Our Visit to Okeechobee Painting Center For Private Jets
Chris and I are always interested in meeting new people in the aviation industry. Sometimes we stumble upon companies that appear to be the absolute best at what they do. For our visit to Okeechobee Painting Center for private jets this was one of them.
We recently did a story on another aircraft painting company, but it was nothing like this. These folks clearly do specialize in private jet painting at a whole other level.
We were immediately caught by the number of jets they were working on simultaneously. I say that in a positive way, as they clearly have the capacity.
I met with Charles Lima and Bruno Parola, who are the principals. Small world as it turns out Bruno is cousins with the owner of East Coast Aircraft Painting. But different than East Coast, who works mostly on prop planes, we saw nothing but private jets here.
I had the opportunity for the first time to see every level of the strip and paint process in progress. In a separate hangar there was a finished aircraft for a foreign businessman. The paint job was stunning from the level of detail to the custom graphic work.
Chris had previously visited one of the largest private jet painting companies in Texas, but the quality here was even better. Who would think this off the beat and path rural Florida location would have something like this.
While they do both painting and interior work, the emphasis is on exterior work.
The exterior work they do includes:
- CHEMICAL STRIP AND PAINT
- PARTIAL PAINT
- STRIPE COLOR CHANGE
- TOUCH-UP
- REGISTRATION # CHANGES
- CUSTOM LOGO’S (paint or decal)
- POLISH BRIGHTWORK
- PRC (SEALER)
- EXTERIOR PLACARD KITS
The other thing that stood out was security. Unlike many companies we have visited at airports over the years, there was no direct public access. Someone must let you in through a secure gate of the airport. This is a big plus for aircraft owners knowing the public can’t get near their aircraft.
All in all, this was a fun visit, except for the Florida love bugs who visit the area for a week or so twice a year
If you’re looking to get incredible quality this is your place. I guess it makes sense since they’ve been doing this for 45 years. Here is the link to their quote page https://www.opcjet.com/get-quote/
We want to thank Bruno and Charles again for taking the time.
On to the next adventure. And as always if you have a cool aviation company and want us to come and see you just send us an email at aircraftguys@gmail.com
Our Visit to Okeechobee Painting Center For Private Jets
Our Visit to a Boca Raton Private Jet Charter that gives Free Flights and a Cash Bonus
When Chris and I travel around we’re always amazed at all the unique ways people approach the aviation business. We recently heard of an innovative company that seems to do things a little differently. Some of it sounded too good to be true, so we went to see them. Our visit to a Boca Raton private jet charter that gives free flights and a cash bonus.
Like many, even the larger charters, they use shared office space. But this was a little different as they are literally in one of the most prestigious addresses in all East Boca Raton.
We met Christine ‘Chrissy’ Silver who manages all the in-flight luxury hospitality. She is an event planner for many ‘A’ list celebrities.
Part of what makes “The Boca Jet” different is the crazy attention to detail that goes into their member only charter flights. The elite want only the best, so these folks certainly deliver that.
Their flights are operated by InstaJet Charters, who is also unique as they are both a broker and indirect carrier in the process of obtaining a Part 135 Certificate. Not many of those around but seems to be what customers like as it gives more choices and costs less for a flight.
So back to the free flights and cash bonus. As mentioned, this is a member only private jet charter. If you’re a resident of the Boca Raton area you know about “The Boca Raton”, member only resort. So, it makes sense that a private jet charter operator just down the street would be members only.
They offer a monthly private jet card membership program which is rare but with the cash back, it’s definitely a one of a kind.
How it works. There are 3 membership levels:
Saver (pays 2% cash toward a flight)
Premium (pays 3% toward a flight)
Elite Luxury (pays 6% toward a flight)
Members pay a monthly fee; the highest level is under $3,000 per month. This is like a savings account toward a flight. When a member is ready to book a flight, all the accumulated paid membership fees are applied to that flight with the cash bonus added on top.
