Clay Lacy Aviation is a business aviation company founded at Van Nuys Airport in 1968 by Clay Lacy. Clay Lacy Aviation provides aircraft management, private air charter, aircraft maintenance, fixed-base operator and other services to private and corporate clients. The company manages a nationwide fleet of more than 100 business jet aircraft, worth more than $1.5 billion, most of which are available for domestic and international private charter. Operations centers, hangar facilities, and FAA Part 145 Repair Stations are located at Van Nuys Airport, McClellan-Palomar Airport near San Diego, and Waterbury-Oxford Airport near New York. Managed jet aircraft are based at general aviation airports across the U.S. Clay Lacy also operates a full-service FBO at Van Nuys Airport.
History
In 1968, Clay Lacy Aviation began operations as an on-demand jet charter operator at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles. At the time it was the only jet charter company west of the Mississippi. Early clients included Hollywood celebrities such as Danny Kaye, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Carol Channing, Kirk Douglas, and Cary Grant. Over the next decade, the company began to offer aircraft management and maintenance services, and in 1981 established the first all-jet FBO. In 2002, Clay Lacy expanded to the Pacific Northwest, with a hangar facility and full-service FBO at Boeing Field in Seattle. An additional 40,000 square-foot of hangar space was completed there in 2009. In 2016, the company opened an FAA Part 145 Repair Station and expanded its Seattle capabilities to include FAA-certified private jet charter services. In 2006, Brian Kirkdoffer was promoted to company president. Kirkdoffer joined Clay Lacy as a pilot in 1990. He has flown more than 10,000 hours in Learjet and Gulfstream aircraft and holds four world aeronautical speed records. He acquired majority interest in Clay Lacy Aviation in 2013, and is currently president and CEO. In 2011, the company opened a satellite office at McClellan-Palomar Airport near San Diego, adding an FAA Part 145 Repair Station in 2016. In 2016, Clay Lacy acquired Key Air, a long-time East Coast private aviation company, with an operations and maintenance center at Waterbury-Oxford Airport near New York. An FAA Part 145 Repair Station was certified in 2018. In 2017, the company’s ground operations at Seattle’s Boeing Field earned the first IS-BAH Stage II registration in North America. IS-BAH is the International Standard for Business Aviation Handling. In 2018, Clay Lacy marked its fiftieth anniversary in April, opened its first New York office in June, and sold its Boeing Field Seattle operation in December. In January 2019, the company opened a new round-the-clock aircraft MRO facility at its Van Nuys Airport FAA Part 145 Repair Station. In April 2019, the FAA awarded Part 145 certification to the Clay Lacy aircraft maintenance operation at Waterbury-Oxford Airport, in Oxford, Connecticut. In January of 2020, Embraer expanded the authorized service center designation at Clay Lacy’s Van Nuys Airport FAA Repair Station to include Embraer Legacy and Embraer Praetor business jets. Clay Lacy has been an authorized service center for Embraer Phenom 100 and Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft since 2009 and began performing 10-year inspections on those aircraft in 2019. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020 Clay Lacy developed and implemented the CleanCheck health and safety standard throughout its aircraft operations, based on recommendations and best practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Also in April, and in response to COVID-19, the company broadened its aircraft detailing capabilities with disinfecting services, available through Clay Lacy maintenance centers and mobile response teams.
Aviation training and education scholarships
In addition to direct donations to aviation training and educational programs, Clay Lacy offers pilot scholarships through the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, as well as aviation scholarships through the Flight Path Museum and Learning Center in Los Angeles. Scholarships are also available to students attending the LAUSD’s North Valley Occupational Center Aviation Mechanics School. The company supports educational efforts through events such as Aviation Career Day at Van Nuys Airport, and mentoring and job shadowing programs.
