Salty Pelican Aviation, a Cirrus Authorized Service Center, embarked on its journey about a year and a half ago, led by a retired Air Force veteran and the Director of Maintenance, George Atilano. Joined by Manuel, George's cousin, who relocated from California to Texas to be part of this startup venture, Salty Pelican quickly gained traction in the maintenance of small GA piston aircraft, particularly Cirrus aircraft. The majority of their business comes from corporate sales reps providing maintenance for local Cirrus owners. Since partnering with EBIS, Salty Pelican has experienced substantial growth, expanding to seven technicians and a total of 11-12 employees. The business has upgraded its hangar space and is set to launch a flight school, exploring the addition of a small Part 135 operation to their services.
About Salty Pelican
Salty Pelican Aviation is a multi-service aviation organization providing aircraft maintenance, AOG support, and flight operations services. The company supports both customer-owned aircraft and an internally managed fleet, while also operating an active flight school. With a tightly coordinated team and hands-on leadership, Salty Pelican delivers responsive maintenance and operational support across its service lines.
Business Type: Aircraft Maintenance (MRO), A&P Repair Station, AOG Support, Fleet Management, Flight School
Team Size: At the time of partnering with EBIS, Salty Pelican Aviation operated with approximately 7 technicians within a team of 11–12 total employees, reflecting steady growth as they expanded maintenance services and prepared to launch additional operations.
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A Cirrus aircraft inside the hanger at Salty Pelican Aviation in New Braunfels, Texas.
Situation and Challenges
Salty Pelican utilizes EBIS for work order and part management, particularly for tracking maintenance times for Cirrus ETA codes.
The decision to explore EBIS was rooted in George's positive experience with the software, having used EBIS 3.2 during his tenure at Cirrus. The team at Salty Pelican was actively seeking maintenance software solutions during the launch of their business.
Salty Pelican was in the early stages of starting a Cirrus Service Center, focusing on providing maintenance for small GA piston aircraft. Their goal was to efficiently manage, organize, and track maintenance and times as they laid the foundation for their business.
The primary challenges for Salty Pelican included the need for efficiency, organization, and accurate tracking of maintenance and times. As a startup, these foundational elements were crucial for their operations.
“EBIS has definitely given us the luxury and formality of tracking efficiency. I love the simplicity of it. I love the format… The learning side of EBIS gives you that whole opportunity with tutorials. Some of my guys had never used a maintenance tracker before, and now they know how to clock in, deduct parts, track maintenance — the simplicity of the program has been awesome.”
George Atilano, Director of Maintenance, Salty Pelican Aviation
Results and Impact of Moving to EBIS
The adoption of EBIS brought about notable improvements for Salty Pelican. They successfully use EBIS for tracking maintenance times for Cirrus ATA codes, enhancing their efficiency and organization. As they continue to grow and expand their services, EBIS provides a reliable foundation for their maintenance operations.