Wichita company delivers planes globally

Nov. 29, 2010

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Nov. 27--Andre Grosvenor, owner and chief pilot for Aviation Dynamix in Wichita, travels the world delivering airplanes and providing training and other services.

The company ferries airplanes, trains pilots, accepts delivery of aircraft for clients, manages aircraft and consults those needing help choosing the right airplane.

"We'll deliver an aircraft anywhere in the world," said Grosvenor, who, with his wife, Sarah, operates the company.

"We'll do anything from this side, take care of all their requirements and deliver their aircraft to them," he said.

Aviation Dynamix employs four full-time pilots, including Grosvenor (pronounced Grove-ner). It also uses several other pilots on a contract basis.

They will work with all models of aircraft, from a Boeing 767 to a Cessna Caravan, for example.

In 2002, Grosvenor opened Chopper Dyanamix, a helicopter business. The name changed to Aviation Dynamix in 2008 when services expanded and the focus moved to aircraft.

"We just started building up a customer base and basically got the business running," Grosvenor said.

In 2008, Sarah Grosvenor, a school psychologist for nine years, quit her job to stay home with their daughter and to help market and keep the business side running.

"Our company just kind of exploded," Sarah Grosvenor said. The majority of the growth has come from word of mouth and recommendations.

Despite the downturn, they've stayed busy. The Grosvenors attribute that to good service.

"Even though there's been a downturn and things got a little quieter in the U.S., our work with foreign clients has been pretty busy," Andre Grosvenor said.

Operating the business in Wichita, which produces nearly half of all general aviation airplanes sold, has been an advantage, especially when taking delivery of an aircraft for a client.

The company works closely with Cessna Aircraft and Hawker Beechcraft.

Andre Grosvenor became interested in flying as a boy growing up in South Africa. His dad used to skydive, and Grosvenor rode in the airplane with the doors open and watched him jump.

"We spent a lot of weekends at the airport with him," Grosvenor said.

He learned to fly while serving in the South African air force.

After the service, he worked as a contract pilot, traveling the globe. Many projects brought him to Wichita.

In 2000, he was offered a job ferrying aircraft for a Wichita company.

"When the option came up to move to Wichita, I already knew the city," he said. "It was a natural progression."

He also saw a big contrast in the way of life between Wichita and his home in Johannesburg, where crime is an issue.

There, he lived in a house surrounded by tall walls and electric fencing. It almost felt like a prison, he said.

"I've been to Wichita multiple times and seen how people could live out here and have unfenced yards," said Grosvenor, now a U.S. citizen. "I knew there was a far better way to live out there."

He and Sarah, who met in 2004, operate the company out of their home in Benton. That may eventually change.

They are in preliminary talks about opening an office at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, Sarah Grosvenor said.

"It's just something we're exploring as our business is continuing to grow," Sarah Grosvenor said. "We are continually evolving our business to help it grow and taking on new projects all the time."

Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or [email protected].