July 19, 2021
PKL is excited to share that we were featured on a recent episode of Military Makeover: Operation Career, hosted by Montel Williams on the Lifetime Network.
As a company that employs approximately 90% veterans across our global workforce, we’re honored to be included in this episode. Military Makeover: Operation Career is a series that focuses on the transition of military personnel to the civilian workforce.
In our segment, you’ll meet three of our employees as well as our CEO, Paddy Gough, as they discuss they’re experiences working at PKL and what their careers were like after leaving the military.
July 16, 2021
PKL Services, Inc. (PKL) received notification of award on SeaPort-NxG. This indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), multiple award contract (MAC) will allow PKL to compete for support service requirements solicited by Department of the Navy for engineering support services and program management support services in 23 functional areas.
The government has estimated that approximately $5,000,000,000 in services will be procured per year via orders issued under the SeaPort-NxG multiple award contracts. This MAC has a 2.5-year base period of performance with an additional five-year ordering period option.
PKL’s CEO and President, Patrick “Paddy” Gough, stated “We are grateful for this award and look forward to the opportunities we’ll be able to pursue as a result.”
PKL Services, Inc. was established in 2003, is headquartered in Poway, CA, and provides domestic and international aviation maintenance, training, logistics support, program management, and administrative support through experienced and qualified personnel.
July 14, 2021
PKL Services, Inc. (PKL) and Flex Air Aviation (Flex Air), two San Diego-based aerospace companies, recently submitted a joint proposal seeking FAA grant funding to provide innovative solutions to offset projected pilot shortages and a lack of readily accessible pilot training within the aviation industry. Team PKL-Flex Air’s proposal solves these critical aviation workforce development issues for a potentially unlimited number of high school students while offering ongoing professional development for teachers.
The PKL and Flex Air team offers the Virtual Aerodrome Lab (VAL) as a one-package solution for virtually immersing high school students in a comprehensive airfield environment without regard to physical classroom environment, location, or proximity to aviation facilities.
Access to VAL will be provided free of charge to all student and educator user accounts. This innovative flight training solution will use medium-fidelity virtual simulation for various positions correlated in the virtual environment.
- Training Capabilities. Our VAL can be easily customized to meet specific needs for vocational training of students to become aviation professionals. It consists of COTS components easily installed in training schools for classroom or remote access.
- Simulation for Role Playing. The training system allows roles and scenarios to be simulated for the purposes of airport flight operations, airport emergency preparedness and crisis simulation.
- Hands-on Training for Emergency Situations. The VAL can simulate emergency drills such weather, safety, ground traffic, or pre-/post flight discrepancies. Students will have to react to these types of situations, and practice protocols through real-time role-playing.
- Distributed Training. The VAL is a distributed training system connecting multiple stations (in classroom or remotely) over a shared network, allowing stations to participate in the same training scenario.
- Instructor Controls. The instructor is provided functionality to create scenarios by defining the weather conditions, ground conditions, time, wind direction and flight schedule.
- Terrain and Visual Database. The terrain and visual database typically contain data for the following:
- Main Buildings and Hangars
- ATC Tower
- Runways and Taxiways
- Apron and Parking Areas
- Airfield Lighting
For our curriculum design we will conform our syllabus to The Private Pilot-Airplane Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6B), and orient our curriculum procedures and technical elements with the Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3B) and Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25B).
Using our customized CBT software, the prospective user will virtually enter an e-classroom to complete Module 1 (Basic Aircraft Systems Overview). Upon completion, the user would then virtually move to the aircraft control desk, check out the aircraft, and virtually navigate to the parked aircraft on the apron to commence the remainder of the sequence (Modules 2-4) (pre-flight, flight, and post flight).
The VAL course can be executed in front-to-end sequence uninterrupted, or, for more targeted training or as a refresher, each module can be selected independently and activated by the user (teacher or student).
Our training curriculum is displayed in the following outline:
- Student Pilot Curriculum Outline (Primary)
- Module 1: Overview of Basic Aircraft Systems
- Engine/Propeller
- Airframe
- Landing Gear
- Flight Controls and Flight Surfaces
- Module 2: Pre-Flight Procedures
- Walk-around Inspection
- Taxiing
- Basic Airfield Markings
- Module 3: Takeoff, Landing, and Go-Arounds
- Takeoff and Climb
- Basic Instrument Maneuvers
- Approach and Landing
- Module 4: Post-Flight Procedures
Ms. Kim Robling (PKL Training Manager) and Mr. Paul Wynns (Flex Air CEO) are enthusiastic about the VAL and its transformational potential for student pilot training:
“Our Virtual Aerodrome Lab will prepare and inspire students for eventual aviation careers. Our proven virtual training system expertise will be leveraged to rapidly create an engaging, gamified, mobile-enabled aviation training environment that can be accessed by any high schooler with access to a broadband connection anywhere in the country.”
