Aviation business proves hard work can pay off

Ten years ago, Pensacola was working its way through one of its biggest economic reversals. The loss of 3,000 jobs at Pensacola Naval Aviation Depot, a two-year, phased shutdown completed June 29,1995.

For 81 years, the depot- started in 1914 with seven aircraft, 23 enlisted personnel and one mechanic- was faithful to its mission of keeping military wings aloft. At its peak, in 1945, it employed 7,800 people in 82 buildings.

When the depot closed, most of the remaining employees retired, moved away or took other types of jobs in the area.

However, some thought there was a better option. Gary Boutwell, a 28-year depot employee, and his wife, Glen, a banker, decided- along with seven of Gary's fellow depot workers- to use in the private sector their depot-earned skills in aircraft repair and maintenance. They possessed a considerable investment to offer the business: more than 200 years of experience.

Their company, Aviation Systems of Northwest Florida Inc., celebrated it's 10th anniversary last week. It has 54 employees, 18 in Pensacola, the rest at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, where ASI recently landed a seven-year Raytheon subcontract to service maintenance training devices.

The anniversary didn't come easily, admits Glen Boutwell, company president and majority owner. At year seven, she was ready to give up.

"I went to the stockholders' meeting prepared to shut it down, feeling we'd fought the good fight and were barely hanging on, Boutwell said.

"But the guys wouldn't let me feel defeated. So I said, 'OK, we'll pull out all the stops- market as hard as we can.' We did, got a few more things going, and it worked out."

Stockholder Remus Foster was, through the years, one of their most convincing cheerleaders, she says.

"We were too stubborn to quit," offers general manager Gary Boutwell.

Today's main Pensacola contract is building H-60 aircraft trainers for the Naval Air Technical Training Center, headquartered now where the depot once stood. The work included building models for engine-repair training and rescue hoist operations. Lately they've started a Flight Service Division, hoping to land contracts for pilot and navigator training. They already have former military instructors on board.

The hardest part of startup, says Gary, "was getting our foot in the door, and proving, as a company, we could do the work".

"We contacted military-supply companies and service people we knew, and faithfully hit all the trade shows and small-business seminars, with our smiling faces and handing out our brochures," Glen said.

Last year, the business did pretty well, she says.

"It's paying all the bills and giving everyone a good living." As for the main difference between their depot years and life as small business owners: "Then Gary went home and turned it off until the next day. Now everywhere we go, we're wired."

The depot's closure, wrought by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission- now gearing up for another round- was an example of a decision that didn't go our way. The Boutwell team's persevering response is an example of a decision that did.

Happy anniversary.

Charlotte Crane