Avionics News December 2022 - 57

" Today, Clay Lacy Aviation's business goal is to live
up to the unparalleled reputation built under the
leadership of its legendary founder.
f you are going to lead a general aviation company
through economic turbulence and a global
pandemic, it is nice to have a diversified business
of complementary services that can help your clients and
engage your workforce.
Clay Lacy Aviation, named for an aviator who is a
legend in his own time, is in the enviable position of
being in four lines of business. When one slows down,
another one often experiences a lift. Over the past 54
years, this has proven to be true and led to unprecedented
stability and longevity for the company.
" When the pandemic first hit in March 2020, we
saw a 94% decrease
in our flying activity
virtually overnight, " said
Scott Cutshall, who is
senior vice president for
I
development and sustainability at Clay Lacy Aviation.
" By July 2020, we started to see demand return, but it
was mostly personal use or essential travel. The last part
of the business that we've seen return is the largest part
of our business. " Business travel accounts for 75% of
Clay Lacy's annual flying activity.
Cutshall is a third-generation pilot and chief
flight instructor with a bachelor's degree in business
management and 14 years of aircraft operations and
management experience before joining Clay Lacy in
2013. He oversees operations at John Wayne Airport
FBO and serves on the National Air Transportation
Association and the National Business Aviation
Association environmental committees.
The four pillars of Clay Lacy's business are aircraft
management, charter, fixed-base operations and
maintenance, which includes avionics installations. While
the pandemic brought about a slowdown in the charter and
FBO businesses, its customers fortunately were buying new
aircraft and having avionics systems such as Gogo Wi-Fi or
Honeywell JetWave installed.
" We saw a tremendous increase in demand for our aircraft
management services, " Cutshall said. Clay Lacy management
is turnkey and includes every aspect of aircraft maintenance,
staffing and operation, as well as all procurement. Customers
receive a consolidated monthly statement along with analysis
of aircraft performance
to budget. All the funds
are handled through First
Republic Bank with a
segregated account for each
aircraft owner. " We were able to withstand the economic
downturn and come out of it stronger, " he said.
But the company has been keeping a close eye on
the market this year, which has been a bumpy ride
considering inflation, stock market fluctuations and the
war in Ukraine among other global issues.
As the downturn in flight hours hit hard at the start
of the pandemic, there was also a record demand for
maintenance services, as customers realized with their
aircraft on the ground it would be a suitable time to
upgrade the avionics, cabin entertainment systems or
make interior changes.
Continued on following page
avionics news * december 2022 57
Avionics News December 2022

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