After being a top-level Elite Luxury member for a year, you’ve earned a free flight. The only restriction is they must have flown at least once in the past 12 months.
Hospitality Expert and Celebrity Executive Chef prepared meals.
The bottom line is this is very innovative from no huge upfront cash outlay, monthly payments, cash back and a free flight. We’ve seen pieces of this offered but never all in one like this. Added to that the personalized luxury hospitality and even new aircraft, you can’t beat this one.
And again, we want to thank Chrissy Silver for her time. We were so impressed with the tour; we posted part of the video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/tXMJT65RQaQ
Check out https://thebocajet.com or call them at (561)-918-2124
Contact Us and maybe we’ll come see you..
On to the next adventure…
Our Visit to a Boca Raton Private Jet Charter that gives Free Flights and a Cash Bonus
Our Visit to Private Jet Painting Company East Coast Aircraft
Chris and I returned to the Orlando area, more specifically the Deland Municipal Airport. Our visit to private jet painting company East Coast Aircraft was very informative.
We want to thank the owner, Marta Nobrega, for the tour and spending some time with us.
East Coast Aircraft has been operating for over 15 years. They are known for meticulous work and fast turnaround. Beyond painting, they also do complete or partial interior refurbishments.
What we learned is that partial refurbs of either the interior or exterior is an important part of the business.
Sometimes seat covers, partial carpet replacement or some detailed accent work to the cabin is all that is needed. This honest approach is refreshing as it’s not about selling all you can to a client but ways to save them money.
Some other areas in the interior that can be upgraded include:
- Counter Tops
- Headliners
- Seatbelts
- Window Panels
- Cabinetry
On the exterior side, sometimes there might just be a small area of corrosion that needs repair.
In this case there is no need for a full repainting. Or adding stripes to an aircraft can completely change the appearance. Here again, they can provide lots of expert suggestions.
Although the focus in the early days was smaller airplanes, that has now shifted to almost exclusively private jets and larger turbo prop aircraft. The facility can handle aircraft up to the size of a Gulfstream 550.
One of the coolest things we saw during our visit was their conference room. The table was a private jet wing, and the chairs were actual seats. Talk about living and breathing private jets.
East Coast Aircraft Conference Room
So, our takeaway from this was if you’re looking to upgrade your private jet inside or out, there are lots of ways to save money doing it. And these folks can definitely help with that.
You can get a quote by CLICKING HERE.
As always, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Us or email us at AircraftGuys@gmail.com and maybe we’ll come visit you too. And remember, we are not compensated for any of our stories. We do this because it’s fun and we love aviation.
Oh, almost forgot, Chris shot a quick video of a Cessna Citation X they were prepping for painting.
Our Visit to Private Jet Painting Company East Coast Aircraft
Northern Jet Orlando Its All About People And Safety
As promised Chris and I returned to Orlando Executive Airport to see our friends at Northern Jet. This time we brought a video crew from Aviation Marketing Experts. We had the opportunity to see a couple of aircraft up close. We learned, for Northern Jet Orlando its all about people and safety.
Here’s a link to the first video on YouTube.
The video crew sat down for an interview with Ricky Guagliardo, Sales Manager, in their spacious top floor conference room.
Conference Room With Panoramic View
What is so impressive about Northern Jet is the fact that they have their own private terminal. And it’s not just a terminal, it was previously the Sheltair Aviation Services FBO location. It’s unusual for a private jet charter company to have their own private terminal. Most use a shared FBO location.
As part of the video production, we got to be onboard with two of the pilots while they readied a flight, on a Citation CJ3, bound for the Bahamas.
Special thanks to pilots:
- PIC: Robert Basile
- SIC: David Chiles
What we learned from our second visit was how important safety is at Northern Jet.
Captain Basile told us he never feels pressured to take off as safety always comes first. Co-Captain David Chiles commented that working for Northern Jet was like being in a family. I did want to mention that the pilots had no advance notice of our visit or that they would be participating in the production. This underscores how genuine they really were.
It’s clear that beyond safety, Northern Jet strives to make the customer experience an extraordinary one.
