The Video Interview

At Sun 'n Fun last month, we participated in several media interviews.  We get asked many of the same questions and give the same answers over and over.  It never gets old, since we love sharing our ideas about growing aviation.  Here is an interview conducted by Dan Johnson, head of Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA).

As you can tell, Len and Rick are not really comfortable in the spotlight, but we do hope we got our point across.

Own the Passion of Flying!

How to Build the Best Brand in Aviation

(The 10 Commandments of Branding the AAP Way)

One of my "LinkedIn Heros" is Mickie Kennedy. In case you were wondering, my "LinkedIn Heros" are people who I wish I was cool enough to connect to on LinkedIn.  Mickie is the founder of ereleases.com, a company that helps small businesses get noticed by the media. He is pretty much an expert at all things "branding" and his ideas have guided me as I have approached building the Aviation Access Project brand.

A brand is more than just a logo or tag line, but rather an image you try to instill in your public's minds and hearts that identifies your company or product.  It covers things such as logos and tags, but also your niche in the market, your USP ("unique selling proposition"), your pricing, and your credibility. The best brands are often synonymous with the products they sell. (Think "Coke" or "Xerox.")

Building a brand must be done carefully as the success of all marketing efforts is based on how well you brand your company. Many startups tend to get ahead of themselves with branding or very far behind the branding curve as the leadership team is focused on product development and selling.  One of my jobs at Aviation Access Project is to make sure everyone on the team remembers Mickie Kennedy's 10 Commandments of Branding. Here they are, in AAP lingo..

1. Thou shall realize that brands aren't built overnight! The success of a brand isn't measured in weeks or months; it’s measured in years and decades. Think about some of the world’s top brands – Coca Cola, Apple, McDonalds, BMW. These companies have spent decades building and maintaining easily identifiable brands with strong, clear messages.

2. Thou shall not try to please everyone, because the more people you try to please, the weaker your brand will be! The more focused our brand is, the stronger it is. Rather than trying to be everything to everybody, we need to be something to somebody. Brands that try to be all things to all people are weak and diluted.

3. Thou shall be consistent! For consistency is the key to effective branding. Yes, the marketplace is constantly shifting, and it’s important that our brand stays relevant. But a brand’s core message and characteristics should never change significantly. If our brand is always changing, our target market will never build a lasting connection with it. We’ll look weak and untrustworthy. The weak perish.

4. Thou shall NOT Play it safe! Companies that try to play it safe and blend in with their competition are limiting their success and taking a huge risk. If our brand is indistinguishable from all others in our market, why should a customer do business with us instead of the competition?

5. Thou shall embrace publicity, for publicity builds brands! Good PR is what builds brands. Strong advertising is what maintains them.

6. Thou shall communicate thy message and thou shall LISTEN TO THY CUSTOMER! Interaction is essential for branding in the internet age. It’s no longer enough to just start the conversation. Now, we must stay involved in it, building relationships with our target market, listening to their stories and dreams.

7. Thou shall not rest on the 7^th day, for brand maintenance is a never-ending task – Once we've built up our brand, we can’t sit back and let it be. We will maintain our brand through effective advertising and PR. We must be relentless in getting our message out there. As the economy improves, we can’t let our target market forget about us.

8. Thou shall wow your customer! Successful brands deliver an “experience” every time they interact with customers. Doing business with AAP should be more than just another transaction. It should be a unique, unforgettable experience that will keep the customer coming back and telling others about us. (We shall use social media to make that easier for them!)

9. Thou shall member the Golden Rule! Honesty is always the best policy. Today’s consumer is savvier than ever. Their guard is always up, as is their web browser. Our brand must be authentic and transparent. We should never make promises we can’t keep. We must be relentless ethical.

10. Thou shall know thy limitations!  Great brands understand their limits. Remember when Cosmopolitan tried to sell yogurt or when Xerox tried to sell computers?  No? Because they failed miserably thanks to not understanding their limits. We sell and manage fractional shares of light aircraft. We do not run airports, build airplanes or sell  yogurt.

And I like to add one more, especially for this industry, where the news is often bad, the skies often grey and the forecast usually bleak:  11. Thou shall be relentlessly positive! We get to help people make their dreams come true! We get to help them save money and have fun. We get to be at the airport and in and around airplanes. This is fun!