Team PKL-Flex Air previously produced an innovative pre-flight inspection simulation, called “The Pre-Flight Challenge.” We created a virtual general aviation experience with life-like renderings of a Cessna 172, parking apron, taxiways, and hangars. We then virtually replicated a point-to-point pre-flight inspection checklist procedure creating a multi-sensory experience for prospective flight school students.
Flex Air’s co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Charlie Copeland, praised the skill and proficiency seen in Flex Air students who used the “Pre-Flight Challenge” as a training aid.
“Checklist discipline is very important to early-career pilots. My experience as a Boeing 737 Captain has given me an appreciation for how important it is to build that discipline and attention to detail early in a student’s training. The Pre-Flight Challenge introduces students to checklist concepts in a fun, engaging environment that makes it easy to learn.”
PKL Services, Inc. was established in 2003, is headquartered in Poway, CA, and provides both U.S. and Allied Military Services with experienced and qualified personnel to execute aerospace maintenance, training, and logistics management services. PKL was recognized by Aerospace and Defense Review as a Top 10 MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) Company in 2021. For further information visit http://www.pklservices.com/
Flex Air was established in 2016, with operations in Manhattan, KS, and San Diego, CA. Recognized as an AOPA Distinguished Flight School, Flex Air provides vocational flight training with an emphasis on personal mentorship and career coaching for students and alumni throughout their careers. Since the school’s founding, over 120 veterans have launched commercial airline careers through Flex Air’s military transition programs. For further information visit https://goflexair.com/
June 23, 2021
In early 2020, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) had a vision to transform its maintenance training capability by adopting cutting-edge curricula and modern simulation technologies. After a highly-competitive selection cycle, PKL was chosen via commercial contract award to spearhead this modernization effort in Bangkok, Thailand. The contract award, with a total value of approximately $1.8 million in the first year of execution, produces a modern maintenance training center and a customized Basics of Aircraft Maintenance Course (BAMC). PKL is teamed with Raydant International Company, LTD, our Thai partner, and ST Engineering Training & Simulation Systems Pte. Ltd., our simulation solutions provider, to deliver this contract.
Official Activation of the RTAF Simulation Center, Bangkok, Thailand
Phase 1 of the contract was a nine-month curriculum, courseware, and equipment development period, culminating with the opening of the RTAF Training Center in January 2021. The Center features gamified computer-based training, augmented reality, virtual reality, and a server-based Learning Management System. These technologies integrate PKL’s trademarked OmniSpec Training System, providing full-spectrum, on-demand, and blended learning. Click here to learn more: http://www.pklservices.com/capabilities/omnispec/
Phase 2 of the contract commenced in February and initiated delivery of BAMC courses for academic year 2021. PKL’s primary instructors, Stephen Barsalou and Ryan Stumpf, both US Air Force veterans and experienced maintenance instructors, are headquartered in Bangkok and provide full-spectrum instructional activities to Thai students, and also, they manage customer and partner support activities and the myriad of logistics coordination issues attendant to a complex training environment.
Mr. Al Porter, PKL’s Director of Air Force Programs, had high praise for his two instructors:
“Because the BAMC is an inaugural program in Thailand and the first of its kind for the RTAF, Steve and Ryan serve not only as instructors, but more so as ambassadors for PKL. Arriving in Bangkok in the midst of tight COVID-related restrictions, they led an exhaustive installation, test, and delivery process and certified the 8 Stage, 32 module BAMC curriculum, resulting in on-schedule, on-cost performance. Because of Steve’s and Ryan’s acumen and persistence, we received glowing reviews from senior RTAF Officers, reflecting great credit on all of us at PKL.”
PKL Instructors Teaching RTAF Students in Bangkok
BAMC class cohort #1, approximately 20 students, finished in March, and we are now in flow with the second BAMC student cohort, comprised of 40 RTAF cadets, who upon graduation will transition to follow-on assignments in RTAF’s aircraft maintenance specialties in jet, transport, and helicopter platforms. We expect another 2-3 BAMC courses, each 40 cadets per course, for the remainder of this academic year.
Kim Robling, PKL’s Training Manager, is proud of the stellar performance of the BAMC contract, which she said could not have been accomplished without the leadership of Al Porter, the ingenuity of instructors Steve Barsalou and Ryan Stumpf, and the dedication of Paul King’s curriculum development team, who produced over 600 pages of customized courseware with associated presentation decks and plans of instruction, all of which were replicated in the suite of simulation courseware.
