From the Flight Deck

Happy New Year, Shoreline friends! A great year it was, and a great year it will be. Please join us as we take a look back on many highlights of 2024. You can read the full stories by following the links.

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We began the Shoreline Aviation website Newsroom in 2024 right where we left off 2023. Our year-ending story “A day in the life of Shoreline Aviation’s line team” was a big hit with our digital audiences. The December 2023 story followed a day in the life of two members of Shoreline’s dedicated line team as they fastidiously prepped an aircraft for a charter flight, to show folks just what that entails. The January 2024 follow up was in the form of five videos made from the 23 taken to capture Airport Assistant Manager Ben Garman and Line Service Manager Steve Dery going through their many expert paces. That package of videos also drew its share of attention, shining light on the technical proficiency, experience, and responsibility of Shoreline’s line team.

Assistant Airport Manager Ben Garman, front, and Line Service Manager Steve Dery depart the Marshfield Municipal Airport terminal building to begin aircraft preparations for the day’s charter flights.

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Charter fleet expansion

Shoreline announced in January its intention to expand its charter fleet of best-selling Citation 560XL series of passenger jets at Marshfield Municipal Airport. Shoreline expected delivery of two Citation XLS+ jets to join the expanding line, which is further complemented by Shoreline’s Falcon 2000LX, one of the world’s most popular large cabin business jets. The Falcon, based in Palm Beach and also flying regularly from Hyannis, has expanded Shoreline’s charter services to offer flights to global destinations. Shoreline’s charter fleet rounded out with its Pilatus PC-12NG, with an expected stablemate PC-12NGX due in January, to be certified. These workhorse turboprop aircraft command the respect and admiration of pilots and passengers, as witnessed by more than 10 million flight hours of the legendary PC-12 line. These additions show Shoreline’s 43-year-old charter business clearly ascending. The Citation XLS+ jet above is one of two that joined Shoreline Aviation’s charter fleet at Marshfield Municipal Airport in 2024.

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MBAA Aviation Day

Shoreline Aviation once again served as a main sponsor of the annual MBAA Aviation Day, designed to bring aviation business associates from throughout New England together for their special networking day. The Massachusetts Business Aviation Association held its 11th annual event in May. Over 300 business aviation owners, operators, executives, and service providers came together at Jet Aviation in Hangar #17, Hanscom Field (KBED), Bedford, Massachusetts. Shoreline was represented by Chief Pilot Wes Harris, Charter Operations Manager Patrick Olson, Flight Logistician Logan Timpany, and Sales and Operations Specialist Peter Bukuras, who shmoozed with industry leaders all day.

MBAA President Dave Richter, second from left, mugs with Shoreline Charter Operations Manager Patrick Olson, Flight Logistician Logan Timpany, and Chief Pilot Wes Harris.

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Business After Hours

Also in May, Shoreline held its first joint South Shore and Marshfield Chambers of Commerce Business After Hours. Aircraft Management, Sales and Acquisitions specialist Erin Mulcahey facilitated the event for Shoreline, working with Chamber reps to coordinate reservations, and lining up refreshments with local businesses. Erin served as hostess for the event, greeting and addressing the attendees. Shoreline President Keith Douglass engaged in endless conversation with guests, as did Charter Operations Manager Patrick Olson, Flight Logistics Specialist Logan Timpany, and Sales and Operations Specialist Peter Bukuras. The two-hour event flew by, as several guests networked, enjoyed refreshments, and toured one of Shoreline’s fleet of Citation jets.

Shoreline Aviation President Keith Douglass chats with guests during his company’s first Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours.

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Hitting the links for the cause

Shoreline Aviation fielded a sextet of golfers to hit the links in June in support of the Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield, the hometown of Marshfield Municipal Airport, which the company serves as its fixed base operator. Shoreline and many other teams at Marshfield Country Club participated in the Club’s 10th annual Golf Classic. “It’s a youth center that kids are able to attend – camps, programs, help with their homework, sports, learning how to swim, field trips, the whole works,” said Boys and Girls Club CEO Jim Bunnell.

Shoreline Aviation teammates prepare to take to the links for the Marshfield Girls and Boys Club.

Shoreline also fielded a fearless foursome of golfers willing to spend a superb summer day on the links of Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth all for the cause of raising funds for a very special industry scholarship program. The Massachusetts Business Aviation Association’s 12th Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament pulled people from the business aviation industry together to connect and support aviation in Massachusetts. The company also sponsored the “Closest to the Pin” competition.

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Developing Pilot Development Program

When P.J. Flanagan joined Shoreline Aviation in 2023 as the company’s director of operations, he had a particular goal in mind. “I’m really looking forward to mentoring younger pilots through their profession,” he said at the time. P.J. spent a year working directly with the FAA preparing for its approval of a Pilot Development Program. Few Part 135 operators (non-scheduled air charter carriers) have been awarded this approval from the FAA. So, Shoreline created a Pilot Development Program for established captains to become mentors to pilots aspiring to fly jets. This program involves specific training in the development and growth of leadership skills. It utilizes a checklist and procedures for operating a single-pilot aircraft as a two-pilot aircraft, essentially establishing Captain and Second in Command (SIC) roles and responsibilities. This program will utilize the Pilatus PC-12NG turboprop aircraft in Shoreline’s charter fleet. Under the PDP, the pilot flying the right seat in the cockpit would be able to log time as SIC. Previously, those pilots could not log this valuable flight time in building their careers. “Our captains will gain valuable mentoring and leadership skills and will benefit their carers greatly,” P.J. said. “To be a mentor, you’re giving someone leadership skills so they can develop in a judge-free environment.”

