Professional Experience & Accomplishments:
Mr. Firth is the president and owner of Caribex
inc., an aviation consulting company with
principal offices in Florida. The company was
charted in 1984. Prior to 1985, Mr. Firth was
the Chief Pilot and Director of Operations for a
number of 121 cargo and passenger airlines in
the USA, Alaska, the Caribbean and South
America.
When initiating Caribex Inc. in 1985, Mr. Firth
contracted with FEMA via the Southern Company
for the transport of 1200 tons of electrical
infrastructure items between Atlanta Georgia and
the US Virgin Islands. This project continued
for a series of 57 flights over a 3- month
period. Mr. Firth has since brokered cargo
charters using 747’s, DC-8’s, 707’s, 727’s and
L-188’s etc. Mr. Firth has contracted with many
of the international relief organizations to
supply lift into contested and difficult areas
of the world.
Mr. Firth holds a FAA Airline Transport Rating
with endorsements in several Exec and transport
category aircraft and has logged a total of
22,000 plus hours. Captain Firth retired from
ATA in 2000 as a pilot instructor. Today, Mr.
Firth, in addition to assisting new and existing
carriers in certification and the addition of
new aircraft and routes, flies business jets for
several companies and provides contract
instruction and consulting services to a variety
of clients worldwide. Captain Firth was the GM
for a Uzbek cargo airline based in Florida.
From 2004 until 2006 Captain Firth managed
Caribex and flew a private business Jet into
Europe and delivered aircraft worldwide. This
work involved many transatlantic and
transpacific crossings.
In 2001- 2004, Mr. Firth was a consultant to
the president of a supplemental 121 carrier and
was responsible for writing the company safety
manual and working with the sales and marketing
team to design an interactive web site wherein
clients could obtain “on-line” estimates and
contact various departments of the carrier.
During this period Captain Firth was the Chief
Pilot for a 121 cargo airline and general
manager for an on demand 135 jet charter
company.
2001- 1996, Mr. Firth managed a commercial
aircraft leasing company purchasing aircraft
from various sellers and leasing them into China
and other areas worldwide. . In this Mr. Firth
worked with a number of International clients
providing, placing and recovering commercial
aircraft. This work included repo operations,
contacts with prospective Lessees, negotiating
letters of Intent, final lease documents and
interfacing with major Leasing companies and
lenders to package loans for transactions in the
$100 million range.
In 1994-96 Mr. Firth was the Vice President and
Director of Operations for a new passenger
carrier flying the Florida - New York routes.
Mr. Firth’s responsibilities included developing
the full 121 manuals, obtaining FAA
certification for the Carrier, locating the
aircraft, assisting in the leasing of aircraft
and acting as risk manager. Mr. Firth assisted
in the design and implementation of the
marketing and sales effort including
establishing the company’s cargo sales
program. The company obtained its FAA 121
approval as a licensed Passenger Carrier with
only 31 of the normally required 50 hours of
proving flights and went on to operate up to 8
daily departures with average load factors over
92%.
In 1993-94, Mr. Firth ferried a Boeing 727
aircraft into Tatarstan Russia and remained for
a period of months as a pilot for the premier of
Tatarstan flying diplomatic missions throughout
Russia and Europe.
In association with an Atlanta security firm,
Mr. Firth performed aviation security audits for
a number of large firms and in 1994 was
contracted to travel to Kiev in the Ukraine to
obtain espionage devices manufactured in the
Soviet Union. A new bullet proof material of
Russian design and manufacture along with a self
generating phone bug was procured in exchange
for an open copy of the Lo-Jack anti-theft
product on behalf of various agencies.
Additional projects related to aviation and
international ventures: Mr. Firth has instructed
for North West Airlines Training Center (NATCO)
providing training for a number of Air Iraq
flight crews. In 1996 Captain Firth worked three
months in Taiwan where he successfully
represented a client in securing a sale and
export permits for two commercial aircraft under
difficult legal circumstances. In December of
1996, Mr. Firth flew a series of experimental
test flights utilizing a Delta 727 this
assignment involved flying the aircraft at the
extreme ends of the performance envelope.
In 1991 and 92 Mr. Firth was contracted by a
large insurance company as a professional
witness and commercial aviation expert involving
a complex aviation case. This commission
resulted largely from the excellent reputation
gained by Caribex inc. and Mr. Firth for
professional knowledge, veracity and high
ethical standards. During these years, captain
Firth developed and operated an African cargo
airline using a Peruvian L-188 cargo aircraft
flying on a contract from a base in Mozambique
for the national carrier LAM. Prior to this
contract, captain Firth trained the Peruvian
crews in the L-188 Lockheed Electra in a 3
months class held in Lima.
