Page 10 - Volume 14 Number 7

“I was guided by a professional pilot who had flown as safety pilot with me in my light aircraft,” he said. “The test flight confirmed not only that it was the type of aircraft that was ideal for the proposed operation, but the buzz I felt following the flight confirmed to me that electing to switch from law to aviation was the way to go.”
He ended up buying the very aircraft he flew that day, tail number G-BVMA. It is still part of the fleet – “performing sterling work” he says – and a few years ago was retrofitted with Blackhawk PT6A-61 engines and 4-blade props. The aircraft’s avionics have been upgraded and the transponders are scheduled to be modified soon for ADS-B Out.
A little more than two years into operating DragonFly, Howard decided to add a second aircraft to help manage maintenance downtime and overlapping charters. In January 2007, the company
purchased a 1995 King Air B200SE, tail number G-MEGN.
“MEGN was named after our first grandchild,” Howard said. “The aircraft was built as a special equipment model with limited instrumentation and furnishing. On acquisition, it was virtually rebuilt with new avionics, tables, partitions, window polarizers and a full strip and respray in the company livery. Expecting a gradual increase in business, I was taken by surprise by the rapid growth that ensued. This was largely attributable to the brokers who had access to what was, to all intents and purposes, a new aircraft with an attractive beige leather interior that gave the cabin a light and airy feel.”
DragonFly holds an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) issued by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority and technically is classified as an airline since most of its flights are international. More recently, DragonFly has added two more
King Airs to its AOC that were purchased on behalf of clients and are managed and operated for charter by DragonFly. In 2014, a 2003 King Air B200, was purchased for a U.K.-resident French client. This aircraft was originally operated as a training aircraft by the Royal Air Force before it was reconfigured as a civil aircraft, refurbished and repainted in DragonFly’s livery. The aircraft was given the registration G-OLIV after Howard and Nerida’s second granddaughter, Olivia. DragonFly added the fourth King Air in May 2019, taking delivery at the Textron Aviation factory in Wichita, Kansas, of a new King Air 250 with the registration of G-NICB.
“Technically a B200GT, we acquired the 250 for a new client and arranged to ferry the aircraft to Cardiff on a route from Wichita to Montreal in Canada, to Goose Bay in Newfoundland, to Greenland, then Iceland, to the Isle of Man and then to Cardiff – a journey of three days in testing weather conditions,” Howard said. “We manage this aircraft and operate it for commercial charter having generous access to it. Being virtually brand new and looking to be ‘just out of the box,’ it is a firm favorite with clients.”
The company also manages a Nextant 400XTi, a variant of the Hawker 400 and therefore a close relative of the King Air. This aircraft, registration G-SKBD, is used exclusively by its owner and is no longer available for charter.
DragonFly’s business falls into two categories: charters for individuals or corporate clients (booked direct or through brokers) and AOG recovery work for a major U.K. airline. They gained the prestigious contract in 2016. This requires G-MEGN to be stationed at Luton Airport 24/7 and, depending on the time of year, there are either one or two crews in readiness to be airborne within 90 minutes of receiving a request for a flight to take engineers and/or parts to any of the airline’s fleet of 300+ airliners that may be grounded anywhere in Europe.
TSO High Altitude FAA Approved Mask
with comfort fit headgear
King Air Replacement Mask Carbon Fiber
8 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
JULY 2020
Phone (800) 237-6902 www.aerox.com