Avionics News November 2012 - 40

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What’s your role at Banyan?
I’m director of avionics and responsible for everything in the department – P&L, service work, installations, STCs and new products. I contribute to the sales activity and marketing. I’ve been there almost six years.

Brian Wilson of Banyan Air Service

With...
this day, I have a lot of good friends who worked in electronics in the Navy and the Marines, and we all went to the same electronics school in Millington, Tenn.

What’s a typical day for you?

What’s your background?
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he Banyan avionics team offers comprehensive avionics installations, repairs, and modifications and is an authorized dealer for all major avionics manufacturers. In addition to high-speed data solutions, they have extensive installation experience with in-flight entertainment upgrades, glass cockpits, LPV/WAAS upgrades, flight management systems, satellite TV, enhanced ground proximity warning systems, multifunction displays, satellite communications, Iridium and traffic collision avoidance systems. Banyan’s avionics division has earned Federal Aviation Administration Diamond Awards, and is authorized as both an FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency repair station. In addition, the company has earned repair station designations for Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. Recently, Patricia Luebke, Avionics News contributor, spoke with Brian Wilson to learn about his work at Banyan.
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avionics news

I’ve worked in the aviation industry for 34 years. I started in the Navy out of high school. I was in the Navy for seven years and worked on aircraft and the black boxes. Once out of the Navy, I moved to South Florida and was a radar bench technician and line troubleshooter. I worked for numerous large companies – Bombardier, Midcoast, Raytheon and 10 years at Jet Aviation in West Palm Beach.

When you joined the Navy, did you have an interest in electronics?

No, but you take an aptitude test. I did not pick electronics. I was 17 years old and joined with a friend on the buddy system. When they came back to me, the Navy recruiter told me my mechanical skills aren’t high, but my math and analytical skills were – so he said I’d do well in avionics. I had never heard the word before but didn’t want to admit it. I went to a dictionary and didn’t find it. Finally, I went to a Radio Shack and bought a dictionary of electronics from 1978, which I still have. To

We start our first meeting at 7:30 a.m. It’s a production meeting for all the technical departments – maintenance and avionics. All the managers attend, and we review the milestones of each aircraft. That’s followed by a departmental meeting with all my staff where we go into more detail of the milestones. Each meeting usually takes 10 to 12 minutes. In the morning, I review my email with a focus on any sales activity that I feel I could contribute and help close a deal. Then, I spend some time focusing on marketing. Since we meet once a week, I usually have a few action items to attend. Later in the day, I will get on the floor to see how production is coming along and chat with my talented staff. A typical day also includes looking at new products, reviewing proposals and attending to any customer concerns or needs.

How many staff members do you have?
My total staff, including sales, parts and admin, is about 20.

How has business been?

At Banyan, business has been steady. We benefit from having a great location, a great FBO with a new building and hangars. We have many international customers, so we were able to add to our employee base the past few years when many companies were not.

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Avionics News November 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News November 2012