The BAMC contract follows on the heels of other PKL awards in Thailand–a baseline assessment of Thai Aviation Industries’ (TAI) Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities, and, a T-56 Quick Engine Change (QEC) technical training contract, also supporting TAI in Bangkok.
June 15, 2021
PKL Services, Inc. has received notice of successful award for performance as a subcontractor to 4M HR Logistics, LLC on the Point Mugu, CA I-Level Engine Repair contract. PKL will continue to support the Commander Naval Air Forces Pacific (CNAP) Intermediate Level Maintenance repair on the T-56 425/427/427A engines, Airframes assembly, Logs & Records and has added the capability to perform maintenance on T-56 engine Power Section, Aviation Life Support Systems, Support Equipment Electrical branch and the Paint & Final Finish in support of various aircraft platforms.
The contract was awarded as a CFT contract to 4M HR Logistics on 6/1/2021 and is a multi-year task order.
PKL is honored and appreciative of the opportunity to continue to support this effort.
May 27, 2021
PKL is honored to be recognized by Aerospace and Defense Review as a Top 10 MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) Company in 2021. This recognition highlights our exceptional service and dedicated commitment the US Military, our customers, and our skilled personnel. As a veteran-focused company, on average, we retain a workforce comprised of approximately 90% veterans.
PKL is featured in this two-page article in the May edition of Aerospace and Defense Review which includes an interview with PKL CEO, Patrick “Paddy” Gough. In the interview, Paddy discusses our commitment to hiring veterans, our focus on exceptional service at cost-effective rates, and highlights our unique approach to innovative training methods within the aviation industry, utilizing our trademarked full spectrum training system, OmniSpec(R). We are proud of the growth PKL has experienced and look forward to the multitude of new opportunities on the horizon for PKL. The recognition of PKL with this award further supports our commitment to excellence and showcases our exceptional service.
May 22, 2021
We are grateful to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, MCAS Miramar, and MCAS Camp Pendleton for hosting PKL this week. We were filming a new video and TV show segment to highlight the opportunities that are available for Military Veterans when they transition from active duty and demonstrating the capabilities that PKL’s 90% veteran workforce provides. As always, the Marines were professional, courteous, and supportive throughout the process. It was also a fun couple of days for our executive team, retired Marines – Col Patrick Gough (PKL CEO/President) and Col Mike Naylor (PKL COO), to be back on the flightlines at the respective bases where they once held command(s) and with the aircraft they flew.
April 12, 2021
PKL Services, Inc. (PKL) and Flex Air, two San Diego-based aerospace companies, recently submitted a joint proposal seeking FAA grant funding to provide innovative solutions to offset projected pilot shortages and a lack of readily accessible pilot training within the aviation industry. The PKL / Flex Air proposal solves these critical aviation workforce development issues for a potentially unlimited number of high school students while offering ongoing professional development for teachers. We accomplish these tasks through our mutually supportive Teacher to Pilot and Virtual Aerodrome Lab programs executed by a proven, mature, ISO 9001-2015 certified and Part 61 certificated aerospace and defense industry team.
Flex Air’s Teacher to Pilot program provides affordable Private Pilot License or Certificated Flight Instructor training to high school educators along with guaranteed access to low-cost financing through Income Share Agreements (ISAs).
Paul Wynns, Flex Air’s CEO, stated “Affordability is a critical limiting factor in the delivery of flight training for educators, especially to minority populations who disproportionately lack access to traditional loans, high credit scores, or loan co-signers. We are the only industry team offering ISAs for aviation training.”
Furthermore, Mr. Wynns believes the FAA’s Workforce Development mission of bringing training to urban, suburban, and rural populations is a perfect match for Flex Air’s ethos. “We focus on superior outcomes for student pilots as recognized by an ‘Aviation Owners and Pilots Association Distinguished Flight School’ Award in 2019. Our founding vision emphasizes community, affordability, and a holistic approach that provides career-long mentorship, more than just flight hours and ratings.” All fight training will be delivered using Flex Air’s award-winning Part 61 programming as described at www.goflexair.com.
PKL’s Virtual Aerodrome Lab (VAL) uses on demand immersive simulation technology to reach a potentially unlimited audience of high school students regardless of geographical location. The VAL uses medium-fidelity virtual simulation for various positions correlated in the airfield environment with the following cutting-edge attributes:
- Gamified Computer Based Training (G-CBT) modalities
- Emergency drills simulations such as weather, safety, ground traffic, or pre-/post flight discrepancies
- A distributed system connecting multiple stations over a shared network
The VAL curriculum, anchored on authoritative FAA manuals and handbooks, incorporates these four modules: (1) Basic Aircraft Systems Overview; (2) Pre-flight Operations; (3) Takeoff, Landing, Go-Arounds; and (4) Post-flight Operations.