We have visited many operations on our travels, this one really stands out for so many positive reasons.
We’d like to thank everyone again for granting the video crew such a level of access and for all the hospitality. As we saw, Chris really enjoyed the selection of snacks that are provided on the flights.
Northern Jet Orlando Its All About People And Safety
Visit To Orlando Sanford International Airport To See Private Jet Charter Companies
When you think of Orlando and private jet travel, Orlando Executive or Kissimmee Gateway come to mind. But there is another great option there. Our visit to Orlando Sanford International Airport to see private jet charter companies had us meeting some great people.
As usual we didn’t have an appointment, so we just popped in on Air Unlimited. Here we met some amazing people who shared some of their valuable time with us.
Air Unlimited is a private air charter company that operates both Turboprop aircraft and jets. Additionally, they offer maintenance services for Beechcraft King Air series and Cessna Citation 500 series aircraft. Their fleet consists of these same aircraft.
The company flies Orlando to Bahamas charters with their King Airs on almost a daily basis
Great people we met:
- Captain Joshua “Josh” Stover
- Director of Maintenance, Charter “Chick” Gregg, Jr.
- Director of Safety, Jeff Craig
When were arrived, we met Captain Stover and “Chick” Gregg, Jr. Captain Stover was working on a project so “Chick” gave us a tour of their customer terminal and aircraft hangar. And it is of note, that “Chick” is the son of Air Unlimited co-founder, Charles Gregg, Sr. So, a couple of generations going on.
In the hangar, we also met Jeff Craig, who is a former U.S. Navy Pilot who flew EA-6B Prowlers and EA-18G Growlers. Jeff also teaches several flight training courses at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Aeronautical Science Department of the College of Aviation in Daytona Beach, FL. Very impressive and thank you for your service.
Also in the hangar was a pilot trainee, Jeff was giving some hands experience to on one of the King Airs. Having newcomers as co-pilots is a great career path for future pilots.
We then went back to the conference room to meet with Captain Stover again. We really appreciate all the time that Josh gave us in explaining their business. As it turns out they also fly donor organs for transplants. Aircraft just aren’t for people.
What we really liked about Air Unlimited was that everything was in one place. Many times, the office location, customer terminal (may just be a 3rd part FBO), hangar and maintenance are spread out. Here, a customer can see the entire operation, which creates a great impression.
So, if you’re in central Florida and looking for a quick hop to the Bahamas, these are your guys.
And yes, they do have Cessna Citation CJ1’s so charter jet flights are available from this great alternative location.
And thank you again, Josh, Chick Jr and Jeff for your time. We really appreciate it and are glad we could share our visit.
Visit To Orlando Sanford International Airport To See Private Jet Charter Companies
Our Visit to Orlando Executive Airport To See Private Jet Charter Companies
Chris and I went back to Orlando to check out a couple of area airports. Our friends from Aviation Marketing Experts (Blue Island Digital) are also based there. We have done work for them, including writing for their newsletter. Our visit to Orlando Executive Airport to see private jet charter companies turned out to be quite a surprise.
Our plan was to stop at Stratos Jet Charters but instead we found Northern Jet at their location. As we soon learned, Northern Jet is a recent merger of SpeedBird (Orlando, FL) and Northern Jet Management (Grand Rapids, MI). We also found out that Stratos had moved to the other side of the airport (more on that later).
We were delighted that the Sales Manager, Henrique “Ricky” Guagliardo talked to us. We are always amazed how courteous, even busy, people can be to share their story when they are passionate about it. That was the case with Ricky. Like us, we could tell, he loved his work.
We learned a little about the new company and how in many ways it sounded like a match made in heaven. Both SpeedBird and Northern Jet Management operate their own aircraft. One based in the Southeast and the other in the Midwest. This creates great aircraft positioning. SpeedBird clients are mostly on demand and Northern Jet Management has a strong card membership program.
