Greater Waco Business Magazine - Summer 2020

by Leigh Davis, Director of Marketing and Communications, Greater Waco Chamber

In March 2020, we paused production of this edition of Greater Waco Business Magazine to focus on COVID-19 communications to our members and the broader business community. Focus pivoted back to production of this publication in tandem with the first phases of reopening in the state and the local community. For this revised version of the small business spotlight, I interviewed the president and CEO of Blackhawk Aerospace via the socially distant method of the telephone, while he drove to Austin to sell airplanes. The resulting article is a reminder that business is built on an idea and a solid belief that it will succeed.

Blackhawk Aerospace

Blackhawk Aerospace is the recognized leader in performance improvements for turboprop aircraft. Founded in 1999 in Waco, Texas, the company serves customers worldwide in the commercial and government markets. Today, Blackhawk Aerospace comprises Blackhawk Aerospace Upgrades, Blackhawk Aerospace Aircraft Sales, Blackhawk Aerospace Solutions, and Blackhawk Aerospace Composites.

Blackhawk Aerospace Upgrades supports the largest installed fleet of STC twin- and single-engine turboprop upgrades, making Blackhawk the largest non-OEM buyer of new Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines in the world. To date, almost 900 XP Engine+ Upgrades have been delivered for Caravan, Cheyenne, Conquest, and King Air aircraft, all featuring factory-new Pratt & Whitney Canada engines. Blackhawk upgrades have the strongest resale value of any engine upgrade on the market. A worldwide network of approved dealers and service support centers complement Blackhawk’s U.S. facilities.

The idea and the genesis of the business

When the idea of building a turboprop modification business occurred to Jim Allmon, he met with resistance. He proposed the idea to his then employer, who responded, “Jim, if I want your idea, I will give it to you.” Following that exchange, Allmon aligned with two business partners and built an aircraft sales business instead, without losing sight of the novel idea he envisioned.

Determined to find a means to enter the turboprop modification world, a friend offered an original Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for a Cessna Conquest to Allmon. An STC provides Federal Aviation Administration approval to modify the existing type of aircraft. He subsequently reached out to his partners/investors in the aircraft sales company he led at the McGregor Executive Airport to rally interest and support for the new business endeavor. The concept received swift criticism over the lack of successful comparable companies, the cost to invest in an unproven product, and the possible risk factors. The partners questioned why Allmon would want to do it, since no market existed to support this type of business. He responded, “Because I believe it will work! I can feel it in my soul. I am telling you that it will be successful, but it will be a lot of hard work.” Allmon continued, “I am going to buy this STC personally. I will resign my position with Aurora Aviation to go do this other thing. I wish you guys luck and will see you later.” Two days later, the partners reached out to him and committed their support to the new business venture. “That was the very beginning- the birth of Blackhawk,” according to Allmon.

Why Blackhawk

As part of the company’s branding, the Blackhawk symbol appears on the tail of its modified aircrafts signaling their high-performance engines. When asked about the source for the name Blackhawk, Allmon responded that he wanted “something cool, something fast.” When he traveled to Wichita, Kansas to talk about his new business venture with twin-engine turboprop manufacturer Beechcraft Aircraft, upon his arrival he noticed a blackhawk bird sitting on top of the taxiway sign leading to the service center. On seeing the blackhawk perched on the sign Allmon stated, “I said, that’s the company name right there. It gave me the idea to call it that, so that is what we did.”

Pursuit of the idea

To launch the turboprop modification business, Blackhawk sought to contract with Pratt & Whitney for the high-performance turboprop engines it manufactures. After endless unanswered and unreturned calls over a six-month period, Allmon reached out for assistance from other aircraft modifiers that worked with the engine manufacturer. “They wouldn’t take my call because I was nobody, and this is a very, very large company. So, I called other modifiers and asked them how to get into contact with someone. I wanted someone to listen to me,” stated Allmon. A colleague supplied a name and assured Allmon that he would be heard. During the first call, the Pratt & Whitney contact advised Allmon that they receive 10 calls a week from people that think they have a great idea but are missing the wherewithal to make it happen. To which Allmon responded, “Well, I have the wherewithal, I have the backing, I have the knowledge, and I have the drive.”

The Blackhawk team formally pitched the idea to Pratt & Whitney three weeks following initial contact and, although the manufacturer agreed that no other company existed in the marketplace, they questioned whether it would be a successful endeavor. Pratt & Whitney ultimately rejected Blackhawk’s proposal and thanked the team for their time. Allmon refused to give up, and after a short pause to contemplate the next step, the Blackhawk team revamped their business plan and began calling Pratt & Whitney again. They were invited back to Pratt & Whitney six months later for another meeting that included lawyers, engineers, and managers, as well as the requested personal financial statements of Allmon and his two partners. “I thought it was strange,” said Allmon about the request from Pratt & Whitney for their financial statements. With a personal guarantee from him to sell a specific number of engines within 5 years, Pratt & Whitney offered Blackhawk a contract. Consequently, Blackhawk upgraded the engines on its Cessna Conquest and Allmon flew around the country demonstrating the enhanced performance of the upgraded engines. Blackhawk sold the contracted number of engines in approximately 2.5 years and embarked on the journey that led the company to success in the aircraft modification industry. On the pursuit of the idea, Allmon noted, “I could see it. I could see it in my mind’s eye. It was just so clear to me, but it was hard to articulate to banks and to the partners.”

