It’s rare to find someone that you can consistently rely on in the face of challenging circumstances! One legendary partnership that we’re all familiar with his the story of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp.

 

John Henry Holliday, also called Doc Holliday, was an unbelievable player and gunfighter well known for the gunfight at OK Corral, where he battled close by his great companion, Wyatt Earp. He was a dental specialist yet picked up the notoriety of being gifted with cards and snappy on the trigger.

Doc Holliday’s story was immortalized in books and movies, most recently the movie Tombstone.

 

But, this story is NOT about THAT Doc Holliday or THAT partnership.

 

THIS story is about Derrick “Doc” Holliday and Doug Goldstrom (NOT Wyatt Earp) of Special Services Corporation (SSC.)

 

But, there are several similarities between the two stories!

 

Rather than fighting crime in the Wild West town of Tombstone, the challenge is keeping aircraft up to date and well-maintained for SSC’s charter fleet and client aircraft, including the new Citation XLS+, King Air, and Piper Mirage.

 

“If we had the space, we’d make an office in our hangar for CAS,” said Doug Goldstrom, President of Sales. “They really are a great partner to us, and that’s rare these days!”

 

The Challenge – The ADS-B Deadline

 

On January 1 , 2019, the FAA mandated that all aircraft operating in US airspace had to upgrade their old radar avionics equipment to Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) system that includes a certified position source.

 

Since this deadline impacted ALL aircraft in the United States at the same time, this had companies that manage aircraft for themselves and for other people in a scramble to help owners understand the requirements and their options, and get their aircraft scheduled in for this maintenance.

 

SSC’s objective was to do this in a way that was as convenient as possible for their aircraft owners. This meant coordinating with other scheduled or preventative maintenance, financial considerations, and scheduling! The reason most people own (rather than charter or fly commercial) is because they need the convenience and flexibility to reach clients, patients or commercial operations and have complex and urgent travel schedules. It was a juggling act to meet their planned and unplanned travel needs, while making time to get this work done.

 

And CAS had to gear up to help their four-man team do quality work for many clients, including the Chicago Jet Group and SSC, working on a variety of different aircraft that needed a variety of different equipment types installed to meet the legal requirement.

 

Doug and Doc worked together to ensure that every one of the aircraft they manage met the deadline with no problems.

 

The Partnership

 

Of course, great partnerships don’t come from nowhere. They’re built on history and trust.

 

And aviation in the Southeast US is a small world.

 

Isaac White, co-owner of CAS, was a student of Bob Jones University’s AMP program when Ron Campbell, SSC’s future Director of Maintenance (DOM) was his instructor.

 

Both organizations are small companies. Their names are three-letter-acronyms. They both employ veterans. They pay their bills on time. And they care deeply about the owners, pilots, companies, team members and families that rely on them.

 

“I know it’s pretty rare these days for a company to ALWAYS pay ALL of its bills on time, and to go above and beyond for customers, but that’s what SSC does and why we like doing business with them!” said Doc.

 

“It’s a great partnership. It’s rare to find a company that you don’t have to lose any sleep over getting things done, and done right. We really enjoy working with Doc and the team,” said Doug.

 

About CAS

 

CAS Inc, formerly Carolina Avionics, performs avionics upgrades, IFR certifications, altimeters and transponders. They are located at the Mid-Carolina Regional Airport an can be reached at (704) 630-0211.

 

 

About SSC

 

Special Services Corporation (SSC) is a full-service charter operator, and aircraft management and maintenance company. They are located at the Greenville Downtown Airport and can be reached on their web site, FlySSC.com, via social media, or at (864) 242-3383.