by CJP Chair Blake Curd
I am very excited that the CJP Board of Directors has made the decision to extend an invitation to our Premier owner colleagues to become owner members in our industry-leading owner pilot organization! Those choosing to become owner members will have access to any and all benefits offered by CJP.
We discussed amongst the board, key people within the Premier community and with our trusted partners Textron and Collins. We found unanimous support for welcoming Premier owner-operators in as owner members and that is where we are today.
In the summer of 2023, a friend acquired a Premier, followed by another. Soon, there were three Premier jets on my home field. My friend asked if I would be interested in flying these airplanes should the need arise. I never want to turn down an opportunity to learn about a new airplane (new to me anyway!) and so I jumped at the chance.
I went to FlightSafety International in Wichita in July 2023 and took the Premier initial course. It was here that I became acquainted with Scott Dickmeyer. At the time, Scott was the program manager for FlightSafety’s Premier program.
Stating that Scott is an encyclopedia of Premier knowledge is a gross understatement. He had been the program manager since its inception and has accumulated a tremendous knowledge base about this airplane and its safe operation. Scott had also assembled a fantastic instructor team and the course was top-notch.
Scott introduced me to Christophe Maskell, who had been the Williams factory representative at Beechcraft during the Premier production run. Following his time with Beechcraft, he moved to Global Aviation Tech in Wichita, where he was the director of maintenance. Christophe later transitioned from Global and opened Wichita Aerospace at Colonel James Jabara airport (AAO.)
Christophe is an extremely knowledgeable and passionate supporter of the Premier aircraft and other legacy airplanes. He had several Premiers in his shop and being able to see the systems and the aircraft in various states was invaluable. I learned a tremendous amount from these two gentlemen during my time in Wichita.
In fact, was able to accumulate more knowledge about the systems of this airplane and its safe operation than during my initial training for Citations. This is not a disparagement of my Citation training; rather, it is just a statement about how incredible the knowledge transfer was from Scott and his FlightSafety team and Christophe.
I was also able to meet and interact with multiple other Premier owner-operators and that continues through today. It should come as no surprise that we share almost everything in common with respect to flying, owning and operating this class of turbo jet aircraft. We share Williams powerplants and Premier pilots fly behind Collins flight decks. We also operate these airplanes single pilot most of the time.
The Premier group also has a very active Facebook presence moderated by Scott Dickmeyer. They are able to communicate and share a lot of knowledge there. During my initial course in Wichita, there was a Premier crash in Malaysia. Being a member of the CJP Safety Committee coupled with my future piloting of this airplane my interest here was certainly piqued!
Not long after, our friend David Miller had a meeting with a very passionate Premier owner in Texas. David and I discussed my experience, his meeting and how much we all (Premier and Citation owner-operators) have in common. We decided it was time to take a look at and discuss again with the CJP Board of Directors our Premier owner-operator friends.
I am eager to see the contributions they will make to our organization and what we will learn from each other about owning, maintaining and flying our amazing airplanes. Premier owners will see immediate benefits from our Safety Committee’s historical work and it will also expand and adapt its offerings specific to Premier operations as needed.
I look forward to our expanded membership and seeing our friends at regional events, member dinners and of course our annual convention in 2025 in San Antonio where there will be a first-of-its-kind breakout session specifically for Premier owners developed together with our new owner-members to ensure what is important to them gets covered! I also look forward to seeing more activity in the Premier section on our forums.
Please join me in welcoming our new members that choose to join us!