History of the Swiss Colony Flight Department

The Swiss Colony purchases its first aircraft, a two seat single engine Cessna 140 to cut down the travel time from Monroe to Chicago, Green Bay and Plymouth areas to conduct business more efficiently.

The Swiss Colony purchases a single engine Cessna 195 aircraft that seats up to five passengers to make travel time even more efficient. Mr. Perry Power was eventually hired by Swiss Colony as the official pilot for all of their executive transportation needs.

The Swiss Colony replaced their single engine Cessna 195 with their first multi-engine aircraft the Cessna 310. Having a multi-engine aircraft allowed the Swiss Colony executives to travel faster, farther distances and allowed to operate safely in more adverse weather conditions.

The Swiss Colony hired their second pilot, Mr. Chuck Saunders to join the flight team.

Swiss Colony replaced their Cessna 310 with a Cessna 414 multi-engine aircraft, which allowed them to carry more passengers, and travel faster and farther than the 310.

By 1986, having an aircraft available to the company continued to be proven incredibly valuable not only to help transport executives more efficiently by car or airline, but also to transport emergency orders, pick up spare parts, and to fly VIP’s to Monroe. Swiss Colony welcomed their first jet aircraft, a Cessna Citation II which allowed executives to travel up to 1,000 miles, reaching destinations like New York City, Boston, Denver, Atlanta, Dallas and Washington D.C. As Swiss Colony’s business rapidly grew, the need for efficient transportation grew as well. With the purchase of the first jet aircraft, Janesville, WI became the new home for Swiss Colony’s flight department

Swiss Colony sold the Citation Jet for a profit, and introduced a Saberliner 40 into the fleet, which lowered operating costs.

Swiss Colony traded their Saberliner 40 for the larger Saber Liner 60

After a decline in aircraft use from the executives, Swiss Colony was faced with a decision on what to do with their fleet, their pilots presented a plan to the executives to charter their aircraft, so that when the executives weren’t flying, they could generate revenue and offset operating costs by offering their aircraft to other’s who needed transportation. To capitalize on this, Swiss Colony then purchased a charter friendly jet and introduced the Hawker 700 into the fleet. This was revolutionary as the Hawker 700 could fly up to 8 passengers to destinations around 2,200 miles away at the same speed that commercial airlines fly.

Chartering the Hawker was such a success, that the company decided to sell their Cessna 414 and purchase a King Air 200 Turbo Prop aircraft for the shorter trips. It offered similar comfort to passengers as the Hawker with the large cabin while maximizing operating costs for shorter flights and destinations with smaller runways.

Swiss Colony earned the certification to operate its own charter company, and SC Aviation Inc. was officially born. After passing all of the required FAA inspections and earning FAA certification, SC Aviation began managing other owner’s aircraft and has grown to a prominent charter operator in the Midwest region.

SC Aviation breaks ground on a new 30,000-square-foot hangar at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL), expanding capacities to serve aircraft owners, flight departments, and charter clients throughout the Midwest – with a $22.5 million economic impact.

Strategic growth with addition of Challenger 300/350 type brings fleet to 20 aircraft.

SC Aviation celebrates its 80th anniversary.