BACA-The Air Charter Association appointed Julie Black deputy chair, working alongside chairman Nick Weston. Currently executive aviation manager for the charter services firm Hunt & Palmer, Black also has worked at London Biggin Hill Airport and Chapman Freeborn.

Jessica Naor was promoted to chief operating officer for Maryland-based private jet charter provider GrandView Aviation. Naor previously was chief marketing officer.

Jet Aviation appointed David Best senior v-p and general manager, regional operations U.S. He succeeds David Paddock, who was promoted to president of the Jet Aviation Group. Most recently senior v-p strategic global growth, Best joined Jet Aviation in January 2017 and has played an integral role in the acquisition and integration of Hawker Pacific and the recent stake in Scottsdale Jet Center.

FlightSafety International promoted Patricia Arundell-Lampe to senior v-p and CFO. A former audit manager for Price Waterhouse and CFO of Chyron Corp., Arundell-Lampe joined FlightSafety in 2000 as a financial manager and since has served as chief financial director, as well as treasurer.

Flying Colours expanded its international team with the naming of Paul Dunford to the newly created role of managing director, international operations and Andrew Pearce as European sales manager. Dunford, who joined Flying Colours in 2014, launched the company’s Singapore operation and served as general manager of Flying Colours Corp. Asia PTE Ltd. Pearce has 35 years of international experience in the MRO, completions and aircraft sales, previously serving with Canadian, Middle Eastern, and European business aviation entities and having experience with the Bombardier aircraft family.

Safran Helicopter Engines appointed Bernard Barussaud executive v-p operations. Barussaud is a 27-year company veteran, joining the Snecma engineering department in 1992 and later becoming head of services for the cost estimates department, director of Snecma manufacturing excellence center for compressor blades, and most recently executive v-p of manufacturing at Safran Transmissions Systems.

Professional Aircraft Accessories named Jonathan Clarke v-p and general manager. Clarke joins Professional Aircraft Accessories after spending 30 years with Delta Air Lines, where he most recently was v-p and general manager for landing gear, engine operations, and APUs.

Uniflight Global named Raymond Weiser v-p of sales. Weiser brings 42 years of experience in rotary and fixed-wing operations to his new role, serving with companies including Turbomeca, Rolls-Royce, Vector Aerospace, and Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI).

Ray Kuliavas joined Levaero Aviation as vice president with a focus on business development as the Pilatus authorized sales and service center begins deliveries of the PC-24 in Canada. Kuliavas has more than 40 years of aviation experience, including a background with aircraft sales, marketing and brand growth, business development, and services development.

Richard Mumford has joined the London-based commercial law firm REN Legal as a partner. Mumford, who recently completed a three-year term as chairman of BACA – The Air Charter Association, formerly served as head of commercial litigation and head of aviation Stevens & Bolton.

Gulfstream Aerospace named Mark Bates general manager of its Palm Beach International Airport site in Florida. Most recently having served as Gulfstream's service manager focused on large-cabin aircraft in Savannah, Bates brings more than 40 years of aviation experience to his new role, including management position with BAE Systems.

Mark Withrow was appointed plant leader for the GE Aviation’s Strother facility in Crowley County, Kansas. Withrow, who has more than three decades of aerospace industry experience, formerly was v-p and general manager of U.S. composites for Kaman Corporation.

Milestone Aviation Group named Sebastien Moulin head of Europe and Americas and Michael York head of emerging markets. Moulin, who has more than 10 years of helicopter industry sales experience with companies including Airbus Helicopters and Bell, will lead Milestone’s OEM relationships with Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo. York, a former military helicopter and fighter pilot who also has experience in the oil and gas industry, will be responsible for the Sikorsky and Bell Flight OEM relationships.

Duncan Aviation appointed Nate Darlington director of modifications at its facility in Battle Creek, Michigan. Darlington, who will continue as manager of the Battle Creek paint department, joined Duncan’s interior shop when he was 19, later moving into supervisory and sales roles before taking his current role as manager of the paint department in 2017.

Sundance Helicopters promoted Ricardo Dowdy to director of maintenance. Most recently maintenance manager, Dowdy has served with Sundance since 2011 as an aircraft mechanic and has had experience in running day-to-day maintenance operations, as well as a background in writing approved aircraft inspection programs, minimum equipment lists, and company manuals.

C&L Aviation Group named Gus Taylor recruiting manager. Taylor brings more than a decade of aviation industry recruiting experience to his new role.

David Carter, previously with L-3 Aviation, has joined Universal Avionics as regional sales manager for the Northwestern U.S. and will support the company’s authorized dealers and integrators in Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Cadence Aerospace appointed Jacob Haynes group controller for its Washington State operations. Most recently controller at Cadence Aerospace Precision Machine Works in Tacoma, Washington, Haynes expands his chief accountant responsibilities to also include the company’s Giddens operation in Everett, Washington.

Duncan Aviation has named lifelong Calgary, Alberta resident Trevor Yuschyshyn as its regional manager representative for Canada. Previously a director of maintenance at an aircraft management company and a member of Duncan’s customer advisory board, Yuschyshyn brings more than 23 years of aviation experience and knowledge to his new role. The company also promoted Jeff Schipper, most recently a project manager at its Provo, Utah facility, to manager of modifications at the full-service location.

The Av8 Group hired Karen Winterrowd as sales director. Winterrowd has more than 20 years of experience, serving with companies including Garrett Aviation, Arnoni Aviation, and most recently as CFO of Ship It AOG.

Aircraft Specialties Inc. increased the role of Gene Portela to include oversight of the purchasing and marketing departments. Portela will additional retain his duties as director of sales for the Omaha, Nebraska-based company.

Cutter Aviation promoted Taylor Butterfield flight department manager for its charter and flight management department based in Phoenix. Butterfield joined Cutter in early 2016 as a pilot serving on its HondaJet and King Air teams and before that, held numerous roles with General Atomics.

Midwest Corporate Aviation (MCA) promoted Andy Arnold to general manager and Steffen Blevins to fuel/line service director. Arnold, who joined MCA in 2017 and has served as director of operations and chief pilot, previously was a captain for Lyon Aviation, Ameriflight, and Tradewind Aviation. Blevins has served with MCA since January 2012, beginning as a line service technician and most recently as a line service manager.

West Star Aviation named John Lowe satellite manager at the company’s location in Chicago. Lowe brings 36 years of aviation experience to his new role, including as industry as crew chief, director of maintenance, chief inspector and accounts manager.

Final Flight

Johnny Gantt, the long-time aircraft broker and co-founder of the National Aircraft Resale Association—now the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA)—died on May 14. He was 83.

Gantt founded Gantt Aviation in Georgetown, Texas, in 1971, building the business into a well-known international business jet and turboprop brokerage. He also helped found the National Aircraft Resale Association in 1991 to pursue a code of ethics in the business of acquiring, selling, and trading aircraft.

Born May 2, 1936, in Sweetwater, Texas, Gantt became interested in aviation after a pilot visited his high school to discuss flight careers, according to local obituary information. Soon after he took flight lessons and bought a Piper J3 Cub with money he earned working nights at a cotton gin. After graduation, he became a flight instructor in San Marcos, Texas, and eventually teamed with a local FBO owner, James Miller, to co-own Miller Flying Service in Plainview, Texas.

About 15 years later Gantt sold his share back to Miller, moved his family to Austin, and established his brokerage firm. While selling planes, he continued to fly them, amassing more than 25,000 flight hours.

NBAA recently marked the passing of its former vice president of operations and retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert Cooke, who died on March 10 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cooke served with NBAA from 1973 to 1987, providing analysis and representing members on flight safety issues and federal aviation regulations.

Born in Schenectady, New York, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952 and became a naval aviator and navigator of the attack aircraft carrier USS Constellation in 1970 to 1971. After retiring from the Navy, he joined NBAA, where he worked on safety issues with the FAA, lawmakers, airport management organizations, and other entities on behalf of members. Cooke concluded his career as a consultant to the Flight Safety Foundation.