Mr. Firth has been responsible for initiating
operations for an Alaskan cargo airline. This
project required Mr. Firth to assist in the
acceptance of the aircraft, hiring and training
the flight and ground crews and establishing the
company operations and Maintenance in Anchorage
Alaska.
Mr. Firth has located and assisted in the sale
of transport category aircraft to companies in
Peru, Taiwan, China, Africa and the Caribbean.
In this process, he has become familiar with the
elements of international civil aviation
requirements, certification, leases and sales
contracts.
In 1985- 88, for three years, Mr. Firth, as
Captain for Independent Air Inc., flew a Boeing
707 in passenger operations over international
routes. During these years, Mr. Firth developed
Caribex Inc. and succeeded in obtaining aircraft
and licensing for an African airline to operate
commercial flights within Mozambique during a
civil war. During this period, captain Firth was
retained to review the master plan for the new
airport in Macau, China. This contract involved
on site surveys and discussions with the Hong
Kong air traffic authorities to plot arrival and
departure routings.
In 1987 Mr. Firth was associated with Alexander
Howden Aviation in London, U.K. During this
period, Mr. Firth represented, as risk manager,
such companies as Lesea Global, an operator of a
Lockheed C-130 cargo transport. Mr. Firth
obtained Lloyds coverage for Lesea Global who
operated the C-130 on relief flights into
Kurdistan. Mr. Firth was able to arrange landing
rights in Iran for this humanitarian operation.
From 1983 to 87, Mr. Firth, as Chief Pilot and
FAA check airman for Cam Air, an Atlanta based
USAF and Emery contractor was responsible for
the hiring and training of crews for nine
Lockheed L-188's flying USAF Log Air contracts
and 14 B-727's cargo aircraft. This company
employed a total of 114 pilots and Mr. Firth was
responsible for designing and maintaining a
budget for all phases of hiring, training and
managing these crews. During these years, Mr.
Firth flew as check airman and line captain,
both the L-188 and the B-727 on freight
operations throughout the USA, the Caribbean,
South America and Mexico. In addition to his
operations responsibilities, Mr. Firth assisted
in designing an aviation reservations and
management program for scheduled and charter
flight operations. The program has been recently
re-written for the internet and a demo can be
seen at www.airressys.com.
As a consultant, Mr. Firth developed
considerable understanding and knowledge of the
Maintenance requirements of private and
commercial aviation. Mr. Firth has been
responsible for hiring and supervising
Maintenance and Quality Control personnel. He
assisted in establishing a maintenance contract
that allowed a start-up airline to operate
without the considerable maintenance investment
normally required before FAA approvals are
granted. In 2000 Mr. Firth wrote a safety manual
for a 121 carrier and was employed as a
consultant to the principal stockholder of the
carrier.
1977- 83; Captain Firth was contracted by Mobil
Oil to fly support missions Nigeria from a base
in Lagos throughout the entire country. Captain
Firth holds a Nigerian Airline Transport license
and his responsibilities included training
Nigerian flight crews as well as transporting
personnel and materials.
In 1965-69, Mr. Firth flew as a line Captain for
Air America in South East Asia. Mr. Firth’s
duties included line flying, training and route
familiarization for new flight crews as well as
developing various anti terrorism techniques and
procedures. . In Vietnam, Mr. Firth spent three
years flying aircraft such as the Pilatus Porter
throughout Vietnam. In 1965, Mr. Firth obtained
a deep background top-secret clearance from the
US Government, which was renewed in subsequent
years via DOD contracts. Following these years,
Mr. Firth was a pilot for Mackey Airlines and
Overseas National Airlines where he flew USAF
contracts.
Mr. Firth has experience in civil engineering
and has been responsible for design and
construction supervision on a number of
commercial and residential projects. Throughout
his career in aviation, Mr. Firth has been
exposed to a wide variety of disciplines ranging
from classroom instruction, sales and marketing
to technical designs and writing technical
manuals. His experience has indeed been on a
worldwide scale in both passenger and freight
and he has developed many valuable contacts and
associates throughout the aviation world. Mr.
Firth is an experienced professional with proven
management, administrative and entrepreneurial
capabilities in a number of areas.
