LA GUARDIA AIRPORT, New York (August 17, 2011) – FlightSafety International has promoted Gary Porterfield to Manager of the company’s Learjet Learning Center in Wichita, Kansas.
“We look forward to Gary’s contribution as Manager of the Wichita Learjet Learning Center,” said Greg McGowan, Vice President, Operations. “His leadership skills and experience will contribute to our ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of service and industry leading training programs.”
He replaces Craig Newell who will retire from FlightSafety after 32 years of service. “We sincerely appreciate Craig’s Customer-first approach and his outstanding leadership, dedication to excellence, and significant contributions to FlightSafety,” said Greg McGowan.
Gary joined FlightSafety at the West Palm Beach Learning Center in April 2003 as an instructor for the Bombardier Learjet 55 aircraft. He was then promoted to Program Manager of the Learjet 55 and Piaggio Avanti training programs and most recently served as Assistant Manager.
His contributions and responsibilities at the West Palm Beach Center included JAA Type Rating Examiner and FAA Training Center Evaluator for the Learjet 55 and Piaggio P180, Coordinator of the Quality Management System and assisting the center’s effort to become ISO 9001:2000 compliant.
Gary graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration degree specializing in Computer Science. He served with the United States Air Force as a pilot for six years prior to leaving in 1991 to fly for American Eagle. Gary then spent eight years flying business aircraft before joining FlightSafety. He holds a number of Learjet and Gulfstream aircraft type ratings.
FlightSafety’s Wichita Learjet Learning Center provides pilot and aircraft maintenance technician training for the Learjet 25, Learjet 35, Learjet 55 and Learjet 45XR aircraft using a fleet of full flight simulators and other advanced training devices. Training for Learjet aircraft is also available from FlightSafety at its Learning Centers in Atlanta, Georgia and Tucson, Arizona.
