Big River Aviation Settles Into Larger Facility: A Day In the Life of a Great Midwest Aviation Resource

By Carmelo Turdo

Big River Aviation has completed the second week in their larger, centrally-located facility at the West Terminal of St. Louis Downtown Airport. Along with having direct access to the apron, the new location offers hangar space to service two twins or more single piston-engine aircraft and ample storage and office space for the growing business. Big River Aviation has already been using their new space effectively, completing several aircraft inspections and positioning another twin for annual inspection and avionics upgrade work. 
  

Big River Aviation provides aircraft maintenance, aircraft rental and flight training services. Aircraft inspections, repairs and avionics upgrades are performed by highly experienced maintenance technicians. Big River Aviation’s Cessna 172 is available for rental, flight training and local flights.     

"Big River Aviation provides annual and 100-hour inspections, scheduled and un-scheduled maintenance, repairs, and service to avionics, structures and engines," Owner Paul Voorhees told The Aero Experience. "I am very fortunate that my maintenance staff each has over thirty years experience." Voorhees says he is now able to serve more customers simultaneously in the new facility, and he would like to increase his maintenance and certified flight instructor staff in the coming year. Big River Aviation also currently maintains the St. Louis Flight Training fleet along with the company's own Cessna 172.    

The Aero Experience visited Big River Aviation last week as they settled into their new facility. We set out to report on "The Day In the Life" of the operations at the new location, and we were busy all day keeping up with the activity. A day's work can lead to interactions with multiple actors around the airport and in the community as illustrated below. 

Upon our arrival we were taken to a neighboring hangar to pick up a twin-engine Cessna 414 scheduled for an annual inspection and avionics upgrade. The C414 features a pressurized cabin and turbocharged engines with auxiliary fuel tanks. The aircraft will be at Big River Aviation for several weeks as it is thoroughly examined and new cockpit displays are installed. The Aero Experience also accompanied Voorhees in the aircraft for the engine runup test. As the aircraft was being towed to the hangar, the St. Louis Flight Training Cessna 152 emerged following its 100-hour inspection and was taxied to its parking place on the apron. Before long, two technicians had removed the C414's engine cowlings and opened the access doors to begin the inspection. The avionics technician was already in the cockpit before we knew it, and plans were in place for the next steps in the inspection process.  

As the Cessna 414 inspection began, we were again on the move to meet representatives from local Regions Bank branches who were visiting the airport to get first-hand information about the financial product needs of the aviation industry. The tour was arranged through AeroCareers, a non-profit organization that facilitates communication and understanding among the community and the aerospace industry. Along with AeroCareers Board Directors Bob McDaniel and Nick Turk, Big River Aviation's Paul Voorhees (also a Director) lent his expertise to the discussions. During the tour of several hangars, these three experienced aviation professionals gave our guests a comprehensive view of the financial life cycle of aviation operations. There is no better way to learn about aviation than to experience it for yourself, and here the classroom was a Beechcraft E90 King Air. 

Following the hangar tour, our guests were treated to an encounter with a unique aircraft. An ICON Aircraft A5 light sport amphibian, flown by ICON Regional Sales Director Rick Rief, was available for demonstration flights to prospective customers prior to its appearance at a trade show in St. Louis next week. The all-composite Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) was designed with advanced aerodynamic and safety features, including sculpted hull and seawing platforms, folding wings, custom transport trailer, ballistic rescue parachute and car-like cockpit arrangement. The ICON A5 is powered by a Rotax 912iS Sport engine, and features a Garmin GPS flat screen, removable for pre-flight planning. ICON offers east and west coast flight centers for initial LSA pilot training or transition training to the A5 model. The ICON A5 price tag is not for the feint of heart (and that's where financing options are essential), but the advanced features of the design and product support are part of the calculation when considering this high-end LSA amphibian.

After the midday tour activities, we returned to the Big River Aviation hangar to check on the progress of the C414 inspection. In the cockpit, work progressed on the removal of the current avionics panel. Engine compression checks were in full swing, and Voorhees stepped in to verify the test results and discuss next steps in the inspection process with two of his technicians. We even had a few minutes to conduct an interview in the office (to be seen on The Aero Experience YouTube Channel) before we wrapped up our visit. 

The day was action-packed, and we did not even include in this story the morning preparation work or the remaining administrative tasks yet to be accomplished after we departed. Soon there will be more aircraft in the hangar, more flights in the training aircraft and more airport visitors. Tomorrow will be another "Day in the Life" of Big River Aviation.