Friend AirCare + Vista-Suite Enterprise Case Study

Friend AirCare Moved from an Aging System, Gained Unprecedented Efficiency and Confidence

Organization

Friend AirCare has been a fixture of corporate aviation in western Pennsylvania since 1978. Based in Washington, PA, roughly 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, the company serves a loyal base of repeat customers and referrals with a full spectrum of maintenance, inspection, repair, and avionics services. Their roster of aircraft services focuses on Piper and Beechcraft turboprops, as well as Citation jets, reflecting a clientele that often grows with them, moving from small turboprops to larger turboprops and light jets as their needs evolve.

With approximately 30 employees and a growing workload driven by aging fleets and an expanding avionics practice, Friend AirCare had built a strong reputation on craftsmanship and relationships. With Vista-Suite Enterprise, they now have a modern operational backbone to match.

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Challenge

For decades, Friend AirCare managed its business on Quick Aviation. The system was DOS-based and, by the time the company began evaluating alternatives, was over 25 years old. Stability had become a recurring concern as the software grew less reliable with each passing year, and those reliability issues ultimately accelerated the decision to find something new.

The deeper problem, however, was access. Because the system was server-based, staff could interact with operational data only when physically at a specific PC in the office or hangar. Work-in-process figures, inventory status, and work order details were technically present in the system but practically inaccessible. Editing a work order meant deleting it entirely and starting over. Sharing information with a customer required several steps: photographing a plane with a personal cell phone, emailing the image, and manually uploading it to a system that was never designed for that workflow.

At the same time, Friend AirCare's work was becoming more complex. As aircraft in their care aged, the balance of work shifted toward repair, which was less predictable, more time-intensive, and required tighter coordination between the office and the hangar floor. Accurately tracking mechanic labor quickly was essential, and the method had to align with the FAA's guidelines aimed at keeping mechanics off their cell phones while working. The company had responded by requiring mechanics to stow their phones during work hours, which meant any system relying on personal devices for time entry was a non-starter.

Friend AirCare needed a platform built for where their business was headed.

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Solution

The evaluation process began with approximately eight vendors and narrowed to two or three finalists. Ultimately, Friend AirCare selected Vista-Suite Enterprise, influenced both by the platform’s capabilities and the level of engagement from its team throughout the process.

From the earliest stages, Vista-Suite Enterprise distinguished itself through a level of attention that other vendors often struggle to match. One early indicator was Ambry Hill's Vista-Suite Enterprise Rapid Process Assessment conducted before implementation began. Rather than simply collecting data to configure a system, the assessment prompted Friend AirCare's leadership and department heads to articulate how they actually operated and to think critically about how they wanted to operate in the future. The exercise created value independent of the software itself immediately.

Once implementation was underway, a specific challenge emerged: how to enable labor tracking on the hangar floor without requiring mechanics to return to their cell phones. Working closely with the Ambry Hill team, the need for real-time task tracking was identified, and a process was developed where tablet-based kiosks, installed at key locations on the floor, allowed mechanics to select specific jobs, start and stop time tracking, and record work performed. This approach enabled accurate labor capture while addressing safety and compliance concerns linked to personal devices.

Throughout the implementation, the Ambry Hill team was transparent about the state of its product and responsive when feedback led to tangible action. Updates in subsequent software releases addressed concerns raised during the process, reinforcing the sense that the relationship extended beyond the go-live date.

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Results

The results became apparent quickly. Within the first month of operating in Vista-Suite Enterprise, Friend AirCare had more accurate and accessible job information, Work in Progress (WIP) data, inventory data, and significantly greater system-wide visibility than under the previous system. The difference was not in what was stored, but in how readily it could be reached, trusted, and acted upon.

The confidence boost across the organization was significant. Oliver Poppenberg, VP and CFO, emphasized the measurable shift: “Before Vista-Suite Enterprise, confidence in the data hovered between 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. After implementation, the team was simply confident. As a result, decisions were made faster and with fewer errors, since everyone now saw the same information from any device at any time - whether at their desk, on a tablet in the hangar, or from home.”

Operationally, what had previously required a multi-step workaround to share a photo with a customer became a direct process of capturing on a tablet, uploading instantly to Vista-Suite Enterprise, and sharing with the customer. Work Orders could be edited on the fly rather than deleted and rebuilt. Invoices could be generated directly from completed orders. The friction that had accumulated over years of working around an outdated system was gone.

The kiosk solution resolved the labor-tracking challenge while respecting both the FAA's guidance and the realities of hangar-floor work. Mechanics can log time accurately without needing their personal phones, and the business gained the labor visibility it needed to manage increasingly complex repair workflows.

From a team perspective, the feedback was consistently positive. Staff previously limited by the old system were now equipped with tools accessible through phones, tablets, and remote connections. Plus, data they could trust rather than question.

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Looking Ahead

Friend AirCare plans to build another new hangar and expand its operations by adding more mechanics, capabilities, and growing Avionics and Interiors departments. Vista-Suite Enterprise provides the operational platform to support that growth without the constraints that limited them before.

When asked for advice on another shop considering Vista-Suite Enterprise, Poppenberg's answer was straightforward: “Consider it seriously and know that what you are choosing is not just software. The people behind the platform, their transparency, their responsiveness, and their willingness to engage as genuine partners - that is what is making the difference for Friend AirCare.”