechjets, Hawkers, King Airs and Citations.

"We pride ourselves on quick delivery and availability of a wide range of parts," he says.

Charter

Elliott’s aircraft charter and management programs are also expanding. One emerging trend is first-time aircraft buyers. Since operating an aircraft is a complicated task, the company offers a turnkey solution, where Elliott will maintain the aircraft, supply the crew, provide pilot training and perform all other aspects of aircraft management.

In December 2007, ARG/US awarded Elliott with the Gold Plus safety rating after an audit of its Part 135 charter operation, including an examination of its maintenance logs, flight records and operating manuals. The company, which holds a 72-year accident free record, recently hired a safety officer specifically to help create and implement new safety polices and procedures.

All in One

Jennings notes that in the past, operators would take their aircraft to specialized facilities to get work done. For instance, an aircraft would go to a paint shop for painting, a separate interior shop for cabin work and "to our favorite mechanic to have the maintenance done."

Being a one-stop shop means that Elliott can perform numerous tasks in one location without having to ferry the aircraft to multiple sites. "When you combine work into one operation, it all can be managed through a single facility, which reduces downtime," he says, adding that customers can "put their aircraft down for a minimum amount of time and get a maximum amount of work done."

Customer Feedback

Jennings points out that because today’s marketplace is very competitive, it’s important to learn as much as possible about the customer. The company recently improved its feedback system, which has resulted in increased commentaries. Updating the feedback system is one of the best things that the company has done from a marketing standpoint, he says, and over the past few months, all of the respondents indicated they would recommend Elliott to their peers and return for additional work.

"I think that speaks volumes," he says. The company has also instituted a project management system, where each customer is assigned a project manager to serve as a point of contact and outlet for feedback.

"Customer service is what it’s all about. It’s 100 percent of growth, it’s 100 percent of repeat business," says Jennings. "We are proud of the fact that we have very few if any negative comments through our customer satisfaction survey," he continues. "If we do, we make a conscious effort to personally reply to the customer in order to gain a better understanding of their concern so we can respond quickly in the hopes of preventing a similar problem in the future."

Challenges

One of the challenges that the industry is facing is a shortage of skilled labor, including mechanics, technicians and engineers. While company officials note that Elliott has still been able to hire qualified individuals, they acknowledge that outreach efforts with A&P schools and college career fairs have increased over the past three years as business has picked up. Jennings adds that because of the company’s benefits package and tendency to hire long-term employees, as well as a consistent vision from its family owned-nature, Elliott doesn’t have many problems attracting talented people.