Press Release

Issued by Duncan Aviation.

August 1, 2017

Duncan Aviation officially added its 16th Rapid Response engine launch site, this one located in Columbus, Ohio, at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH). Area operators now have more convenient access to Duncan Aviation's mobile engine services, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, AOG support, and even engine changes.

Duncan Aviation has been providing aircraft maintenance services to customers in the Columbus area for years with its full-service MRO locations in Battle Creek, Michigan, and Lincoln, Nebraska. “We are well known in this area for high-quality aircraft maintenance and committed customer service,” says Bill Otte, Duncan Aviation's regional manager to the East Central United States. “Operators here are smart in how they fly and have been steadily increasing their flight hours, which increases their need for convenient engine services. Having a launch site here improves our response time and reduces travel-related costs for operators.”

To better support this increase in flight hours and growing customer demand, Duncan Aviation asked Jon Watson to set up shop in Columbus. According to James Prater, engine service manager, “Jon was excited to take on the unique challenges that our engine road crew face. With his airframe and engine experience, and his high motivation level, he has an excellent combination of skills to support our Ohio-based customers.”

Watson started working at Duncan Aviation in 2011 at the company's Battle Creek location, working on Citations. After a couple years of airframe experience, he moved to the engine line shop where the opportunity for roadtrips to Columbus occurred on a regular basis.

“I traveled to Columbus a lot while performing engine changes and IBR inspections for fleet customers,” he says. “When this position opened up, it was an easy decision. It just made sense.”

Since arriving in the area, Watson has spent a lot of time visiting with customers, letting them know Duncan Aviation is now in the neighborhood. He is encouraged by their responses. “They are excited to have someone close who can support their engines. I have been busy with work around the area ever since."

Watson recognizes a real potential for rapid business growth in the Columbus area. “Columbus, Ohio, is a strategic location. I'm only two hours from Cleveland and Cincinnati, an hour from Dayton, and not too far away from the East Coast. There isn't another similar engine repair service in the area. The truck is packed and I'm ready to go as soon as I get the call.”

As Watson finds time away from work, he is restoring a red 1965 Ford Mustang that his father had owned before he was born. “It is slow work, but a labor of love.”