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Aerotek Aviation was founded in 2003 by an active airline pilot and experimental aircraft enthusiast Vincent Gagnon. Having flown commercially for several years in the northern wilderness meant that he truly understood the importance of being propelled by the most reliable power plant possible.  His understanding of the experimental/amateur built aircraft market meant that he understood the financial constraints of providing private operators with such engines.

Driven by this desire to have and promote access to safe, reputable turbine engines for the experimental/amateur builder, Vincent and his team at Aerotek Aviation had found themselves a mission.

With un-surpassed flight safety records, the Pratt & Whitney PT-6 was the obvious choice, but how could they provide the turbine installation and make an affordable installation for an amateur-built aircraft?

After extensive searches, Aerotek Aviation found a solid partner able to supply them with affordable engines previously operated and cared for by military and governmental agencies. Furthermore, these engines came supported by lifetime logbooks documentation, subjected to a thorough inspection, and a given fresh hot section overhaul.

Aerotek Aviation then added to their team engineering talent with P&W-specific experience and forged ahead to develop an electrical wiring harness as well as a reliable fuel system suitable for the niche market that they had created. The next step was to find a solid aircraft to use as a test bench.

The logical choice for an airframe was the Murphy SR-3500 “Moose,” a proven, rugged, amateur-built kit with great factory support that had made its reputation on both wheels and floats in a wide range of missions and environments. The first full conversion, known as the “T-Moose,” was an immediate success, winning the Outstanding Amphibian award at Air Venture Oshkosh 2005……

Driven by success, Aerotek’s team realized that a true equivalent to the world renowned De-Havilland Turbo-Beaver was needed in the experimental category. Such an airplane would be perfect for a private pilot who does not need a certified aircraft, but needs comparable performance, payload capacity and size.

At half the price of the turbine powered DHC-2 (Turbo-Beaver), Aerotek’s Turbo-Grizzly encompasses rugged design features and makes flight performances of some of the best modern certified utility airframes seem dismal. It is also important to state that the Turbo-Grizzly allowed Aerotek once again re-iterate their dedication on producing outstanding and award winning product by being the recipient of not one but two of the top 2008 awards allocated to non–certificated aircraft.

Mr, Rick Orchard who had previously installed Aerotek’s PT6 package in his Turbo-Moose was so amazed by the Turbo-Grizzly that he ordered one right away.

Since then, Aerotek has captured new market shares by creating a PT-6 firewall forward conversion package for the new Lancair Evolution.

Due to excellent work ethics and a flawless safety record, Aerotek’s shop and staff have officially received the approval to install the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to convert certified DeHavilland Beaver into PT6 Turbo-Beaver. Having leapt into the certified market, supported by strong relationship with PT-6 suppliers and overhaul shops, Aerotek is now in a position to offer several types of PT6 engines variants and provides support for both commercial and private operators from around the world.