Shoreline Aviation Director of Operations P.J. Flanagan shows the instrumentation facing a Pilot in Command in a Citation XLS+ jet.

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Chasing the dream

Shoreline President Keith Douglass had a conversation with former company charter pilot Steve Craffey and thought Steve’s story would prove interesting. Indeed it did, notching the most Newsroom story views for 2024. Here’s the short version. (For the longer version, read it here.) Steve was living in Weymouth after college when he decided it was time to act on his dream. He took an introductory flight with Shoreline Aviation. “The intro flight was cool,” he said. “I did most of the takeoff – but not the landing.” He began flight lessons in July that year and earned his private pilot’s license in December. He vividly recalls soloing in Shoreline’s Piper Warrior 2150F (‘50 fox’ as he fondly recalls her). Steve became a commercial pilot and certified flight instructor (CFI). He instructed at Shoreline from 1992 to 1996. After a break, Steve’s reentry to aviation was flying a Beech King Air, which was like the turboprop he last flew with Shoreline.  A job flying the Citation Sovereign followed and culminated this year with the opportunity to fly the “Queen of the Skies.” “Operating on the 74’ is a once in a lifetime kind of job,” he said. “I get to circumnavigate the globe often twice each month.” His latest flying gig has him moving goods all over the world flying 747s for cargo airline Kalitta Air. And he doesn’t forget his flying roots. “It all started right there in Marshfield,” he said. “It doesn’t feel that far removed, going from ‘50 fox’ to a 747. I’m grateful for what Shoreline did for me. Flying is my dream, and it all started there.”

Steve Craffey is poised to fly from Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport in a 747. Photo courtesy of Steve Craffey

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Turtle rescue time

It’s turtle rescue season on Cape Cod, and that cause definitely includes Shoreline Aviation and Marshfield Airport. Sea turtles have been venturing father and farther north because of warming water in the Gulf of Maine. But “As the temperature drops in Cape Cod Bay, turtles’ body temperature drops as well, because they’re reptiles; they’re ectotherms,” New England Aquarium biologist Kristen Luise explained. “What happens is their metabolism begins to shut down, and they become immobilized and come to be stranded on the beaches of Cape Cod. When that happens, they come to our Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, and that’s where the rehabilitation process begins.” But the hospital needs to make room for more turtles, as an average of 700 sea turtles are rescued each year. This is where nonprofit organization Turtles Fly Too comes in. Volunteer pilots for TF2 pick up recovering turtles at Marshfield Airport and fly them to other rehab facilities around the country. One regular pilot is Steve Bernstein, who has been flying turtles for about 10 years. You can read his story here. There’s a link in the story to ABC’s news coverage of the turtle rescue program, which features a photo from Steve’s rescue flight at GHG. Shoreline charges no ramp fees and offers significant fuel discounts for Turtle Fly Too pilots. And best of all, staffers get to load turtles onto the aircraft.

Pilot Steve Bernstein loads rehabilitating turtles onto his plane to fly south.

Others get into the turtle rescue coverage too. As popular TV wildlife biologist Jeff Corey, who’s had nature series on the tube for years, says, “I’ve produced a show or two on nature.” The South Shore native and longtime Marshfield resident knew he had to film an episode on the local turtle rescue effort for his new show “Extraordinary World,” which premiers Jan. 4 on CBS. He appeared at the airport a week after Steve Bernstein to meet TF2 pilot Ken Edwards, who was flying in to pick up 32 passengers. “We’re filming this amazing episode in my back yard,” he said. “It’s this incredible odyssey about these sea turtles that are rescued by the Sea Turtle Hospital with the New England Aquarium, and they themselves go on this incredible journey with this tapestry of connected conservationists all working together to save the sea turtles.” Kate Sampson is the Sea Turtle Stranding and Disentanglement Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries and oversees stranding response and rehabilitation. “What we have here are Kemp’s ridleys, loggerheads and green sea turtles, primarily,” she said. “They’ll be here till the water temperature starts to cool down. The days start to get shorter and that signals to them they should migrate south…. Unfortunately, they end up sometimes bumping into Cape Cod. And Cape Cod is a perfect trap. The exit to Cape Cod is to the north, and that is contrary to their instincts; they want to go south.” And thus, the rescue mission begins. Read all about Jeff, Ken and Kate’s takes on the mission and what it means to them. Interviews were conducted at Marshfield Municipal Airport, GHG.

Wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin gestures to Turtles Fly Too pilot Ken Andrews while filming for Corbin’s TV show “Extraordinary World” on CBS.

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These are some of Shoreline Aviation’s highlights for 2024. You can read all about them and more at Shoreline’s website Newsroom. Get to know more of the Shoreline team by visiting the Newsroom. And get to know them in person by visiting them at Marshfield Municipal Airport, GHG. Learn more at www.shorelineaviation.net.