Photography by Steve Schulte
Every time Joe and Melinda Herring walk up to their 1993 Beechcraft King Air B200, they think about the multitude of colors they considered for the stripe in the exterior paint scheme and the many carpet samples they scrutinized for the interior. Beyond a finished airplane, they see the decisions, delays, redesigns and lessons learned during a yearlong refurbishment that touched nearly every inch of the aircraft they call Geaux Aire, an homage to Joe’s Cajun roots.
While getting to the finish line took longer than expected and required far more patience than he imagined, Joe said it was worth it to be able to settle into the cabin of an airplane that is fast, capable, distinctive and tailored to the way he and Melinda travel.
“I look back at the whole process with a lot of pride and satisfaction,” he said. “It was frustrating at times, no question. But when it was all said and done, we ended up with an airplane that really fits our mission, feels like home to us, and we’ve had a lot of fun with it already.”
Now 10 months into enjoying the completed Geaux Aire, Joe shares his experience and lessons learned as a non-pilot owner taking on coordinating the extensive overhaul.
The path to aircraft ownership
Joe used business aviation for much of the second half of his career in health care, appreciating it as an executive tool for efficient travel. When he retired a decade ago in the Savannah, Georgia, area, he continued flying privately including using Wheels Up and Jet Linx services.
When a friend, business owner and non-pilot aircraft owner started talking to Joe about ownership, he initially scoffed at the idea thinking he didn’t fly enough.
“He told me he wanted to take me on three or four flights over a period of months so I could really understand the convenience and economics of having your own airplane,” Joe recalled.
Those flights made an impression. A fly-fishing trip to the Bahamas got them from Savannah to the dock at South Andros in 1 hour and 45 minutes. A visit to his mother in Louisiana took two hours instead of a full day of commercial travel and delivered them to a small airport just minutes from her home. A day trip to Annapolis, Maryland, to see a friend’s boat construction project sealed the deal.
“By then, I was hooked,” he said.
That same friend felt a King Air matched the Herrings’ mission profile, and Joe had good memories of flying in King Airs via several private aviation companies. Soon they’d found their first airplane: a one-owner 1999 King Air C90 being sold by the University of Georgia. It proved to be an ideal introduction to ownership and gave him firsthand experience with the realities of operating his own aircraft.
“That C90 turned out to be a sweetheart,” he said. “My wife and I found that we used it plenty, and a couple of dry leases helped with covering the cost of inspections, repairs and fixed expenses. We enjoyed it far more than I thought we would.”
It even opened the door to trips they had never imagined taking. One favorite became what they called their “magic carpet ride” – a quick 16-minute flight to Amelia Island with another couple, a walk on the beach for sunset photos, a great dinner and then back home by 10 p.m.
The C90 also clarified what Joe wanted next.
“It was cost effective, it was a time machine, and while I didn’t want to get carried away, I wanted to go a little faster, a little higher and a little farther,” he said.
A few months into his search in 2024, Joe found a 1993 King Air B200 with the right fundamentals: a solid airframe with only 4,000 hours, upgraded -52 Blackhawk engines, most of the Raisbeck modifications, BLR winglets and enough promise to justify taking on a major project. He bought the aircraft in August 2024, knowing it would need extensive work before it would become the airplane he had in mind.
His expectation was ambitious but reasonable: If things stayed on the schedule offered by the various shops and vendors, the airplane might be ready for a planned family Christmas trip.
Instead, the refurbishment extended well beyond the holidays. Geaux Aire was finally completed just in time for a family trip to Elbow Cay, Bahamas, in June 2025.
“My thought was it was a solid airplane and even if my plans didn’t work out, I could probably sell it for what I was paying for it so I wasn’t taking a lot of risk,” Joe said. “I had never done anything like refurbishing a plane, but I’d done a lot of complex projects. My wife signed up and we took it on as a project together. I love creating things together in a way that gives both of us ownership in the process and the outcome.”
Customizing Geaux Aire
What followed the Herrings’ purchase of BB-1462 was a true nose-to-tail refurbishment. The aircraft received a major avionics upgrade to the Garmin G1000 NXi flight deck, including Autothrottle and Autoland, along with new interior, new paint scheme and performance improvements. Overhauling MT-Propeller’s 5-blade props and the landing gear, as well as adding Raisbeck leading edges, an Airtext moving map and additional sound insulation were also part of the refresh.
More than a list of upgrades, the Herrings focused on cohesion so that Geaux Aire feels thoughtfully considered from front to back and inside to outside. That consistency came in part from the work of Paul Hawkins, sole proprietor of Flying Cow Upholstery in Savannah.
“Paul was a key partner and played a major role in the project,” Joe said. “He helped us think through not just the interior, but how the whole airplane aesthetic should come together. We spoke at least three times a week for months.”
Paul helped the Herrings envision the aircraft’s finished identity from the outset by refining the original paint scheme, carrying those colors into the interior, reimagining the cabin aesthetic and making countless detail decisions throughout the airplane. Choices about the thickness and color of the contrasting seat thread, smooth versus grain leather, pleated window shades versus polarizers and whether to resurface the cabinetry in laminate or real burled walnut veneer all took time, samples and careful evaluation.
As another example, once the headliner and side panels were removed and stripped of their old fabric, they showed their age. The panels needed to be repaired and reinforced before they could be recovered and reinstalled.
Working from the Herrings’ overall vision, Paul thought spatially and used practical design logic to help translate ideas into a finished interior that was distinctive without being overdone. He helped modernize the floor appearance with seat-track and seat-leg covers, and he solved smaller functional issues, such as making cabinet drawers and tables work more smoothly – details that materially affect how an airplane feels in everyday use.
“Paul has a very good eye, but he also understands how things need to work,” Joe said. “That combination made a real difference.”
Joe also noted the level of finish Paul brought to the project, from aligning every visible Phillips screw in the wall and ceiling panels to using leftover fabrics to craft custom luggage for the aircraft.
Melinda was also closely involved on the aesthetic side, helping select colors, fabrics and finishes, even within the limitations imposed by burn certifications and other aircraft regulations. Joe wanted Geaux Aire to feel like their airplane, so Melinda’s input and agreement were important throughout the process. Paul even custom-cut and fabricated the foam support in Melinda’s seat to fit her perfectly.
The result is polished, but not flashy. Personal, but still practical and FAA-compliant.
For Joe, that was always the point. This was never about creating a showpiece for admiration on the ramp, he said. It was about creating the right airplane for the life he and Melinda live. The Herrings said they pay close attention to detail in all aspects of their lives, and the Geaux Aire refurbishment was no exception.
“I didn’t manage this myself to save money,” he said. “I enjoyed the complexity of the project, and I wanted it done precisely to our expectations. The conflicts along the way didn’t discourage me for long. I enjoyed figuring out why a problem arose and how we could solve it. I’m not afraid to pick up the phone, call people with experience and expertise, and ask lots of questions. I learned a lot through the process.”
Lessons learned from the refurb
The process reinforced what Joe now sees as the central truth of large refurbishment projects: Owners should expect them to take longer than expected or promised, require substantial time and attention and demand more follow-through than they may initially imagine.
“It wasn’t one delay,” he said. “It was one delay after another. That’s the part anyone considering a King Air restoration needs to understand. Even when everyone means well, these projects will stretch. There will be surprises and there will be excuses.”
Joe advises other owners to check references carefully, especially for paint, avionics and interior work; to build extra time into every stage of the schedule; and to be honest with themselves about whether they want to manage a project of this size and complexity.
“If you don’t have patience, hire someone else to manage your project,” he said. “And if you’re not curious about learning new things or comfortable managing conflict and relationships with sometimes quirky mechanic-artist types who may not communicate well or manage to timelines, don’t try to do it yourself.”
Knowing all of this, he said he would do it again. The family has thoroughly enjoyed the airplane in the months since completion, and Joe said that early use has only reinforced the value of taking the time to get it right.
Joe shared these key takeaways from his experience:
- Plan for the work to take considerably longer than promised.
- Check references carefully, especially for paint, avionics and interior shops. A small delay in this early phase is worth it because owners will be heavily dependent on the people they select. It is virtually impossible to move a disassembled airplane to another shop if things go badly.
- Be very specific in the work order and in setting expectations.
- Expect many follow-up conversations and visits back to the shop – even after delivery – for squawks, adjustments and punch list items. When possible, proximity helps. Geaux Aire has already been back to one shop or another five times. While the repairs are generally covered under warranty, the travel costs associated with getting the plane to and from the shop are not insignificant.
- Use fixed-price agreements where appropriate to protect against timeline overruns.
- Stay closely involved, or hire someone qualified to manage the project for you. King Air maintenance shops are incredibly busy, experienced mechanics are aging out and general aviation is growing faster than new mechanics are being trained.
- Be careful when selecting a vendor for ceramic coating. It is an evolving industry, full of unfamiliar jargon, variable application processes and wildly inconsistent pricing.
- Focus on building the airplane that fits your mission, not someone else’s idea of the perfect aircraft.
He said involving his wife in the design aspects and making it a family adventure became a meaningful part of the process, and the Herrings feel they left nothing on the table.
“It was a long and often frustrating process, but it was fun and rewarding too,” Joe said. “We learned so much about the airplane, met craftsmen we now consider friends and ended up with something that was custom-made for us. She’s a really pretty bird that cruises at 300 knots. Every time we board the plane, we smile from ear to ear. We remember every carefully considered decision and the good folks who helped us along the way.”