Keep them flying

This is Univair Aircraft Corporation in Aurora, Colorado, and Dyer’s family started this business in 1946. He grew up here.

“I came up through this as a kid. We would spend weekends here and evenings with my parents doing what they had to do to run the business,” he said. Dyer is now the president and CEO of the business his grandfather started at the end of World War II. He took over from his father, Steve, in 2006.Univair eventually held more PMAs (parts manufacturing approvals) for out-of-production aircraft than any other company in the United States.

Supporting GA

Simply stated, Univair Aircraft Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of aircraft parts and supplies for general aviation. J.E. “Eddie” Dyer started the company with a friend, Don Vest, when the two left the U.S. Army Air Corps. The friends had caught the aviation bug in the service, and after returning home, saw a need for business to support what they anticipated would be a boom in aviation.

“My grandfather was a flight instructor and aircraft mechanic. They were fresh out of the war and thought people coming back would be buying and selling aircraft,” said Dyer. Vest was a car salesman before the war and took over as the aircraft salesman for the new company, and Eddie Dyer started the manufacturing and repair side of what was first the Vest Aircraft Company.

Believing that the post-war boom would see returning servicemen purchasing aircraft, manufacturers produced huge numbers of airplanes. But that boom did not materialize, many aircraft manufacturers went bankrupt, and some of those we know today nearly failed.

“As the original manufacturers were shutting down, my grandfather and his partner saw a need to start making parts for those aircraft and they acquired some of the type certificates—Ercoupe, Swift, Stinson—and along with those type certificates came large quantities of inventory and the tooling to make the parts. Then they acquired the manufacturing equipment to make the parts,” Dyer said.

The Federal Aviation Act, established in 1958, set procedures for parts approvals and the manufacture of FAA-certified replacement aircraft parts. Dyer acquired some of the first FAA parts manufacturing approvals (PMAs) issued by the new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Woman-owned

Vest eventually left the business, and Dyer changed the name to Universal Aircraft Industries. Dyer’s partner, Veda, became his wife. She, too, was a pilot and flew a Culver Cadet, and the family bought a Beechcraft Bonanza in 1962.

“My grandfather had a very strong business through the 1950s and ’60s, but in the early 1960s, my grandfather passed away. He left a thriving business, and it floundered for awhile after he passed, but my grandmother took up the reins and got it going again. She was very active in the business until the 1980s. She passed away in 1985.” 

Veda Dyer became general manager and CEO of the now-named Univair Aircraft Corporation in 1965. After the death of her husband, she narrowed the focus of the company to concentrate on areas that were profitable and where the company was most efficient. Some of the type certificates were sold, most of the specialized maintenance shops were closed, and the salvage yard was sold. Under her management, the company expanded.

The company moved to what was then the Sky Ranch Airport east of Denver.

“When they put the business at the airport here, my grandparents lived in Denver, so they bought a quarter section of the land at the side of the airport and built a house here. When I was a kid, we drove out here and it was 20 to 30 minutes to the nearest grocery store or gas station. We were really out in the country, but progressively through the years it’s just grown and grown, and then they built Denver International here and stuff started to grow out here.”

When Veda Dyer retired in 1976, Steve Dyer became general manager and CEO. During his 30-year tenue, the plant grew from 44,000 square feet to 62,000 square feet. Univair eventually held more PMAs for out-of-production aircraft than any other company in the United States.

Pilot-owned

Univair continued to thrive under the leadership of Steve Dyer. “I think we became pretty well known for supplying replacement parts for the Cub line: the J–3s and PA–11s, PA–12s, Super Cubs, and the Tri-Pacer. There’s something new here every day,” said his son.

Univair owns three aircraft type certificates: one for the Stinson 108 series and two for the Ercoupe series. The company also holds thousands of PMAs for Aeronca, Champion, Citabria, Decathlon Scout, Cessna, Luscombe, Piper, and Taylorcraft airplanes.

Univair operates three computer numerically controlled (CNC) turning centers, two CNC vertical milling centers, one CNC laser center, one CNC high-definition plasma tube contouring machine, and two CNC press brakes. The younger Dyer now maintains the family commitment to keeping older airplanes flying with a blend of craftsmanship and technology.

Univair does not have the type certificates, engineering, and tooling for all the older aircraft it supports. However, in the case of Piper, their inventory is one of the largest in the world, because not only did Univair purchase several foreign military inventories and numerous parts directly from Piper or its distributors, but it added to its product line by making the parts themselves. Dyer says the company makes parts one part at a time. “It is a slow process of drawing up blueprints, doing engineering reports, making tooling, inspecting, and working the paperwork through the FAA. I like being able to take a piece of raw material and turn it into something; I’ve made most of these pieces. I’ve run most of the machines. That’s what’s always been very satisfying to me.”

Dyer is an active pilot and flies a Piper PA–11. The family also still owns the Bonanza his grandfather bought in 1962.

Dyer says that’s the company goal—to keep the older models and classic aircraft in the air. “To accomplish this goal, we have one of the largest production facilities outside of the current model airframe manufacturers. We have evolved into the largest manufacturer and supplier of classic aircraft parts and supplies in the world through our manufacturing, distribution, and publishing divisions. And we make replacement parts for all the stuff that wears out and wiggles and jiggles.”

[email protected]