Avionics News August 2021 - 55

Business at the school increased during the pandemic as
people who always wanted to earn a private pilot license found
they had time on their hands. When business travel stopped,
people interested in becoming private pilots suddenly had the
time to study the theoretical knowledge at home and then come
in for hands-on flying training wearing masks. The flight school
operates 20 aircraft including two Cirrus aircraft, three Aquilas
and the rest Cessnas.
Gauthier observed that people often have the time to become
private pilots but not the money, while others have the money
but not the time. During the pandemic, more people discovered
they had both the time and money to get a license.
Gauthier's Berlin-Schacksdorf facility, one hour south of
Berlin, installs Caravan sky diving kits and services them
after they are out of the warranty period since owners usually
go to a Textron Service Center for warranty work at Dusseldorf
or Zurich.
What differentiates one avionics upgrade shop from another
in Europe and around the world is not the equipment they
install, Gauthier said, but rather the quality of the installation.
By taking care to remove all of the old wiring and replacing
it with color-coded wires, his shops make it easy to find the
portion of the harness they are looking for and know what it is
connected to. It's his job and that of his sales representatives
to tell customers the whole intelligence behind the installation
and how his shops perform quality control.
During COVID-19, Gauthier's organizations paid careful
attention to health care rules and regulations. In Germany, it is
regional authorities that took charge of the health care regulations
affecting businesses.
Gauthier's shops formed groups of three employees to work
together and not mix with others so that if one of the three got
sick it would not send the entire workforce into quarantine
and lock down the business. Inspectors could arrive without
notice to inspect a shop and make sure it was following all the
rules. If that were not happening, the business could be closed,
and the owner would be subject to a big fine. Gauthier tested
every employee on a weekly basis for antigens, and if they felt
poorly, they would be subjected to additional tests.
" I'm lucky enough not to have closed any of my shops - not
one - during the pandemic, " he said. " Of course, the pandemic
is not over yet. " Germany is behind other countries in the
world in terms of getting people vaccinated.
" I believe there will be a kind of a boom after the crisis, "
said Gauthier, because many aircraft owners are eager to fly
more often. Kyle Martin, the vice president of European affairs
for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, said the
lockdown during the pandemic was extremely strict in Europe
in the second quarter of 2020. Visual flight rules flying was
shut down in Belgium, for example. However, there was a big
climb back from there in the following quarter followed by
another drop-off during the second wave of the pandemic.
Flights were 20% shorter as aviators were hesitant to cross
national borders. " Europe is still a patchwork of COVID
restrictions, quarantines and procedures, and people are very
hesitant to cross borders. The results are currently being tabulated
for a survey of general aviation operators in Europe about
their experiences in 2020, and preliminary results should be
available soon, according to Martin.
One recent bit of bad news in Germany was the cancellation
for the second year in a row of Aero Friedrichshafen, the
largest general aviation air show in Europe that is about 10%
the size of Oshkosh. The show is due to happen next year from
April 27-30. Gauthier said the show generates attention and
spurs enough demand for aviation equipment for him to fill
his order book for up to six months. Now he will have to rely
on social media and other digital communications to reach
customers.
Friedrichshafen is world famous in aviation history for
being the home of the Zeppelin rigid airship named for the
inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who got involved
in aviation after retiring as a German cavalry officer. He
knew how to lead a cavalry charge, and it turned out he was
persistent enough to become a successful manufacturer of
huge rigid airships.
During World War I, Zeppelin built 84 of the giant airships
for the German military. After the war, the Graf Zeppelin
established passenger service between Germany and Rio de Janeiro.
The hydrogen-filled Hindenburg brought the airship era
to an end in 1937 when it exploded while landing at Lakehurst,
New Jersey. Today's airships use nonexplosive helium.
Anyone visiting Friedrichshafen can commune with aviation
history by visiting the Zeppelin museum, which chronicles
the history of the famous airships. The museum also has a full
scale replica of the cabin lounge of the Hindenburg.
Zeppelin NT (new technology) airships are also operated
from Friedrichshafen by the company Deutsche ZeppelinReederei
GmbH. The modern airship is 246 feet long and 57
feet tall, while the Hindenburg was nearly as long as the Queen
Mary at 803 feet. The Zeppelin NT airship tours cover 14
different routes at an altitude of 1,000 feet around Lake Constance,
which borders the territory of Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
and France, and is also close to the German-speaking
principality of Liechtenstein. The company also offers other
scenic flights over Germany.
" You can look out the window here (at the airport) and see
the Zeppelin hangar, " Gauthier said. " We sell the company
Garmin equipment. " Gauthier spends a day every week in
Friedrichshafen while he travels around Germany to the various
locations of his aviation enterprise. As a sole owner, he
works a seven-day week. q
To learn more about AEA-member company,
Porta Air Service, visit porta.aero.
avionics news * august 2021 55
http://porta.aero
Avionics News August 2021

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