Creating a Market

The challenge of selling a product without a proven market required a unique approach that both created and satisfied a need and/or want. “People would say ‘my airplane is fast enough’ and I would ask ‘don’t you want to go any faster’ and they would respond ‘no.’ To that, I would ask ‘are you sure’ and they would respond ‘yes.’ I would offer to give them a ride, just to be sure,” according to Jim Allmon, who flew across the country demonstrating the performance of the upgraded engines and intending to establish a market. He told the story of one skeptic that agreed to go on one of these rides in Colorado, “I took him up and flew him around and we flew out over the Rockies and we were going through 12,000 feet and I said, ‘if you lost an engine here, what would you do on a snowy, cloudy, or rainy day,’ and the guy answered, ‘well I would be in a world of hurt.’ I said ‘well, let’s just see what happens.’ I reached over and shut the engine off on one side and we kept climbing out like no problem and we leveled off at 20,000 feet...and his mouth was hanging open, and he says, ‘I guess I just bought a set of engines.’”

Why Waco

Allmon considered moving Blackhawk to Tulsa during its early years, when he could not find a hangar at Waco Regional Airport to house the business and it faced challenges as a new entity in the area. Tulsa’s Economic Development Group offered Blackhawk a hangar with offices and covered moving costs if the company would bring 17 jobs to the community. Discussing the offer, Allmon said, “I can do that. I hung up the phone and told my wife, ‘I guess we are moving the company to Tulsa.’ She was excited since she is from there and we went home and sat around the kitchen table to discuss it with our daughter and son, Lindsay and Eric. Lindsay was 10 or 12 years old, at the time, and she started crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said ‘I don’t want to move. I have my friends in Texas and I don’t want to move. And you don’t like Oklahoma.’” Allmon told his daughter that he had to do what was best for the company. “And she said, ‘dad something will come along. I am not moving.’ A little girl kept Blackhawk in Waco. True story.”

For more than 2 years, Blackhawk conducted business from a downtown Waco office, while trying to build a hangar in the city. “Kudos to the Waco Chamber. I couldn’t get my hangar built and someone suggested that I get the Economic Development arm of the Chamber on my side and let them help me. We were doing pretty well, but we didn’t have any hangars,” said Allmon. He met with the Economic Development team and they listened, and at the end of the meeting the Senior Vice President at that time, Pat Nowotny, “shook my hand and said we will make it happen.” A month later, Blackhawk entered into monthslong negotiations over a lease agreement with the City of Waco for a hangar at Waco Regional Airport. “Finally, we got it all done and it was absolutely due to the efforts of the Waco Chamber.”

Accessing Aviation Talent

Allmon supports building a local talent pipeline in the aviation industry. When he chaired the Greater Waco Aviation Alliance in 2008, he and his wife, Lynnette, conceptualized and partnered with the Greater Waco Chamber to create the Freedom Ball. The annual event benefits the Greater Waco Aviation Alliance Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships to McLennan County high school and college students pursuing aviation, aerospace and engineering careers and support target industry marketing of Greater Waco’s aerospace industry.

“Waco has a strong aviation footprint with companies, such as L3Harris, RAM, Air Impressions, and JAG. TSTC is an excellent resource for entry level kids coming out of there and pilots. It is a challenge to bring good talent to Waco because people get settled where they are, and they don’t want to move. All of my guys are very seasoned. They’ve been with me for years. We see very little turnover. Hire the best people you can, train them the best way that you can and then you get out of their way.” Allmon noted that due to the pandemic and layoffs in aviation, industry professionals appear more apt to relocate for opportunities and he shared that several out of town applicants have expressed interest in Blackhawk’s current opening for Director of Engineering.

Allmon indicated that the company is between projects because of the pandemic and that he is committed to keeping the team intact. “I committed to them that I wasn’t going to lay them off or furlough them. So, if I have to pay them to stay home and read books, I will do it. Fortunately, we were able to find some upgrade training online on advanced systems. We are doing well. We are selling fine. Business is good. I am still working to figure out our next project.”

Realizing the Goal and Forecasting the Future

With a composites division in Kentucky, a military division in Alabama, and continued focus on aircraft upgrades and sales, Allmon credits the longevity of Blackhawk to the support of his long-time business partners and the team. “I put together an amazing team. Those that came before have all been a part of that success and helped push us on down the road. It has truly been a team effort. Our Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, Edwin Black, is a genius in selling during rough times and our Senior VP of Engineering, Bob Kromer, has created more products in a short time than ever before. My daughter, Lindsay, has taken our marketing to a whole new level and I am so proud of her. Lynnette and I worked 75-hour weeks for years to build the business. It is the American Dream to come from nothing and build something. I am just watching from the back of the room saying wow these guys are amazing.”

With innovation in mind, Blackhawk created a “thinktank,” which comprises various members of the team and meets each month to discuss ideas and the direction for the company. Allmon elaborated on the company’s future plans, “We are looking at single-engine turboprops and acquiring more companies and we are absolutely drifting more into the government and military world, since it is much more profitable, and we are already in that world. They are operating at extreme ends of the envelope on aircrafts and they want us to expand that envelope even more. We are building parts for electric cars, auto-drive cars and flying cars and we see some future synergies there.” Allmon added that Blackhawk also helped redesign fabricated car parts to increase efficiencies. “This flying car thing is turning us on our ear and you better adapt or get out of the way. Now is a great time to be in the aviation industry!”

As we wrapped up the interview, I asked if they noticed a recent uptick in airplane sales, since he was driving to Austin for a deal. He attributes the increased interest to the pandemic and noted that people, “do not want to ride the airlines and put themselves in that position.” He spoke of a customer that he has worked with for the past 20 years who told him two years ago that he was “out of the flying business, not going to fly, just going to ride the airlines.” Allmon subsequently sold the customer’s airplane for him. “He is 75 years old and called me yesterday and said ‘I am back in the flying business. I am going to fly myself.’ I am selling him an airplane.”