Duncan Aviation has appointed Trevor Yuschyshyn as regional manager representative for Canada. A lifelong resident of Calgary, Alberta, Yuschyshyn brings more than 23 years of aviation experience and knowledge to his new role.

“Trevor's vast experience as a customer along with his knowledge of the Canadian marketplace will serve him well as he represents his peers in his country and ensures that their experiences match their expectations,” says sales manager Phil Suglia, who is responsible for staffing and supporting the company's regional manager team.

For the last seven years, Yuschyshyn was director of maintenance at another aircraft management company. “Duncan Aviation's culture is what makes the company a leader in the aviation industry,” he says. “The culture is infectious. Duncan Aviation looks out for its customers and its team members, and that's what makes it so great.”

Just before earning his diploma in aircraft maintenance engineering in 1996, he started working as an apprentice at an aviation company where he remained for more than 23 years, eventually becoming a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer, working as a crew chief and maintenance project manager, and eventually assuming the role of director of maintenance.

In 2000, a colleague of his took the company Learjet 35 to the Duncan Aviation facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, and over the next 19 years Yushchyshyn accompanied various aircraft back there. He joined the Duncan Aviation customer advisory board in January 2017. “I feel that it is a natural transition to work for the company I've thought so highly of for so many years,” he adds.

Taking on the role of manager of modifications at the company's newest full-service facility in Provo, Utah is Jeff Schipper, who will provide leadership for the interior, avionics install and avionics line departments. For the next several months his primary focus will be on growing and strengthening the teams' capabilities and sizes, and responding to the facility's growing market needs.

Vice president of operations Chad Doehring says: “Jeff will have a huge, positive impact on each of our Provo modifications team members and, ultimately, our customers' experiences.” In his new role, Schipper plans to build on the already strong base team, increase equipment capabilities and help the team prepare for the completion of the facility's backshop areas in early 2020.

He began his career in aviation as a flight control tech in the paint shop at Kal-Aero in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1987. A year later, he graduated from Western Michigan University's College of Aviation with an airframe & powerplant certificate and a commercial pilot licence, before joining the weekend shift in the airframe shop in 1990 and eventually assuming shift supervisor responsibilities in 1995. When Duncan Aviation acquired Kal-Aero in 1998, Schipper transitioned to the new company and was later appointed assistant manager of airframe in Battle Creek. In 2010, when the call came for team members to relocate to Provo to establish the groundwork for a new, full-service facility, he was among the first to volunteer.

"We have a great starting base for our avionics and interior teams, and I am really looking forward to working with both groups to grow our full-service capabilities," says Schipper. “My biggest priority in the coming months is to get the team fully staffed and equipped and ready to face next year's challenges.”

New regional avionics sales manager Michael Kussatz will be supporting avionics install sales for the east coast satellite avionics shop network.

“Michael is well respected in our industry and he brings years of outstanding customer service and product expertise to our team,” says manager of completions and modifications service sales Nate Klenke. “Adding Michael to our team adds great value for our clients and the services we provide.”

Kussatz has more than 26 years of industry experience. After gaining his Bachelor's degree in Aviation Technology he worked at Duncan Aviation in sales and then as a project manager. He also received his MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University before furthering his career with Garmin International.

“I'm thoroughly excited to join the Duncan Aviation family again because working here, you are truly a part of a big, extended family,” says Kussatz. “My father started here in 1967, so I was fortunate to grow up around the first generation of men and women who put Duncan Aviation on the right track. I struggle to work in an office and gravitate to the hangars to work with the professionals who keep the aircraft flying. I feel at home with aircraft owners and operators because, as an aircraft owner myself, I know how hard it can be to keep up with the needs of an aircraft. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work in this field and be close to the professionals who drive this industry.”

Kussatz learned to fly at 16, and swept floors at Duncan Aviation when he was 18 in order to be around the aircraft he's so passionate about. He has a commercial pilot licence and spends much of his free time providing flight instruction.