PKL’s Training Manager, Ms. Kim Robling, is excited to reach diverse high school populations and sees great potential in teaming with Flex Air. “PKL provides custom-built training programs to universities, government agencies, corporations, and the military via OmniSpec® – our registered Training System – which uses modern technologies like Learning Management Systems (LMS), gamified computer-based training (G-CBT), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). We can deliver an engaging, life-like experience for these emerging aerospace professionals.” To learn more about OmniSpec see our website link at www.pklservices.com/capabilities/omnispec.
Ms. Robling and Mr. Wynns were unanimous in their commitment to the FAA’s Workforce Development objectives: “Team PKL /Flex Air will provide award-winning flight training and guaranteed ISA financing to high school educators who will attain Private Pilot or Certificated Flight Instructor ratings depending on their existing flight experience. These educators, armed with real-world flight experience, will return to their classrooms to employ our team’s Virtual Aerodrome Lab (VAL) to prepare and inspire students for eventual aviation careers. Our proven virtual training system expertise will be leveraged to rapidly create an engaging, gamified, mobile-enabled aviation training environment that can be accessed by any high schooler with access to a broadband connection anywhere in the country.”
Concerning Grant timelines, the FAA solicitation document projects to announce winners in the 3rd Quarter, and allocate funding in the 4th Quarter, of 2021.
To see a previous collaborative product by Team PKL / Flex Air, entitled “The Pre-Flight Challenge,” visit https://goflexair.com/preflightchallenge. This product created virtual renderings of an authentic airfield environment and replicated a point-to-point pre-flight inspection checklist procedure, in both tutorial and assessment modes, with real-time progress feedback.
PKL Services, Inc. was established in 2003, is headquartered in Poway, CA, and provides both U.S. and Allied Military Services with experienced and qualified personnel to execute aerospace maintenance, training, and logistics management services.
Flex Air Aviation was established in 2016, and has flight schools in Manhattan, KS, San Diego, CA, & Amarillo, TX. Recognized in 2019 as an AOPA Distinguished Flight School, Flex Air provides Career and Adventure pilot training as well as Certified Instructor Pilot Training with the best flight training experts.
March 9, 2021
PKL Services, Inc. has received notice of award for performance as a subcontractor to 4M HR Logistics, LLC. PKL will support the Commander Naval Air Forces Pacific (CNAP) C-2A Operational Level Maintenance for the VRC-30 Squadron at Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island, San Diego, CA.
The award is a Contract Field Team (CFT) contract dated February 28, 2021 with a transition that commenced on March 1, 2021. The base period will begin on April 1, 2021 with option periods through 2024. PKL will employ thirteen (13) employees as Aircraft Mechanics (Levels II, and III) and a site supervisor.
PKL’s CEO and President, Patrick “Paddy” Gough, stated “We are excited about this work in San Diego at North Island. We happily welcome the newest employees to the PKL Family and recognize the importance of the effort this contract requires. It is an honor to have been chosen to support CNAP and VRC-30.”
PKL Services, Inc. was established in 2003, is headquartered in Poway, CA, and provides domestic and international aviation maintenance, training and logistics support through experienced and qualified personnel.
January 29, 2021
PKL Services, Inc. has received notice of award for performance as a subcontractor to 4M HR Logistics, LLC. PKL will support the Commander Naval Air Forces Pacific (CNAP) F/A-18 Flight Line and “O” Level Maintenance for the VX-9 Squadron at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, Ridgecrest, CA.
The Task Order was awarded as a CFT Contract to 4M HR Logistics on 12/30/2020 with a transition period that commenced 1/1/2021 and the basic period beginning on 2/1/21 with options through 2024. PKL will employ 48 employees, including Aircraft Mechanics, Flight Equipment Technicians, Aircraft Logs and Records Technicians, Aircraft Workers, Supply Techs, and a site supervisor.
PKL’s CEO and President, Patrick “Paddy” Gough, stated “We are looking forward to this work at China Lake and we are excited to welcome our newest employees to PKL. We recognize the value and importance of the effort this contract requires and we’re honored to be chosen to support CNAP with this.”
PKL Services, Inc. was established in 2003, is headquartered in Poway, CA, and provides both U.S. and Allied Military Services with experienced and qualified personnel to execute aerospace maintenance, training, and logistics management services.
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