Avionics News July 2012 - 29

OPPOSITE PAGE: In competition, every ounce counts, so most LXs carry a Becker Avionics comm and transponder, with a portable Garmin GPS for navigation.
Photo courtesy of Southeast Aero/Mike Shore

RIGHT: From the factory, in 2012 the 330 LT comes standard with Aspen glass, an Electronics International engine monitor, and Garmin avionics, with a single touchscreen box taking the place of the 430 and transponder.
Photo courtesy of Southeast Aero

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ealizing early that they had the opportunity to open a new market, when two families joined to bring Walter Extra’s aerobatic airplanes from Germany to North America, “we needed more than just a salesman,” said Kramer Upchurch, owner, president and general manager of Southeast Aero Services of St. Augustine, Fla. “We needed to have a shop where we could put these things together and put radios in them.” That was around 1990; the “we” included Upchurch’s father, Frank, a World War II army pilot who always had an airplane and almost lived at the airport, and Jim Moser, who ran AeroSport, the FBO his father, Ernie, started at St. Augustine in 1967 after retiring from the Air Force. His father also created Colonel Moser’s Flying Circus, an air show troupe reminiscent of aviation’s golden age. Its acts included the Comedy Cub and the pickup-mounted World’s Smallest Airport. Jim Moser started as a parachute jumper before developing his routine in a modified Bucker Jungmann. Not to be outdone, his wife, Diane, walked wings. On Dec. 7, 2011, the International Council of Air Shows Foundation inducted father and son into its Hall of Fame. “Jim Moser was largely responsible for the success of Extra Aircraft in the U.S.,” Upchurch said. AeroSport became the sole North American distributor of the

As a combined business, Southeast Aero sells, assembles, equips, licenses, tests, delivers and supports Extra Aircraft.

German aerobatic thoroughbred in 1989. “He lived and breathed aviation… and he opened the door to aviation to me and countless others.” Growing up around airplanes, Upchurch soloed as a teenager, but didn’t earn his private pilot certificate and instrument rating until the mid-1990s. Instead of aviation, he pursued a career in finance and banking, and AeroSport was one of his customers. Talking to his father one day in 1992, Upchurch shared the frustration bred by the stalled progress of his career. “The next thing I know, Jim and my father were double-teaming me, telling me they had a great opportunity for me,” he said. Now 54, “at that stage of life I was looking for something to sink my teeth into, and I’d always wanted to run my own business,” he continued, “so I ended up buying a small shop, cleaning it up, and learning about maintenance and avionics.” Applying his business expertise, Upchurch then merged the shop and its repair station, Southeast Avionics, into a new company, Southeast Aero Services. While the company, which now employs 25 people, focused on its Extra business, it did not neglect retail avionics sales, service and installations. Essentially part of the purchase, avionics manager Tony
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Avionics News July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News July 2012