If you’ve been part of the aviation world for any length of time, you’re probably familiar with Wentworth Aircraft. They’ve been in the aviation salvage business for 39 years and, since their inception in 1986, have purchased about 6,900 aircraft. But aviation wasn’t always the Wentworth family business.
A Change in Direction
Steve grew up around airplanes and fell in love with them at a young age. His father was both a pilot and a flight instructor who had an airplane for his own personal use and a Cherokee he used for training future pilots.
It’s not surprising, then, that Steve completed his first solo flight before he could legally drive a car, on his 16th birthday. Given his love for flight, it is also not surprising he became certified as an A&P mechanic. What may be surprising is that he did not immediately pursue a job in the aviation realm.
At the time, the Wentworth family business was not aircraft. It was cars. Steve sold used cars for the then-family business. It wasn’t until his father came to him in 1985, asking him to overhaul the tired engine on his training aircraft, that the first door to a new possibility opened.
Steve, with the help of two fellow students, had overhauled an engine as part of his A&P training. He knew it could be done. However, he was confident it would be more practical, faster, and less expensive to simply swap it out with a better engine. After all, that’s what they did in the used car business!
A family friend, who was already selling airplane parts, regularly received bid sheets from insurance companies listing aircraft available at auction. Steve and his father purchased an aircraft with a compatible engine and made the switch. There were many good parts left on the airplane they’d purchased, so they advertised and sold them. Those first parts went quickly and a new business was born: Wentworth Aircraft.
What Wentworth Offers
There are two aspects to Wentworth’s business. One is a recovery and storage operation. They pick up damaged and wrecked aircraft in the Midwest and transport them to their Airlake airport hangers, where they are stored until all necessary investigations into that aircraft’s demise can be completed.
The salvage and sales branch of their business is run from a warehouse 45 minutes away, at the Crystal airport. In any given year, Steve bids on about 1800 aircraft, eventually buying about 200 of them. In fact, they buy so many they use a 53’ semi-trailer to transport the airplanes to Minnesota, four or more at a time! He focuses his purchases on lightly damaged craft that have not suffered a prop strike, just to guarantee the engine has not suffered stress. He also avoids buying “sitters,” aircraft that have been stored and missed their annual inspections for more than a couple of years. Airplane engines need to run regularly to stay in good working order.
Of course, the greatest advantage of buying a gently used engine is the savings compared to purchasing new or newly tages include the lack of delay waiting for an overhaul and the ability to have the replacement engine right next to the old engine, which makes swapping far easier.
In addition to their focus on offering trustworthy used engines, Wentworth specializes in selling used avionics. He and his team understand how various avionics interact with those already installed in each customer’s aircraft and can offer direction to those who are unsure what they need, or those who might benefit more from something other than what they were inquiring about.
Wentworth Aircraft Inc. sells only parts in good condition. Everything is tested before it leaves the shop and guaranteed for 30 days. Steve brings 39 years of aircraft business expertise, and 45 years of experience as a pilot and A&P to his customers.
Wentworth Aircraft
1-800-4WENTWORTH
wentworthaircraft.com
