EAA Sport Aviation - February 2012

acknowledges with a little bit of a sheepish
laugh, “I like Maine. I like snow. Part of the
decision was just ‘Where do I want to be?’”
Equally important, however, was the
economic assistance that Maine was will-
ing to provide to the company–assistance
that was critical because the 2008 finan-
cial crisis made capital investment even
harder to obtain.

“The base had just closed,” Alan explains, “which was, obviously, a huge economic dislocation for the coast of Maine.” So locating Kestrel and its 300 to 600 new jobs at Brunswick could be a win-win for everyone.

Unfortunately, the various entities in Maine responsible for funneling the assistance to Kestrel have not delivered on what Alan says the company was promised. So to make a long story of financial dealings short, Kestrel is looking for another potential home for at least part of its manufacturing operation.

“We’ve told Maine, if you can get it done, we’re here,” Alan says. “But if you can’t get it done, we’re not going to sit here and go out of business saying, ‘Oh, gee, darn, wouldn’t it have been nice.’ So we’re now talking to half a dozen communities.” All of which, it should be noted, receive prodigious amounts of snow each winter. “Any place that borders Canada, we can probably agree to pretty easily,” Alan says with a grin.

In truth, he’s only half-joking. “It works out well that I like cold, out of the way, relatively unsophisticated places,” he says–because those places are often in the greatest need of jobs, a tax base, and economic development.

No matter where the Kestrels are built (Alan says the planes are about three years from production), Kestrel will keep at least an engineering office in Brunswick. It will also base a subsidiary business there, retrofitting Piper Meridians with new glass panels and other features that may also end up in production Kestrels.

Of course, unexpected difficulties are
part of the challenge of charging forward
into new terrain, or moving to a new place. A
new venture, or adventure, is never as easy
as just staying where you are. But I think
Alan and I both understood that when each
of us, for different reasons, began looking at
New England as a potential new home.

Lane Wallace, EAA 650945, has been an aviation columnist, editor, and author for more than 20 years. More of her writing can be found at her blog, www.NoMap-NoGuide-NoLimits.com, and at www.TheAtlantic.com/Lane_Wallace.