Our tag line is "Own the Passion of Flying!" and our unique selling proposition is "We manage, you fly, that's it!"  So, when you see this logo:

you think "those are the people who take the hassle out of flying," or "they help people own airplanes," or "they are the nicest people on the field," then the branding is working.  This is what we want - not just because it is good business, but because it is, well, it is WHAT WE WANT.  We WANT to help people achieve the dream, we want aviation to be fun and affordable, we want to make airports amazing places to be. Join us, and be part of that. (And don't forget to tell your friends!)

What's a Flight Center?

"What is a Flight Center?"
We get asked this question all the time.  It usually goes something like this:

Customer: How does this work?
AAP: (Explain the shared ownership structure, what AAP provides, etc.)
Customer: But what about ___________ ? (Insert one or more of a long list of questions designed to find out what the "catch" is. )
AAP: There is no catch. (Or words to that effect.)
Customer: What does this mean here when it says there is a Flight Center involved?
AAP (Especially me!): The Flight Center is the best part! Here's how it works. (Insert long description of the "pilot country club.")

Considering we are opening a new one this weekend, and more later this spring and summer, we should talk about exactly what a Flight Center is.

First, from an "in-house" perspective, a Flight Center is an airport location where we have one or more aircraft under management.  We should have a dozen by the end of 2013 and a thousand when we are done. Flight Centers 1-16 are already assigned, while dozens more are in various stages of development.  A Flight Center does not get a number until a Director has been identified and the vetting process commenced.  A Flight Center Director is the local manager. He or she (or a group of hes and/or shes) owns a LLC that manages the assets (airplanes, etc) at that location.

From the aircraft owner's perspective, there is more to a Flight Center than just a number and a Director. The details will vary from location to location, but in general, this is what we envision:

Kissimee, FL Flight Center (KISM)

I. The physical location.  In Kissimmee, the Flight Center is a hangar with office space and a lounge area.  (Think "man cave," and you'll be on the right track.) There is where the owner's aircraft are kept and the Flight Center office is located.  The Director and his/her staff work here.

II. The people.  More than just a place to keep the planes, the Flight Center ("FC") is also the place we keep the people.  What people?

1. The Director. He or she runs the show, owns the local company and is responsible for all activities and business at that location.
2. The Flight Pro. We find and contract with qualified and experienced flight instructors we call Flight Pros.  These folks are in charge of your sport pilot training or transition training, both of which are included in the price of your share.  They'll keep you current, run some safety seminars in the lounge or classroom, and train you in higher ratings if you so desire. The Flight Pro's main responsibility is to instill and maintain a CULTURE OF SAFETY AND PROFICIENCY at the FC. 
3. The Flight Tech. This is the person who maintains your airplane and fixes it if something goes wrong. The rest of the world calls these people "A&Ps," but we do things different around here.
4. The Asset Manager. This is the person who is in charge of taking care of YOUR airplane.  This could be you or one of your co-owners. (You get a discount off your monthly maintenance fee for doing this.) It could also be the Director, a Pro or a Tech. But SOMEONE will be the point person for your airplane.  
5. The Ambassador. This is the person who does, well, just about everything else. Part cruise director, part concierge, part customer service specialist, part greeter, this person is in charge of generating and maintaining a welcoming and friendly and safe culture at each location. At larger centers, this could be a dedicated team member or two. At smaller locations, it could be the Director.  

III. The action. Part of our plan for changing our industry is to enhance and promote the social aspects of aviation. We figure that by getting more people to want to come to the airport, we can get more people flying and flying more often. "Frequent flyers" are more likely to be proficient flyers. We envision a full slate of family-friendly social and aviation activities. Local EAA chapters, CAP squadrons and other airport groups will be welcome and encouraged to use our facilities.  As we grow, we even plan to build what we call an "Eagle's Nest," a sort-of pilot country club that will make the airport a true center of social activity.

Whether it is a full-fledged Eagle's Nest or a just office down the hall, your local Aviation Access Project Flight Center will be where you go to "Own the Passion of Flying." We manage, you fly, that's it.

Why Boeing is a A Hero

Boeing? Aviation Access Project sells and manages shares of aircraft you can buy for $10,000, aircraft that can fit in a good-size garage.  Boeing on the other hand, manufactures and sells aircraft as complex as the Space Shuttle and have wing spans as long as the takeoff roll of some of our airplanes.

