Five Minutes With
Mark Aloe
- CJP Member Since: 2011
- Occupation: Managing Member Aloe Brothers LLC
- Spouse/Partner: Dena White
- Current Aircraft: CJ3
- Home Base: West Mifflin, PA (KAGC)
- Number of Years Flying: 56 years
- Total Time: 6,000+ hours
- You have been flying for over 56 years. Can you describe your introduction to aviation?
It’s a great story. When I was 14 years old, I used to travel with my father for business in the summers – he was in the mining business like I am today. And there was gentleman who owned a flight school and owed my father some money. They agreed his payment could be in the form of flight instruction so I learned there in a Cessna 140. When I got my pilot license at 16, my mother still had to drive me to the airport because I didn’t have a driver’s license.
- You have owned several Citations. What led to your purchase of a Citation to begin with?
My first one was a 501 SP a long time ago. We operated it for our family business. As they came out with newer models, I bought a Mustang, serial number 7. This one had been flown by Fred Furth, who travelled the world in it with his dog. I had that Mustang for a couple years before purchasing a CJ1+. Then I bought my first CJ3 and liked it so much that I bought another CJ3. I also owned and operated a CJ4 for 3.5 years.
Today, I have the CJ3 with ProLine Fusion. From my perspective, a Citation is perfect because I am comfortable in the airplane, everyone knows how to fix them and it has all the features and capabilities I am looking for – I can easily haul family, friends and staff.
- What is the most memorable trip you have made in your Citation?
Dena and I took the airplane to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. It was one of our first trips we ever took together and I had never been there before. We’ve also taken it abroad to Salzburg, Austria and Milan, Italy, stopping in Iceland. The itinerary was very interesting and it was a great adventure with several of our CJP friends.
I also fly for PALS and Veteran’s Airlift about once a month, and during one of those flights, I flew Woody Williams – a recipient of the congressional medal of honor (see photo). He is a great guy and it’s always a good feeling to give back.
- What is the most valuable part of being a member of CJP?
As a former chairman and president of CJP, I’ve been close to the inner workings of the organization and there are several benefits. The main ones that come to mind, not in any particular order, are 1) The members of CJP are really great people and I enjoy being in their company. 2) The safety aspects of the program are fantastic and make sense safety-wise – such as the efforts of Charlie Precourt and David Miller. 3) The ability for CJP to be an advocate for the aircraft owner.
- How is your Citation integral to your business?
We have several operating locations around the country and I can fly our staff when necessary to take them to those locations, which is a huge time savings. For example, if we want to go to Pikeville KY, that’s about 6-hour drive. In the Citation, it’s about a half-hour.
I really am exceptionally lucky to be able to do this. I’ll be 72 in July and in my point of view, I am the luckiest guy in the world to own/fly an airplane. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it brought economies to both my personal life and business.