Aviation Business Journal 1st Quarter 2013 - 34

Epps Aviation

Continued from page 33

period,” she said. “I started back
in a marketing role and in January
1995 was promoted to CFO upon
the retirement of then-CFO Patricia
Williams — my good friend and
mentor.”

a year,” she explained. “We know our
customers, and our customers know
us. When they visit us, it’s like coming
home because they know we are
consistent and dependable. I think
that gives us a competitive edge.”

Epps Aviation Main Hangar, 1965.

Today, Epps Aviation is still a
single-location operation and one of
three FBOs at PDK, competing with
two major chains — Atlantic Aviation
and Signature Flight Support. DeKalb
County, which runs the airport, is
another — albeit small — competitor,
providing T-hangars and tie-downs.
“What makes us competitive is that
our primary focus has always been on
customer service,” said Epps. “We’ve
simply endured while watching
our competition change ownership
multiple times over the years. We
are truly a full service FBO, offering
a complete package of services,
including fuel, hangars, tie-downs,
maintenance, charter, and aircraft
management, as well as new and used
aircraft sales and brokerage.”
She also cited the company’s stable
workforce, which currently numbers
145, and the long-term relationships
it has forged. “Our customers see the
same faces — whether they come in
once a week or just a couple of times

34	

Located on 21 acres, Epps Aviation
inherited a 40,000-square-foot
hangar with 10,000 square feet of
office space along with 19 employees
when it acquired Atlanta Aviation.
The hangar, which continues in
operation today and is capable
of accommodating Gulfstreams,
Citations, Global Expresses, or
Falcons, was originally built by the
U.S. Navy during World War II when
PDK was Naval Air Station Atlanta.
Another hangar, also dating from
the Navy days, is 20,000 square feet
and used for the company’s pistonengine aircraft maintenance. The FBO
terminal building itself underwent a
$1 million dollar renovation in 1979.
Epps explained that in 1969 a
T-hangar complex for 22 single- and
light twin-piston-engine aircraft was
added and later expanded by 18 for
a T-hangar total of 40. During the
1970s and 1980s, four 10,000-squarefoot hangars each with 3,000 square
feet of office and lobby space were

built. In 1991, construction of a
20,000-square-foot hangar for
turbine aircraft maintenance with
an additional 5,500 square feet
of office space was completed. An
11,000-square-foot hangar for tenant
aircraft rounded off the current group
of hangars in 1999.
“We have just over 100 based
aircraft of which about 15 percent
are corporate jets, 15 percent are
turboprops, and the remaining 70
percent are piston,” Epps noted.
Aircraft maintenance accounts for
a significant portion of the business,
at about 22 percent of the company’s
total sales of $53 million in 2011 and
approximately the same percentage
as fuel and aircraft hangar and ramp
storage. Holding a Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) Part 145 repair
station certificate with Class 1, 3, and
limited 4 ratings, Epps Aviation is
a factory-authorized maintenance
service facility for Pilatus, Cirrus,
Piper, Mooney, and the singleengine Cessna product line, as well
as the Lycoming engine family. The
company also offers service through
major checks on King Airs and Pilatus
turboprops, as well as Learjets and
the Cessna Citation jet family.
“We get a lot of post-warranty work
on jets and turboprops,” said Epps,
adding that the turbine engine shop
is qualified to perform hot section
inspections on the Pratt & WhitneyCanada PT6A turboprop series and
the Pratt & Whitney JT15D turbojet
engine. The company also repairs and
installs all major avionics brands and
holds STCs for avionics upgrades.
Currently, Epps Aviation’s
technician staff comprises 30 A&P
mechanics and 11 avionics technicians

Aviation Business Journal  |  1st Quarter 2013
Aviation Business Journal 1st Quarter 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aviation Business Journal 1st Quarter 2013
