Happy New Year! I think we are all happy to put 2020 behind us and look to a far better 2021. It has been a challenging time and I want to thank everyone for all of your efforts in managing through COVID. It can be very challenging following all the protocols and it takes the effort of all to make it a success.
The first item I would like to mention is that Jade Jewell, our General Manager, has moved on from SATC as of December 31, 2020. Jade has been a very dedicated member of our team for over 10 years. Jade was instrumental in implementing several new initiatives over the years including FSP and our WestJet Program to name a few. I want to thank Jade and wish him well on his new journey!
As well, Tom Houston, one of our senior instructors has retired as of Dec 31, 2020. Tom has been a great asset and bank of knowledge and will be missed. We wish him all the best in his retirement.
The remaining members of our team will all step up to fill in for Jade including myself. Haley, our CFI, will be there to address flight training and operational control matters. Yasir Al-Bender will be working closely with Haley as our Assistant CFI to provide some additional support for Haley and our customers.
Hannah, at reception, will continue to be there to manage our administrative matters and invoicing. Troy will continue on as Lead ramp attendant to ensure planes and facilities are looked after.
We have also been working with Tara in scheduling to look at ways to make that process more efficient and effective. Scheduling has always been a challenge due to the nature of flight training and dealing with constant changes due to weather, maintenance, tower restrictions, etc. We will be running some test scenarios over the next few weeks to see if some of our ideas will work. Stay tuned for another update in a few weeks and in the meantime you can forward any concerns or ideas around scheduling to me to consider as we review the current process. You can email to: jaymeh@springbankair.com
Haley has updated our Flight Training Operations Manual (FTOM). The FTOM can be found in FSP under the electronic pilot kit. The items updated are: Removal of C-GSKF from fleet, Removal of General Manager, Addition of Yasir Al-Bender as Assistant CFI, Updated supervising instructors list and Updated cancellation policy.
Further to that we are planning on some avionics upgrades in 2021. First will be BBN which will be having a Garmin GPS175 with two Garmin G5(AI and HSI) installed to replace the current AI and HI. This should take place sometime in February as we await the parts to arrive.
As well, we are planning to add another Cessna 172N, C-GYDE, to the fleet sometime in February. This aircraft will replace C-GSKF which has been permanently removed from service.
I am really looking forward to a fresh start to 2021. I am optimistic that our industry will not only survive but will bounce back and remain in a steady pattern of growth for years to come. I appreciate the continued support from all of our customers!
Sincerely,
Jayme Hepfner
President