Great fleet of popular jets:
As Ricky explained, the new company now has a combined fleet of over 40 jets, including:
- Cessna Citation CJ3s
- Learjet 40/45/70/75s
- Citation Xs,
- Challenger 300/350s
- Challenger 605s
And a team of over 200 employees, including 98 pilots.
The Northern Jet customer terminal at Orlando Executive Airport looks like a great experience for travelers. From its “Brews & Bites” area to stylish modern décor, it reminded us of some of the nicest FBO locations we have ever seen.
Northern Jet Orlando Customer Terminal
They even have free decks of personalized Northern Jet “casino quality” playing cards at the counter. Nothing like a hand or two of 5 card stud on your flight.
We liked this visit so much our plan is to return with a video crew and get a tour of one of their fleet. We’ll set that up with Ricky and keep everyone posted.
Now on to Stratos Jet Charters. As mentioned, when we went to their address on Google Maps, that is where we found Northern Jets. Chris checked their website and found there was a new address: 3051 E Livingston St, Suite 401 Orlando, FL 32803. This is the Sheltair FBO building.
We went up to the 4th Floor and found Suite 401. We opened the door to what appeared to be about a 300 sq. ft. two room office. There was no sign but there were 2 men inside. Clearly, they were in the process of moving, as there was no furniture, just a computer in pieces on the floor.
We introduced ourselves and the man proceeded to tell us that they were busy with meetings and couldn’t talk to us. We asked if there might be a time we could come back and the man said he would have to talk to the owner, he motioned toward the other room, so we assumed that was the other person we saw.
We gave him a business card. Yes, we have cards. Haven’t heard back as of yet.
On to the next adventure (Sanford International Airport) …
And as always if you’re in the aircraft business, contact us and maybe we’ll come visit you too !
Our Visit to Orlando Executive Airport To See Private Jet Charter Companies
Secret Sauce For Las Vegas Private Jet Charter Rental
We love sharing fun and educational stories about the people we meet in the aviation industry. We just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, but no private jet this time. We talked to a company who shared something with us that we have been hearing from a few people. We’re gonna share the secret sauce for Las Vegas private jet charter rental.
Any broker who is in the private jet charter business knows about Avinode or FlyEasy. These two services provide an available inventory of aircraft and flights. Since most brokers use one of these for flight quotes, many are selling the same flights for the same prices.
Now back to our Vegas visit. We visited a couple of air charter companies. As usual, we didn’t have any appointments, so we only got to talk to one management person. He asked that we not share his name or the company. We’ll respect his wishes. What we will say is this is a company who operates their own aircraft and is not a broker.
His business model was one we had not heard of before. Rather than list his aircraft on the usual services, he deals with a select group of people. Most of his clients are brokers who guarantee a certain amount of business at an agreed rate. He gets paid regardless. In exchange, the broker gets a better rate as does the broker’s clients. He in return has predictable cash flow with no surprises.
But even more surprising, he said, many of the recent flyers were experienced corporate executives and frequent travelers who switched from other providers that they had worked with for years.
Why are private jet travelers switching to a new provider ?
Some of the reasons why they are switching:
- Flying with the same pilots and aircraft
- No surprise repositioning fees
- Able to book guaranteed flights at the last minute
- Personalized service
- Lower cost
- And just being reliable overall.
We heard a similar story from InstaJet Charters, who also had made deals directly with a number of aircraft operators. Although the Las Vegas private jet operator wouldn’t confirm, we got the impression that InstaJet was one of their clients. Might be worth checking out if you’re flying to Vegas. (I would suggest calling them on the phone to talk to a real person, here’s their Las Vegas number (702)-714-3977.
So, the takeaway here is if you deal with a company who has access to these unlisted flights, you’re going to save money and have an overall better experience.
And, as always, we’d love to hear your story. You can drop us an email at talk@aircraftguys.com.
Secret Sauce For Las Vegas Private Jet Charter Rental
Our Trip To See Eustis Aircraft Charity
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Our Visit to Opa Locka To See Private Jet Charter Companies
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.
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