Congratulations are in order this month as Acorn Growth Companies announced Lynn Thomas as the new president of its portfolio business, Raisbeck Engineering Inc.‚ headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
“Since Lynn joined Raisbeck Engineering in the spring of last year as our VP of sales and marketing‚ he has transformed our sales organization achieving consistent growth,” said Rick Nagel‚ managing partner of Acorn Growth Companies. “I am delighted to promote Lynn to the role of president. As a pilot‚ his passion for the business and 35 years of business experience will have a continued, positive impact on the growth and profitability of Raisbeck Engineering.”
Thomas is an experienced executive with an extensive background in all disciplines of business management, including strategies for increased growth and profitability‚ market positioning and effective financial planning.
Most recently he served as the vice president of sales and marketing at Raisbeck. Throughout his career he has served in several leadership roles within general aviation companies‚ including Banyan Air Service, Quest Aircraft and Aviat Aircraft. Earlier in his career he served as an investment advisor with Everen Securities and Paine Weber.
Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Northern Colorado. He currently holds a commercial pilot and instrument rating for land and sea — soloing for the first time at age 16.
Founded in 1982 Raisbeck Engineering develops, markets and manufactures worldwide-certified performance improvement systems for some of the most prolific commercial and general aviation aircraft models in the market today.
“It is a true honor to lead the most talented team of men and women in the aviation industry‚” Thomas said. “The opportunity to build on the legacy that James Raisbeck began and maintain our position as the innovative leader in aviation performance and comfort solutions for business and commercial aircraft is truly the highlight of my career.”
We were fortunate enough to talk with Thomas at the recent NBAA-BACE in Orlando and ask him a few quick questions:
Just about everyone with a King Air knows the value of Raisbeck enhancements. Give us your elevator pitch to guy who says “What’s a Raisbeck?”
Thomas: We take a great airplane and make it better – comfort, performance, handling, fuel efficiency, economy. Whatever the owner may need or want, we will have something that will help them accomplish their mission.
Do you have a personal favorite STC & why?
Thomas: The whole package (laughs). All of them have a purpose. (While) there is nothing wrong with the King Air without them, Raisbeck enhancements make it better.
If a KA operator has $100K upgrade budget what is the best mod for them to buy & why?
Thomas: I think it is going to vary by operator. Our guys out of the office or the dealer can sit down with you and say “what is it that is most important for you in your flight?” You may really need those wing lockers for carrying luggage, or on the other hand maybe you want improved fuel efficiency; (the need) will be different from operator to operator.We sit down and find out what your mission is and what you want the airplane to do and determine the enhancements from there.
What do see as the strength of the King Air?
Thomas: There is the legacy of a proven airframe over time. If it has been broken in the past it’s fixed now, it if needed an enhancement, it has been engineered by us. Thinking from the OEM side, the King Air has been refined pretty well. It’s iconic, it’s well known. Mechanics know how to work on it. It’s not so complicated that you can’t get it fixed (in a remote location). A solid, well built airplane.
Thank you for your time!
Thomas also noted that Raisbeck continues to flesh out ideas for King Air advancements, (though nothing definitive or ready to be announced yet). Additionally, the company is looking at adding the Raisbeck touch to additional airframe models. We look forward to seeing what the future holds!
For information on products and services, visit the Raisbeck website.