Why talk about Boeing?  Couple of reasons, actually. First, my guest blogger for today was a no-show so I had to whip up something fast. Second, in some ways Boeing is a real role model to me and to Aviation Access Project.  How so? Well, let's go back in time 40 or so years....

Back in the 1960's, the jet age had arrived.  In the United States, pioneering first generation jets such as the DC-8 from Douglass and Boeing's 707 had revolutionized air travel and brought us fully into the jet age. The 707 and its derivatives were making good money for Boeing, but the airlines were demanding more. More range. More payload. More thrust. More of everything.  To make a very long story short, Boeing essentially bet the company on a revolutionary design they called the 747. The original "jumbo jet" entered passenger revenue service in 1970 and ended up being a big success.  Variants are still in production today in both cargo and passenger versions.  The 747 held the record for largest number of passenger seats in an airliner for over 30 years.  It put the company in huge debt, but the payoff ended up being worth it.  Boeing promised the first 747 would be delivered to launch customer Pan Am in 1969, and they kept that promise.  Boeing even had to build a new facility to house production of the 747, to this day the largest building by volume in the world. That huge factory in Everett has produced over 1400 747s.  

Boeing is a role model for me and for Aviation Access Project because they were presented with a need -a need for something never done before -the need for an airplane over twice the size of the largest passenger jets of the day.  Fulfilling the need met the need to take huge financial risks -Boeing had to borrow billions and build the largest building in the world. And they had to deliver in 2/3 of the usual time. Skeptics abounded. People said it could not be done. They were wrong.

Aviation Access Project finds itself in much the same position, albeit on a much smaller scale.  We found a need -the high costs and hassles of access to aviation have made it a shrinking, ever-more-expensive avocation.  If the pilot population was not significantly increased and the economies of scale of the industry radically altered, private aviation as we know it could well disappear. We then came up with a solution -management of shared assets coupled with improved training and community-based Flight Centers.  Skeptics abound. "It'll never work." "You'll fail." "People won't share."  And we personally have made financial investments, taken a risk on an unproved concept.  

Boeing is at it again, betting billions on the success of the 787, an aircraft as radical in concept, design, and construction as the 747 was 40 years ago.  

   

The jury is still out on the 787 as it endures the teething pains of ornery batteries and jittery customers. But I would not bet against Boeing. They have proven they know how to manage risk, how to take chances with the odds on their side, and how to make products that meet their customer's needs.  And I would not bet against Aviation Access Project either. It has been proven that when dedicated people with fantastic ideas and the skills to realize them get together, great things can be done.  It can be a machine as huge as a 747, or as small as a Bristell or Flight Design at your local airport. Size does not matter. Vision does. Boeing has it. So do we.

"Own the Passion of Flying"

Aviation Access: We manage, you fly. That's it!

Sun 'n Fun, Work 'n Play

Aviation Access Project recently attended the 2013 Sun 'n Fun International Fly In and Expo in Lakeland, Florida.  We had a busy time and made some news, but we're tired. So, this first post-SnF blog post will be  mostly photos. Enjoy these while we recover and catch up. Good news coming soon, just give us a few days to get organized.

AAP CEO Rick Matthews is also a member of the Flying Musicians Association. AAP helped sponsor a FMA show at the Sennheiser S1 Stage at Sun 'n Fun.

AAP held our first Flight Center Director Orientation session at our exhibit after the show closed on Saturday night.  Here we see Wichita FCD Tony Hebert and Kissimmee FCD Jonathan Johns on the runway practicing what Tony called "aircraft identification." (We think they were just looking at the cool planes.)

AAP attended the Friday night Corn Roast. (Yummy!) Here were are hanging with Jana Filip, Executive Director of the Sebring LSA Expo.  Left to right we see Randy, Tony, Jana, Rick and Jonathan.

We witnessed the arrival of the latest Bristell to hit the shores of the USA.  Bristell USA owners Amy and Barry Pruitt flew the plane in from Sebring for the show. Here they pose with Tony, who REALLY wants one for the Wichita FC!

Another satisfied customer! Here is Andy after his test flight with Barry in 1 Bravo Lima.  You'll be hearing more about Andy soon enough.

Bristell 1 Bravo Lima on display at the Bristell/AAP/TrueFlight Aerospace exhibit. 1BL attracted quite a crowd with her awesome paint scheme (voted on by AAP fans and clients) and sleek lines. 

