North Coast Air Care

Quality Maintenance, Safety, Relationships

North Coast Air Care is a multi-faceted aircraft maintenance facility located at the Akron-Fulton Airport (KAKR) specializing in aircraft repairs and alterations. Founded in 1989 we are a  family owned and operated business. Once you enter as a customer you become part of that family. You can be assured that the work performed follows our established policy, Quality maintenance, Safety, Relationships. If it be a Cessna 152 or a Cessna Citation, our approach to maintenance and service remains the same.

 The hands on care you will receive as well as keeping the owner apprised to what is happening to the aircraft is a trademark of North Coast Air Care.  Our customers have direct contact to their mechanic so they are hearing first hand the status of their aircraft and have the ability to ask any questions.

We support 

Beechcraft King Air

TBM series   Simcom TBM trained technicians and up-to-the-minute updates on all things TBM directly from Socata.

Cessna Citation 500 and 550 

Most single engine and twin piston


SERVICES AND STAFF:


If you would like more information call Ken Gohlke 330-701-6400 or John Hogarth at 330-338-6072.

After more than 33 years in business, North Coast has kept our customer's satisfaction and confidence in their own aircraft a top priority. When our customers leave our shop we want them to know that their aircraft has been handled with great care and attention to detail and we are available 24/7 if needed. 


Sheet Metal Repair: Before and After

Citation Baggage Mod



History

Founded in 1989 as a mobile maintenance company John Hogarth would travel to corporate customer’s hangers to maintain their aircraft. Specializing in Citations, King Airs and Cheyenne’s. His customer base appreciated the fact they did not have to take their plane to a maintenance facility, and could witness the work being performed and a much lower shop rate. In June of 2000 John moved the operation to the Akron Fulton Airport to the FBO operated by Akron Flight a division of McKinley Air and expanded his customer base to include smaller engine and twin engine pistion aircraft.

In 2010 North Coast obtained the rights to operate the FBO and created Summit Airport Services. With Tony Plucinski operating the FBO an aggressive campaign was started to bring corporate traffic to the airport and Summit began to see a 17% growth per year in traffic count that continues to rise yearly.

2012 brought another change to the two businesses as the City of Akron awarded a contract for Summit Airport Services LLC to maintain and operate the airport. Five years later the City of Akron extended this contract to 25 years. Understanding the great responsibility of this endeavor, the staff of both companies began the process of cross training to not only assist with aircraft services, but plow snow as needed and the numerous other facets that are required to run an aiport of this size. This formula has worked well as there has never been a runway closure due to ice or snow. 

Employee longevity is the key to this success. All key personal has been with North Coast Air Care or Summit Airport Services since operations began on the airport.  The staff of both companies take a great deal of pride in what they do at the airport. This pride in maintaining the airport has resulted in numerous comments made by transient customers as to how well-groomed the airport is.

Tony Plucinski who operates the FBO is also the airport manager. He makes himself available 24/7 to any all customer needs.

Ken Gohlke the Director Maintenance for North Coast Air Care has a true ‘one on one’ relationship with his customers. He too has availed himself to 24/7 communication with them to assist in issues.

John Thomas Hogarth Director of Airport Operations is also a licensed aircraft mechanic. John takes a great deal of pride as to how the airport is maintained as well as appearance. His team is out there at 0 dark thirty assuring runways are cleared and safe at all times.

It is the driving force of this dedicated team of supervisors and their employees that adheres to no time clock that has made the success of the FBO and maintenance facility.



