Global Aircraft Consulting · Captain Russ Bird
Embraer delivery, mentoring, contract pilot services, international crossings and flight department design. Dallas/Fort Worth, and wherever your aircraft is.
Filmed by Russ on the flight deck
Honor, Integrity and Service.
“My name is Russ Bird, president and founder of Global Aircraft Consulting. We are based in the Dallas/ Ft Worth, Texas area and as the company name suggests, we operate globally. Our main focus is establishing a long term relationship with our clients.”
Russ began flying in 1964, captained the Boeing 777 for American Airlines, and since 2010 has flown and delivered Embraer's executive jets: the Phenom 100 and 300, the Legacy 450 and 500, the Praetor 500 and 600. He has helped owners take more than 40 of them from the factory into service.
Embraer Delivery Specialist
“The paint and interior inspections start the minute I lay my eyes on the aircraft but the intense inspection starts immediately after the test flight.”
The first day starts with a briefing by the Embraer test pilots, then the test flight. Russ or his qualified associate is on board, or Russ flies the aircraft with the Embraer pilot. Every system is tested so the aircraft is mechanically safe and everything on board works as advertised.
Access panels and doors, control surfaces, engine cowlings, paint detail and every interior item. Two people work the exterior and interior so nothing is missed, with Russ's own checklist in hand.
“Problems will be found!”
Each one is numbered and recorded with Embraer's delivery specialist, Embraer's engineers put it right, and the team inspects it again. That is the buy-back. Every inspection photo is shared with you at the end of the delivery.
“Your best insurance is to hire a representative not associated with the manufacturer to personally inspect your aircraft!”
Global Aircraft stands alongside you from months before you choose the aircraft: the mission, the negotiation, contract signing, test flights, inspections and the closing. One owner has trusted Russ with power of attorney to inspect and close on his aircraft.
International mentoring and ferry service
“We have personally made hundreds of crossing on the North Atlantic and Pacific with destinations such as Tokyo, London, Frankfurt and points throughout South America.”
Russ delivers aircraft to international destinations and flies with crews who have never crossed an ocean, as PIC, as SIC, or as the mentor on board. The North Atlantic Track system has its own rules and your aircraft needs special equipment, so the planning starts well before the trip.
“Knowledge is power when it comes to international travel. I'm not going to pretend to have all the answers but I know how to find them.”
“I had the pleasure of working with a gentleman during a delivery in São José dos Campos, Brazil. I have to share this slide show to show you a bit of the process, the warmth of the people in Brazil and the celebration that follows. The gentleman's name is Billy Austin. Billy is one of my very best friends to this day. We flew the aircraft back to the USA together.”
Russ, on the BBR Air delivery, 2015
Instructing, mentoring, contract pilot
After the type rating, a new crew still needs someone beside them who knows the aircraft. In the airlines that is the check airman. In business jets, it is Russ: he rides along for a few trips or for many, flies with owner operators stepping into their first jet and with professionals moving to a new one, and can fly as one of your pilots until your flight department has its own.
He trains every six months at FlightSafety on the Legacy and Praetor, and every year at CAE on the Phenom 300.
“A crew member must not only be a good pilot but must have a serving heart.”
Acquisition, flight department design, aircraft management
Seating and range, and the takeoff and landing performance from your own runways. Global Aircraft looks at a purchase from an engineering standpoint, then runs the whole acquisition while you keep full control:
A home base and a suitable FBO, a hangar that fits, the vendors, the procedures your pilots follow every day, scheduling, and a path to Platinum Elite status with ARG/US. Global Aircraft has managed the everyday operation of several aircraft for the last 15 years, locally and remotely.
“Safe is a word that can easily be used to describe your operation but if you don't understand the DNA of aircraft safety then how can you incorporate it into your flight department?”
Recommendations
“Russ managed the aircraft throughout my ownership, ensuring exceptional reliability and an impressive dispatch rate. … As an added benefit, Russ served as a mentor pilot, helping to build confidence and skill during the initial transition to jet ownership. … Russ has my highest recommendation.”
“From delivery to one on one training on our Aircraft it was a very fun and fulfilling experience for us and my team.”
“Will see you soon and also appreciate the friendship. I tell everyone, Russ is a good as it gets!”
Edwin R. Bird, Jr.
“What am I about? First is God, Marriage, Church, Family and the Friends that God has placed in my life. Aviation has been an avenue to meet so many of these great friends.”
Flying since 1964, instructing by 18 and flying private jets at 22. A Bachelor of Science in Electronics Technology from the University of Houston in 1973. Captain for Thunderbird Airways, Mid American Oil and Gas, and American Airlines from 1985 to 2011 on the B707, B727, MD80, MD11 and B777. Over 26,000 hours, 23,500 of them PIC jet, a Federal Flight Deck Officer, and a whole career clear of accidents, incidents and FAR violations.
Member of the National Business Aviation Association and the Embraer Jet Operators Association
“Please know that if you need a dedicated servant of aviation that you can call me any time. I look forward to meeting you!”
Global Aircraft Consulting, LLC
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas