Our pilots undergo rigorous annual, recurrent training for both aircraft. The King Air aircraft are maintained to the highest FAA standards. Mechanics are Beechcraft / Raytheon trained with complete periodic update training. The Aeronautics safety record is superb. In 2010, the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) presented Aeronautics with a 75-Year Award recognizing our outstanding safety record. To date, we have flown over 77 years and 91,280 hours without an accident.
Tim Truemper has over 12,000 hours of flight time and is type-rated in the King Air 350, Lear Jet series, and Falcon 50. He is a current and active flight instructor. He resides in Florence, SC, and started flying when he was a kid also and soloed on his 16th birthday.
Ronnie Gantt has almost 16,000 hours of flight time and is type-rated in the King Air 350, Challenger 600 series, Jetstream 31, Boeing 717, and Boeing 737. He is a native of Columbia, SC, and has been flying since he was a kid when he would hang out at the fence at Owens Field, watching the airplanes.
Aircraft Use Policy Statement
The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission aircraft are available to all State agencies, legislators, or cabinet-level officials, and members of state boards, commissions, or committees engaged in any activity that is official state business. The use of the aircraft and the passengers are determined by the individual reserving and authorizing the trip: i.e. - The Governor, legislator, Constitutional officer, agency representative, etc. All passenger names will be listed on a manifest except for certain instances where in the opinion of the utilizing entity the passenger(s) names must be protected for the purpose of security or detrimental to the business being conducted. Each manifest will have a responsible person’s signature and a reason for the trip.
Flights in State aircraft have a pilot and if warranted by the trip, a copilot. All flight decisions during operation are made by the “pilot-in-command” (PIC). These decisions are based on numerous factors such as time of the flight and airplane performance, weather at departure and destination, air traffic, and/or other pertinent information gathered by the pilots. Passengers do not contribute to decisions made by the PIC.
Aeronautics has posted the Flight Logs and Manifests to this web page. Flight Logs and Manifests are posted at the completion of flights. The minutes of the Aeronautics Commission meetings are posted on the website within two business days after the Commission approves the minutes. Any FOIA requests to the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission or to the Flight Department must be in writing and mailed to the attention of the
Executive Director or the Chief Pilot at:
2553 Airport Blvd
West Columbia, South Carolina 29170
All requests for information will be answered within fifteen business days.
Ground Transportation
Passengers are responsible for their own ground transportation at the destination airport. Rental cars, taxies, limousine service, and trains are available at different airports. Aeronautics will be glad to provide a destination phone number for passengers to make arrangements.