AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - May 2021 - T-14

'THE POWER OF EXCELLENCE'
Jet It CEO says pursue your passions
Black people represent a very small percentage of pilots. Jet It's
leadership team is diverse and many of them are pilots. When asked
about diversity, Jet It co-founder and CEO Glenn Gonzales gets
inspiration from Daniel " Chappie " James Jr., an Air Force fighter pilot
and the first Black officer of any military branch to reach the rank of
four-star general.
" I would say pursue your passions....I'm not sure if race is an
external construct, how you view yourself, how you approach your
environment. None of those things really matter if you're excellent in
whatever it is that you're doing, " Gonzales said. " And General Chappie James says it very clearly, 'The power of excellence is overwhelming and always in demand. And no one cares its color.' So, pursue
your passions. If you're interested in flying, if you're interested in the
business side of aviation, get the information that you need. Build
your path, be disciplined about it, be determined about your
approach and make sound decisions along the way. "
-TBH

T-14 | AOPA PILOT May 2021

Sensing an opportunity, Gonzales left
Honda Aircraft and put his impressive education to work creating a new concept for
buyers. Gonzales, a U.S. Air Force Academy
graduate, is a lieutenant colonel in the Air
Force Reserves. In the Air Force, he was a
T-28A instructor pilot and later an F-15C
flight commander and four-ship flight
lead. He also earned a master's degree in
aeronautical sciences from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University and a Master of
Business Administration from the Darla
Moore School of Business at the University
of South Carolina. After his active service
in the Air Force, he served a stint as an
international demonstration captain for
Gulfstream Aerospace.
A big believer in the efficiencies business aircraft can deliver, Gonzales was
frustrated that he couldn't help more people. " More times than not, they just didn't
have a need for owning an aircraft when
they were only going to fly it 30 to 40 days
a year, or 100 to 150 hours a year. And it
was no longer a smart decision for them, "
Gonzales said. " That being said, seeing
that opportunity, understanding the airplane and its capabilities and the needs of
the customers, it was just a perfect storm
to create a business model that served all
of those elements. "
He joined forces with fellow
Gulfstream and Honda alum Vishal
Hiremath to create Jet It, a fractional ownership program using HondaJet Elites, but
with several twists compared to other fractional providers.
Among the differences is that customer usage is by the day, rather than a
number of hours the way most fractionals
charge. In addition, buyers who are pilots
with an instrument rating and willing to
earn a multiengine rating can fly and log
time with Jet It captains while flying for
their own business or personal needs. The
option is particularly important to customers who ultimately want to own their
own turbine airplane, but don't have much
turbine time. The flights help them build
safety experience in a professional pilot
environment and also help them meet
insurance requirements for their own purchases later.
Jet It sells HondaJet Elites in increments between 10 percent and 50 percent.
A 10-percent share provides 25 days of use

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - May 2021

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