South Woodstock, CONN. / April 4, 2013 — Quiet industriousness is a midwest America hallmark and few plains state residents portray that better than Kent Johnson, principal in Stanton Sport Aviation. The enterprise operated by the soft-spoken Minnesota aviation business man was recently elevated to Distributor status with Flight Design, the country’s biggest seller of Light-Sport Aircraft.
“We are very pleased to appoint Stanton Sport Aviation as the distributor for a territory including Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota,” said Flight Design USA president Tom Peghiny. “In our years of work with Kent and his team, we have discovered that some very pleasant people are also very good business people, a great combination in a customer-centered enterprise.”
As a distributor Stanton will place orders for aircraft commonly arriving three to an overseas shipping container; they will sell these aircraft as well as supply them to other dealers in the territory. The Stanton Sport Aviation team reassembles these aircraft under the quality control system of the manufacturer. They follow an extensive pre-delivery checklist and fly the aircraft before declaring them suitable to turn over to a new owner. As Stanton is also an active flight training operation, they can provide the customer the five-hour LSA checkout that has made the insurance industry so willing to provide coverage for Flight Design aircraft.
“I’m proud to take on this new responsibility for Flight Design USA,” said Kent Johnson. “I’ve been associated with the brand for several years but formerly worked under another distributor. As our business has grown and our knowledge of the product increased, we look forward to accepting this new role.” Johnson is highly qualified for the new position with CFI, CFI-G, and A&P credentials.
“It is my pleasure to work with Kent and the Stanton team as distributors,” said Flight Design USA national sales manager John Gilmore. “Kent is one of those first-class individuals who intimately knows his way around sport and recreational aircraft given his relationship with Stanton Airfield.” Also operating the Midwest’s largest soaring club, Stanton provides tailwheel instruction, offers maintenance service and hangars many aircraft of all kinds. The charming all-turf field is a short drive to the Southeast from the major metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul with a population of more than three million. The Twin Cities are the 15th largest metropolitan area in the nation and is rich in outdoor sports enthusiasts, offering a ripe market for Light-Sport Aircraft sales and service.
FACTS ABOUT FLIGHT DESIGN GmbH
Flight Design is a 25-year-old manufacturer based in Germany. The company remains the worldwide Light-Sport Aircraft market leader thanks to its popular CT series of aircraft. More than 1,800 of these aircraft are flying in 39 countries. One of the first aircraft certified under ASTM International standards in 2005, the CT (“composite technology”) remains the top-selling LSA in America through eight consecutive years. Flight Design sold the first LSA to India and was the first LSA to earn Chinese Type Design Approval. Three times a CT has been flown around the world. In 2011, the German company unveiled its C4 four seat aircraft based on the CT technology.
