Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

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The Blackhawk Group CEO, Chad Cundiff, sees plenty of opportunity in the aftermarket retrofit segment that his company targets, especially for owner-flown, high-performance airplanes such as the Pilatus PC-12, Daher TBM series, and Piper’s Meridian single-engine turboprop.
“It’s easier for the owner to upgrade if the price holds up,” Cundiff told AIN at the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in late July. “A lot of our focus is helping keep that value up.” Upgrading the engine, propeller, and avionics, he added, “has the effect of increasing the value of those as well. For the upgrades we offer, we have data that if you do this, it pays for itself when you sell it. And you get that same benefit of being able to use that upgrade until you sell. That resonates with a lot of folks.”
The other argument for upgrading, Cundiff explained, is that new aircraft prices are so high and backlogs so lengthy that it often takes years before delivery. “This creates more opportunities to increase the value of these aircraft that are on the market. We don’t compete with new sales, we help them. We’re raising the residual value of other airplanes in the fleet, and that keeps all these values up.”
Owned by New State Capital Partners, The Blackhawk Group consolidates three key brands: Avex, a Daher TBM sales and maintenance provider; Blackhawk, which offers engine, aircraft, and avionics upgrades for turbine-powered aircraft; and Finoff, the PC-12 upgrade division. Earlier this year, Blackhawk acquired Glendale Aero Services, an MRO provider at Glendale Municipal Airport (KGEU) in Arizona, which was rebranded as a Blackhawk Performance Center (BPC). An authorized service center for Textron Aviation and Cirrus Aircraft, the Glendale BPC is approved for Cirrus parachute repacking and Garmin avionics service and installations.
At the Oshkosh show, Blackhawk signed an agreement to upgrade a Piper Meridian from the Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada (P&amp;WC) PT6A-42 to the -135 engine. The upgrade will speed time to climb and enable 10% to 20% lower fuel burn. “There is a lot of interest in a seven-blade prop,” he said, and MT Propeller is working with Blackhawk to add that to the upgrade. Another upgrade that will be offered soon is compatibility between the King Air 300/350 P&amp;WC PT6A-67A engine upgrade and Collins Aerospace Fusion avionics, which are the factory-installed avionics for the newest versions of the Beechcraft twins.
After the company built a new hangar at its Broomfield, Colorado BPC, that location is full of King Airs getting Garmin G1000 upgrades. In January 2024, the Columbia, Missouri BPC was the first dealer to install Garmin’s autothrottles and autoland system on a King Air 200 after the system received FAA supplemental type certification.
At EAA AirVenture, Blackhawk celebrated the delivery of its 2,000th P&amp;WC engine since it was founded in 1999. The company’s XP engine programs have upgraded various airplanes with new PT6 engines that include the PT6A-52,&nbsp;-61,&nbsp;-67A,&nbsp;-67P,&nbsp;-66D, -135A, and&nbsp;-140, saving owners money with the purchase of a new engine that doesn’t cost much more than overhauling an existing engine.
“This milestone is more than a number; it’s a reflection of the trust our customers place in us and the strength of our collaboration with Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada,” said Cundiff. “At The Blackhawk Group, we’re driven by a belief that legacy aircraft still have untapped potential. The 2,000th PT6A engine delivery is proof that when you pair the right technology with the right team, performance has no limits.”
Blackhawk is looking at other upgrade opportunities, including adding more supplemental type certificates and BPCs. While the King Air is one of the smallest airplanes that can be fitted with a Starlink antenna, TBMs don’t have the available space, according to Cundiff, so Blackhawk is exploring the use of the Starlink Mini antenna. “That’s the kind of thing we like doing,” he said.

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