VAI Member Spotlight: Century Helicopters, Colorado, USA

VAI Member Spotlight: Century Helicopters, Colorado, USA

By Jen Boyer

New ownership seeks to build on more than 25 years of providing maintenance, repair, overhaul, completions, and other services for helicopter operators.

Philip Glasgow had worked at Century Helicopters Inc. in Fort Collins, Colorado, for more than 20 years when DART Aerospace purchased the company and its sister organization, Paravion, in 2022. The following year, DART Aerospace put Century Helicopters up for sale and Glasgow, then the director of maintenance, saw an opportunity.

“Century and Paravion were family businesses, with Century doing the installs of Paravion technology as well as other MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) and completion work, mainly in the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) market,” Glasgow explained. “We had a good customer base, years of experience, and the opportunity to grow.”

Glasgow decided to approach longtime customers Tom and Tami Kopitnik about the potential of purchasing Century Helicopters. The couple had been involved in helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft leasing and operations for more than 15 years, while entrusting Century with their aircraft maintenance. The couple purchased Century Helicopters in November 2023 and included Glasgow in the partnership as CEO.

“We have literally entrusted Philip and his team with the lives of our family over the years and look forward to continuing an environment focused on safety and serving our customers with service second to none,” said Tom Kopitnik, now president of Century Helicopters, when the couple purchased the company.

MRO and Other Services

Under the new ownership, Century Helicopters continues to operate much in the same way it has for more than 25 years. It is an FAA Part 145 repair station, Bell service center, Robinson service center, Garmin distributor, Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing (AEM) dealer, and more, providing MRO and completion and customization services for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It operates from two bases, one at the Century Helicopters Heliport near Fort Collins and a fixed-wing center at Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL) in Loveland. The company also provides aircraft recovery services, retrieving aircraft from the field with a crane-equipped flatbed truck.

ISR remains a key focus for Century Helicopters. It holds a federal contract to troubleshoot, update, and provide completions for government aircraft systems serving agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Drug Enforcement Administration, and US Department of Agriculture. It also counts several regional police departments as clients.

Additionally, Century services and maintains agricultural spraying aircraft and performs installations of agricultural spraying systems and associated avionics.

Private Operator Base

Century Helicopters has developed a strong list of private aircraft owners and operators who have developed relationships with the company over the years, like the Kopitniks.

“In the beginning, our biggest challenge was getting the word out that Century did completions,” Glasgow said. “Paravion worked so closely with us for completions, it wasn’t immediately apparent to customers that Century was doing that work. As word has gotten out, we’ve been able to grow.”

With a year under their belt, the new Century team reports that the company is expanding with a new non-destructive testing (NDT) shop and increasing the size of its shop to support more avionics brands.

Jen Boyer is the principal of her own firm, Flying Penguin Communications. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and holds commercial, instrument, flight instructor, and instrument instructor ratings in helicopters and a private rating in airplanes. She has worked as a professional journalist and marketing communicator in the aviation industry since the early 1990s.