- Wes Converse’s career in aviation
- How Red Wing compares from when it started vs the company now in 2021
Wes Converse is the CEO and founder of Red Wing Aviation. With over 35 years in aviation, he is an expert in both aircraft maintenance and operations. His aviation career began in the United States Air Force maintaining B52’s. He continued as a commercial airline pilot building over 16,000 hours of flight time. In 1990 he founded the company as a maintenance repair facility and added the charter certificate is 2005.
The roots of this company were not providing high-end jet charter for the rich and famous. In July 1990 father and son team Bob and Wes Converse started the company as an FAA certified repair station providing a variety of maintenance services for general aviation customers. The early years were primarily focused toward maintenance on piston engine airplanes and related accessories. Bob had his start in airline maintenance and Wes in military aircraft maintenance then the airlines. Wes eventually went on to fly for a cargo airline for a while but maintained an active part of the company.
In 2004 the company entered into the Part 135 jet charter business with one Cessna Citation. Now the Vice President of Flight Operations Wes Converse says, “As the company grew into a robust charter operation, the maintenance activity shifted away from supporting general aviation maintenance customers in order for us to support our growing fleet of Cessna Citations.”