Stress? What stress? When you have a couple hundred AAP and Bristell stress balls, the stress of a long show filled with meetings, events, visitors, forums, heat, humidity and customers just melts away!

AAP Partner and member of the family True Flight Aerospace showed off the mockup of the interior of their new version of the iconic Grumman American Tiger. The Tiger will soon be back in production and will be offered by AAP!

AAP and Flight Design USA announced an agreement to have the FD CTLS serve as the AAP high-wing LSA of choice. Now AAP customers have access to the best low-wing LSA with the Bristell and the best high-wing with the CTLS.

All in all, a great show for aviation and Aviation Access! See you at Oshkosh!

We Manage, You Fly. That's It!

AAP Lands at Sun 'n Fun Monday

Aviation Access Project is a proud exhibitor at the 39th annual Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In & Expo held at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Tuesday-Sunday April 9-114.

You are cordially invited to join us at exhibit spaces LP023 and LP026 in Paradise City. We'll be showing off several of our aircraft, including a Bristell, two Tecnams, and a Valor. Visit us to see how easy it is to "Own the Passion of Flying!"

You can also meet our partners:

Bristell USA LP

True Flight Aerospace

And our newest partner Fl... (it's a secret, we announce it Tuesday morning.)

AAP Forums Set for Sun 'n Fun

Aviation Access Project staff will  be hosting several information sessions at Sun 'n Fun.

Rick Matthews will present "Fractional Ownership for us Little Guys," a session on the benefits of shared ownership. He'll have a forums on both Tuesday and Thursday. Check out the forums schedule for times and locations.

Tim Busch, Director of the Cedar Rapids Flight Center will be presenting "Tim's Tent Revival: Exponential GA Growth" Thursday. Tim explains how ideas such as the AAP model will help revitalize private aviation. Details are here.

Rick Matthews and Len Assante will offer AAP's first Flight Center Director Candidate Orientation on Saturday evening. This is an invitation-only session for aspiring FCDs. If you are interested in running your own Flight Center, be sure to contact us before the show or drop by our display before close-of-show on Saturday.

Can't be at Sun 'n Fun? Follow us Online!

Aviation Access Project will be making several announcements at the show regarding new partnerships, new aircraft and new Flight Center locations. Be among the first to know all the details by following us online via our social media feeds. Just click the links to Facebook or Twitter on the main menu.

Sun 'n Fun Radio to Interview AAP and Bristell

Sun 'n Fun Radio will interview representatives of Bristell USA and Aviation Access Project on Friday morning. You can listen over the air on 1510 AM or online at LiveATC.net.

Aviation Access Project: We Manage. You Fly. That's It!

Satisfying The Emotion

Rick is the boss.

(Note: Today's blog is written by AAP CEO Rick Matthews.)

You’ll notice I don’t blog much.  Some say I do every time I send out an email, but I just laugh...and agree.

As I am now 25/8 in this AAP movement, working in the trenches with you all, I sometimes need encouragement and inspiration.  Me, you say?  Many of you say that I am the one that inspires and motivates YOU.  Well, who encourages the Encourager?  You would not believe the forces that come against those who pursue a Noble and Good Purpose.  I gladly face it, though, because I have many reasons to do so. I just think of all of your faces and families and experiences and heartaches and desires.  I face it gladly because deep down I truly believe God creates us and prepares us for greatness that is FAR beyond what we can comprehend.  I think there is a little Moses in all of us.  Let’s embrace that.

As I write this I have Richard Marx’s moving song Ready To Fly playing.  It is incredibly powerful as I see a certain visual in my mind that it brings me to tears…non-stop.  Yes, visuals like taking off, like landing, like carrying passengers that need to get somewhere in a family emergency.  Like giving Young Eagle flights, like my first solo before going back to the loneliness of a dorm with no one to celebrate with, like my check ride after months of gut-wrenching odd jobs to pay for the lessons.  Like climbing the ladder to the next level of plane.  The emotion of this achievement is like falling in love – something somehow bittersweet, but we cannot imagine a life without having experienced it...

I call this “The Emotion.”

