AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2020 - 33

CHRIS ROSE

"That [Part 135] segment is in a very
fragile situation," Zilberbrand said. "Those
that own their own equipment are likely to
be in particularly dire straits."
One aspect of the current situation
that differs from the Great Recession,
which reached its nadir in early 2009, is
that banks seem less anxious to repossess
assets this time around. "We've all learned
so much from 2008 and 2009," he said.
The biggest question for the aviation
community-and the rest of the world-
is how long the virus-inspired downturn
will last.
A prolonged disruption has the potential to break international aviation supply
chains, push aircraft and engine manufacturers-and the vendors that underpin
them-into bankruptcy, and create parts
shortages that ground airplanes. A long
downturn also could disrupt aviation
maintenance and avionics firms, which
had been enjoying a boom from ADS-Brelated business.
New aircraft manufacturers also could
face stiffer competition from the used market if the price of used airplanes falls. The
gap in price between a new aircraft and a
used one would be simply too much for
buyers to justify, even if new airplanes offer
better efficiency and lower hourly operating costs. Lower oil prices help aviation
consumers by reducing fuel prices.
Zilberbrand says Vref is anticipating a
relatively quick return to the status quo,
or at least something resembling the status quo.
"The bottom line is that we all hate
change, and we don't adapt well to it," he
said. "People enjoyed their previous lives,
and they want to get back to visiting friends
and family and going on adventures.
"The sky hasn't fallen, and we don't
see this having a major long-term effect
on the aircraft market or the broader
economy."
EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

NEWS |

Picked for 'Panchito'
Kentucky pilot wins SIC rating in a B-25
B Y J I L L W. TA L L M A N

THE DELAWARE AVIATION Museum
awarded one lucky pilot a second-incommand type rating package on April 1
to celebrate the museum's fifth anniversary. Homer "Tom" Womack of Grayson,
Kentucky, will earn an SIC rating in the
North American B-25 Mitchell Panchito,
owned and operated by the museum
based in Georgetown, Delaware.
Before the coronavirus pandemic
orders to stay at home, the museum had
planned to conduct the drawing at AOPA
headquarters in Frederick, Maryland.
In addition to Womack, the museum
awarded second, third, and runner-up
prizes to pilots from across the United
States-and one winner from the West
Indies.

AOPA Editor in Chief Tom Haines
completed the B-25 SIC type rating in
2015. He described Panchito as a difficult
airplane to fly and almost impossible to
taxi, but said he experienced a new level
of respect and admiration for members
of the Greatest Generation "who climbed
aboard these mechanical marvels and
launched across oceans and continents
with the most basic of navigation gear,
many of them never to return home."
The Delaware Aviation Museum
offsets the costs of maintaining and
exhibiting its aircraft by offering pilotin-command and SIC ratings, orientation
flights, and B-25 ground school sessions.
EMAIL jill.tallman@aopa.org

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2020

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