Avionics News January 2015 - 53

Boris and Natasha met as students, and Boris claims he
knew after two days that he wanted to spend the rest of his life
with Natasha. She was 17 years old, and not so sure.
"We have now celebrated 30 years together," Boris said.
"When I graduated from the Institute, I knew I was ready to be
a good husband with a good future."
When government reforms called perestroika came to the
Soviet Union in the 1990s, American companies opened in
Russia, and Boris was employed by AlliedSignal Aerospace as
a field service engineer and a salesperson.
"That was a very good school for me," Boris said. "I
learned the American style of business - efficient and customoriented."
The idea to have his own business started forming with
Boris, and in 2001, he opened his own company called Nebo.
Although nebo is Russian for sky, he realized a few years later
that his company name also included his name: the NE for
Nekrasov and the BO for Boris. The company still exists in
Moscow, providing installation and technical support of avionics to Russian customers, mainly Russian OEMs.
"We participate in all levels of technical consulting - beyond
just avionics," Boris said. "We are engineers, not just salesmen.
We know what we sell."
Understanding the products he sells is crucial to Boris'
success.
"In Russia and other countries, when people buy equipment
from you, they think you are the designer or manufacturer of
that equipment," he explained. "They ask a lot of technical
questions: What is the parameter of the input and output signals? What kind of antenna do I need? How can I interface this
unit with another unit? We need to answer all those questions."
But his knowledge goes beyond understanding the technical
aspects of what he is selling. According to Boris, each country
has an engineering mentality.
"U.S. engineering schools are different from Russian engineering schools," he said. "So, for example, we know how to
answer Russian technical questions. It's a cultural thing."
Boris also translates English engineering language into the
local language: He worked on installs in Nepal, South Korea,
Brazil and Russia and is always excited to travel.
"I still do installs myself so I can stay in the game," he
said. "When you talk to a customer, you need to talk to
them in their technical language and explain everything. If
you do not have the experience, if you have never touched

the unit, you can't explain how good the unit is."
In 2000, Boris opened a small sales office in Punta Gorda,
Florida. In 2006, Boris launched APG Avionics for installations and APG Aviation for airplane maintenance.
"We operate two nice hangars at Punta Gorda Airport,"
Boris said.
Natasha added, "With these two companies, we can take care
of not only the brains of the airplane, but the body as well."
Boris Nekrasov studied avionics engineering at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Natasha has been a big part of the success of both companies. Back in Moscow, she worked for the first U.S. hotel
chain in Russia, the Radisson Hotel Group, for 15 years. She
put her extensive expertise in the hospitality industry to work
at APG; The Pilot's Cave (lounge) is decorated with an aviation theme, including nose art. Customers can expect Apple
TV and iPads full of entertaining and professional apps, books,
magazines, DVDs, a Nespresso coffee machine, hot pizza, as
well as spotless showers and bathrooms.
"People tell me the restrooms are hospital clean," Natasha
said.
Boris noted that if you buy a $50,000 car, you expect a highend lounge. If you buy an expensive boat, you want to be at the
yacht club. But if you have a $100,000 airplane, you often find
yourself in a place where you don't want to use the bathroom.
Continued on following page
avionics news

january

2015

Avionics News January 2015

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