The Emotion is what happens when we are smitten by The Bug.  It is among our most dominant positive emotions.  After all, being able to control a machine that rises off the ground under control and safely returning it back to Earth is nothing short of a miracle; an achievement; a privilege.  The Emotion is tough to keep in check, though we seem to want to for some reason.  Maybe for us guys, the ego gets in the way of expressing it at times.  And here, finally, is the subject for this blog.

This industry we participate in is what I call a Passion Industry.  People get into it for various reasons - to be close to planes, the people, the business, the gains, the losses.  This passion is no discriminator of people – it can attract The Egotistic, The Selfish, and The Greedy just as easily is it attracts The Genuine, The Heartfelt, The Giving, and The Sharing.  How we present and manage this massive Project we call Aviation Access determines in very large part what kind of people will join us.  We must be careful.

I am almost overwhelmed by the sheer scope, opportunities, and magnitude of the Project.  What an amazing vision we have come up with.  1000 Flight Centers?  Wow.  Double the number of pilots?  Are you kidding?  You came up with those goals, not just me.

We know we’ll have those who want to come in and take over because they were too egotistical to work WITH us in the beginning.  We’ll have those who fuss about the franchise fee for the privilege of becoming a FC Director. [I've already dismissed several requests, and they got ugly with me for having done so.]  We’ll have those who say this won’t work.  We’ll have those who choose to ignore us as we represent a possible threat to them.  That’s ok.  Just remember: “He who says it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it.”

It's ok also because for each negative person we meet, we are finding one or two or ten people who GET IT. Who have the PASSION. And who want to see positive change for our beloved industry.

Just know we can embrace and express an amazing advantage: The Emotion.  We know what it is.  We are comfortable enough and humble enough to talk about it.  It keeps us immune from being a SNIOP (Zig Ziglar’s term for “ Susceptible to the Negative Influence of Other People”).  It is our common denominator.  Not the lowest, mind you, but common.

Why am I thinking about this now?  Two epiphanies recently made me stop and explore the evidence that there is indeed yet another purpose that was missing from our original plans.  This “additional purpose” is, at its most elementary level, Satisfying That Emotion.

The first epiphany was during some recent cash flow stress for even the expenses to get this up and going.  You all have done all you can, and we need more constantly until sales kick in nicely, but it will come.  It is a struggle.  Especially when I have to ask Verizon to please extend me another few days until I figure it out…  I think God need to show me another reason why to do this…

Here’s the other one.  This one REALLY hit me hard.  You will have the opportunity of meeting Paula Breton at Sun 'n Fun.  Paula is an Atlanta-based pilot who has found out about AAP and is becoming somewhat of a savant when it comes to wanting to create The Emotion.  She lives and breathes aviation.  She lives and breathes the essence of an Ambassador, which she plans to be at several ATL-area Flight Centers.  She used to own a Cessna 150, but these days she rents from three different locations just to make sure she has access when her budget allows.  She also is no stranger to asking fellow pilots to allow her to ride along if there is an empty seat.  As we got acquainted on our Facebook page, I was struck by her dedication, and the obvious presence of The Emotion.  She is one you often see our page, clicking LIKE to funny or cool comments or developments.  She has taken the time to express to me that because this is primarily a man’s industry, she finds herself in awkward situations sometimes while simply in the pursuit of Satisfying That Emotion.

Imagine the frustration of not having good “access” to Satisfying That Emotion.  She trusted me well enough apparently to pour her heart out, to express it, to convey the desire to be in it, to work in it, to share it with others, to simply….be… in it.  I am humbled and overwhelmed by this expression, as Paula has so eloquently done in her delightful Michigan accent.  When at SnF, get to know her. Encourage her as she does you.  This is the essence of Family.

This, my friends, is what renews my resolve and gets me back on the road, the phone, and through the wringer. This is why I come across boldly sometimes when I plead with people to drop that self-destructive ego and LIVE TO GIVE! I'm maybe too bold at time, but I thank Len for helping keep me in check. (Editor's note: It's not easy!)

This goes way beyond the money.  It goes way beyond the wealth creation now that I know what is in store for all of us.  It goes way beyond the fleeting notoriety or fame or popularity this may create.

This industry needs the project. To help satisfying that Emotion.

Seems to me it is yet another way of saying, “getting closer to God”. We're spiritual beings, you know.

Let’s have a great Sun 'n Fun filled with hope and emotion, always being willing to help others get there, too.

God bless you all.

Rick Matthews

We manage. You Fly. That's It!