Page 9 - May 2015 Volume 9, Number 5

He said he expects to hire around 100 people overall this year, with a big focus on the Georgia Rural Delivery Center that opened in 2013. A third center is being considered, possibly in Texas.
The King Air
“Hey, if anyone wants to go to Chicago, I’m going there the Thursday after next,” Shane called out as he walked through one of the floors. “You’ll get there and back same day.”
Mayes leased a Cessna 414 for several years and when he reached the point of flying 200 hours a year he knew it was time to own. The company purchased a 1978 Beechcraft Duke twin-engine piston in 2012. Onshore outgrew it, but kept it in its fleet, when it opened the second Rural Delivery Center in Georgia.
In January 2014, Onshore pur- chased a 1981 King Air B200, singer George Strait being one of the aircraft’s past five owners.
“More people were going on the flights with us as the business grew, and we needed more speed and more range,” Mayes said. “I just love the King Air. I love how it sits on the ramp, and it’s just a safe, reliable airplane. The cabin size is awesome; it’s just right for our needs.”
Mayes also loves the payload and storage capacity, especially on personal trips. “My wife can basically get a minivan-load of stuff in there, we’ve got our three daughters and grandma, and we just get in and go. I don’t know if there’s another airplane with the luggage capacity of a King Air,” he said.
The Duke operates mostly from Georgia, between Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) and MidCoast Re- gional Airport (KLHW), shuttling em- ployees between Onshore’s locations and to meet with clients. The King Air is based at Kirksville Regional Airport (KIRK) because Macon- Fowler Memorial Airport (K89) doesn’t have a hangar large enough.
MAY 2015
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 7