Customer Testimonials: 

Great service, nice lobby and friendly folks ensures that we will be back! AIRBOSS even worked.         Doug Olsen

I was engaged by a Client to locate, evaluate and negotiate the purchase of a TBM 850G aircraft for corporate use with a very aggressive timeline. After identifying a solid airframe I was faced with locating a reputable TBM shop to perform a thorough Pre-Buy evaluation. After contacting a number of large, established Socata sponsored TBM shops I was told none could meet the time requirements. Faced with this dilemma I did some research and located North Coast Air Care in Akron and called John Hogarth to ask some questions about their qualifications and ability to perform the evaluation. With no guarantee that they would get the job, John and his staff spent a considerable amount of time to review the unique inspection schedules and requirements for the TBM 850G to include sending me the actual excerpts from the Daher-Socata maintenance manuals.      John, his Staff and their facilities excelled from start to finish, they identified discrepancies, reviewed all options to resolve them along with installing some key upgrades and Service Bulletins all on time and within budget. In addition North Coast Air Care coordinated supporting vendors, assisted with locating Ferry Pilot services and re-organized all the maintenance records and produced an excellent new system of record keeping and tracking for the new owner. North Coast Air Care “does it all” and has my highest recommendation for Aircraft Services and I look forward to the opportunity to work with them in the future.       Bill Campbell, Topgun Aircraft Sales and Consulting

I have used John's facility for over five years to care for my pride and joy, a Cessna 421C.  We hung two engines on this bird and it runs flawlessly.   This is a complex aircraft and many shops won't even get involved with it.  I have also recently purchased a Dakota and John shepherded me through the prebuy.  He then hung a new engine and performed an annual.  Again, the machine runs great. I fly with my family and use this aircraft to get me to destinations on schedule.  This means flying in challenging weather.  I can honestly say that under John's care I fly with confidence and have never had a flight safety issue.   I guarantee you will find lower quotes if you bid a job.  I would simply caution you that that quote will quickly lose its luster after your third trip back to "get it right", or worse yet if you find you yourself stranded at an airport without services.  I can say without hesitation you won't find better value.   Anthony Pentz, Premier Air Services, LTD

Eckinger Construction Company operates a construction company which works in forty four states and Canada.  We rely on our airplane to transport company executives, customers, project managers, superintendents, and materials to the various jobsites throughout the country and Canada.  Having well maintained equipment including our airplanes is a top priority.   North Coast Air Care Inc., began servicing our airplanes in 2002.  I was encouraged by a friend to contact John Hogarth with North Coast Air Care.  John went over the plane and found several discrepancies and repaired all that he found.  On one occasion I had a problem with my 421 in another state and John sent the parts and the manpower to my location in a plane to have me on my way with only a three hour delay.  John is a valuable asset in my decision making process in most of my airplane and airplane equipment decisions.  I am sure there are cheaper options out there; however, I feel I get a very good value for my dollar and I always feel my planes are safe and reliable.        Tomas D. Eckinger, Eckinger Construction Company

I own a Citation Mustang and flew in for family affairs to the Akron Fulton Airport.  The service at the FBO is unmatched.  Line service was very attentive and on their game. They made sure that all of our rental cars and hotel reservations were ready to go when we got there.  I even had a minor maintenance issue that I found the day we were ready to leave.  Within an hour, North Coast Air Care had one of their mechanics out to fix my issue. Mind you, this was on a weekend.  Everyone was very friendly and happy to help with anything that we had asked. We will be back to this FBO again!    Joshua Campbell

For the past 10 years John Hogarth, owner of North Coast Air Care at the Akron Municipal Airport has been maintaining my aircraft from a Cessna P-210 to my current aircraft a Cessna Citation 501SP.  After meeting with John and seeing his operation I noticed there were King Airs, Cheyenne III's as well as Piper Arrows in his facility under going maintenance.  He is a "hand on" owner and was out on the floor working and inspecting assuring that when issues arose he could answer them direct and the customer didn't have to go through a lengthy chain of command to know what was up with his aircraft.   If anyone who operates a General Aviation Aircraft whether it be a Piper Dakota or a Cessna Citation who wishes to have a high level of comfort in their maintenance personal; know that the quality of workmanship on all aircraft is the same now matter what the make or model, to call John and speak with him.        Danny Karam, Karam Properties