Avionics News October 2013 - 42

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Paul Gernhardt of

Let’s start with your
official title.
I’m vice president of operations.
That means I handle the day-to-day
operations in everything except engineering – that’s one of Gerry Block’s
many areas of expertise. So I manage
finance, sales and HR, among others.

How long have you
worked at Sandel?

nics
andel Avio
hardt of S
Paul Gern

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ocated in Vista, Calif., Sandel
Avionics Inc. is a privately-held
company specializing in compact
integrated display systems for general aviation, business aviation, air transport and
regional aircraft. Sandel’s first product,
the SN3308 Primary Navigation Display,
helped the company secure the general
aviation industry’s largest installed base of
primary navigation displays. The 3308 has
been discontinued and replaced with an
even more capable system, the SN3500
Primary Navigation Display, which complements the popular ST3400 Class A & B
TAWS/RMI. Vertically integrated, Sandel
designs, manufactures, tests and markets
its own products at its 16,000-square-foot
headquarters.
Recently, Patricia Luebke, Avionics
News contributor, spoke with Paul
Gernhardt to learn about Sandel as well
as his life outside of work.
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With...

I stepped into this role midDecember 2012. Actually, Gerry
Block and I have been partners
for many years – I made the first
investment in Sandel in 1998. I’m
like that guy in the commercial
a few years back who liked the
razor so much he bought the
company. At the time, I owned
a Baron and had a question
about the 3308 I had installed.
I sent an email to the company
and received an incredibly
detailed answer from Gerry. I
was impressed with how fast
he responded. We talked for a
while, and I told him that when
he needed an investor to let me
know. A week later, we were
sitting at my dining room table.

So you didn’t have a
background in the
aviation industry?
I started to work for a company
called Quantum Computer Services in
1986, with 40 people in the basement

Sandel Avionics

of a building. In 1991, the company
became America On Line, and I ran
many of the online services. I worked
with the online computing and software areas, and then was the third hire
in the international division and helped
launch online services around the
world – to the UK, Brazil, Hong Kong,
Australia, Canada, all over. I helped
set up the technical side, worked on
systems and helped the joint ventures
until December 1999.

And you decided
to take a break?
Actually, I said I was going to retire.
That was the first of my failed retirements. Business is so enjoyable to me.
I’m like a football fan about business. I
have invested in a number of businesses, and Sandel is my biggest to date.

You said you owned a
Baron. How did you get
involved in flying?
My father got trained in World War II
and was assigned to a fighter squadron.
He got out of the military and flew TriPacers before we were born. While I
never flew with him, I grew up with his
flying stories. That planted the seed. I
started lessons in 1985, but like many
people, I either had the time or the
money, but rarely both. I started lessons when I was working for Motorola
in Illinois. I flew on and off and finally
finished when I was living in Virginia.
In 1990, I started flying in earnest
and got my instrument rating. I bought
an F33 Bonanza, then the Baron, then
Avionics News October 2013

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