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Paul ‘BJ’ Ransbury

Chief Executive Officer

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Paul "BJ" Ransbury

Paul ‘BJ’ Ransbury has been flying professionally for over 30 years. In 2005, he became Chief Executive Officer of Aviation Performance Solutions, LLC (APS) where he continues to APS fully dedicated to, and unyielding champion of, its purpose of ‘We Help Pilots Bring Everyone Home Safely‘, a central feature of the APS Vision. Paul’s professional flight experience spans a wide spectrum from general aviation advanced flight instruction and hard-charging unlimited category airshow aerobatic displays to scheduled airlines and military fighter operations.

Throughout his career as a professional pilot and business entrepreneur, Paul maintains a drive to responsibly improve life-saving aviation safety programs. He has been developing innovative training techniques and advanced flight training courses for individual pilots, corporate flight departments, government agencies, and aircraft manufacturers for three decades. In additional to being involved in a number of international efforts on evolving LOC-I mitigation in aviation, he is:

  • Chairman of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee (2022-2024), an industry organization representing more than 11,000 companies and professionals with direct support to NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), the world’s largest civil aviation trade show. Paul held positions as the Vice Chairman (2020-2022), Co-lead of the Training and Standards Team (2018-2020), and the founder of the NBAA Safety Committee’s Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) Working Group (2016-2018),
  • The Recipient of the Dr. Tony Kern Professionalism Award recognizing individual aviation professionals who demonstrate outstanding professionalism and leadership in support of aviation safety in the business aviation industry,
  • A regular speaker on Upset Prevention and Recovery Training at industry aviation safety events to include the Flight Safety Foundation, NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (BACE), and the Bombardier Safety Standdown, where he and the APS team proudly provide integrated Loss of Control In-flight training solutions for the Bombardier Leading Edge program, and
  • A technical aviation article editor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s JAAER (Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education and Research) Program.

Paul’s primary focus is to assess the continually changing need for advanced flight training in aviation worldwide. As one of only 32 Master Certified Flight Instructors worldwide holding an aerobatic accreditation, his on-going analysis of program effectiveness in relation to market demands keeps APS on the leading edge of providing training solutions to a wide variety of operators. His friendly demeanor, combined with in-depth expertise in edge-of-the-envelope aerodynamics and recovery techniques, uniquely bridges the gap between advanced training curricula and a prospective company’s corporate training objectives. Paul addresses an organization’s flight training needs through a one-on-one, hands-on approach to customized course development. Under his direct supervision in locations in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, thousands of professional pilots have successfully trained in standardized UPRT techniques and mitigation strategies.

A U.S. Citizen since 2012, Mr. Ransbury graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1988 with a B.Sc. in Honors Mathematics and Physics. After 12 years of serving as a military officer and fighter pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces flying the F/A-18 Hornet, he flew the Airbus A320 with a scheduled airline for three years. His high-performance civilian aviation career continued as a professional airshow pilot and was hallmarked with his airshow team being featured in an IMAX 3D feature film distributed around the world. Now entering his 24th year holding consecutive senior management positions within several international advanced flight training organizations, Paul remains centered on improving safety of flight in the aviation industry globally. Paul is in his final year of the Executive MBA program at the Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and is a member of the International Business Honor Society, Delta Mu Delta (DMD).

A husband and father, Paul spends his free time with family.

Instructor Qualifications

  • 7-time Master Certified Flight Instructor
  • Gold Seal Flight Instructor
  • Certified Flight Instructor (CFI)/Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI)/Instrument Instructor Airplane (CFII)/Advanced Ground Instructor (AGI)
  • Former Part 141 Chief Flight Instructor at APS (5 Years)
  • Former Class 1 Aerobatic Instructor (Transport Canada)
  • Military
    • Fighter Weapons Instructor Course (FWIC) Graduate
    • Bombardier Flying Instruction Techniques Course Graduate

Military Fighter Pilot Experience

  • 12 Years Canadian Armed Forces: F-18 Hornet Fighter Pilot Fighter
  • Electronic Warfare and Advanced Radar Graduate
  • 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron
  • 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron
  • 410 and 419 Tactical Fighter (Training) Squadrons

Education

  • B.Sc. Honors Mathematics and Physics – Royal Military College of Canada
  • Final Year of Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

Air Show Qualifications

  • International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Certified Air Show Performer – Solo/Formation Aerobatics (Former Level 1/Surface Certified)

MEMBERSHIPS

  • Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (S.A.F.E.)
  • International Committee for Aviation Training in Extended Envelopes (ICATEE)
  • Upset Prevention and Recovery Training Association (UPRTA)
  • National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), NBAA Safety Committee Chairman
  • Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
  • Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
  • International Aerobatic Club (IAC)
  • National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)
  • International Council of Air Shows (ICAS)
  • Council on Unusual Attitude Training Education (CUATE)

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