Newcastle, WA—Mike Lorden, President and owner of Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. (ASA), will be retiring December 31, 2021. ASA is the leading publisher of aviation books and the largest producer of pilot supplies in the United States.

Mr. Lorden has been with ASA for 36 years, longer than any other employee to work for ASA. He began his career as ASA's Marketing Manager, served as its long-time general manager, and for the past six years has been president and owner. Under his leadership, the company grew from 50 products to more than 1,000 products today. The ASA FAR/AIM is one of the industry’s most recognized titles and one of the top-selling titles in publishing. In addition to publishing, under Mr. Lorden’s leadership ASA expanded its pilot supply offering to include the popular CX-3 electronic flight computer and the industry’s only lifetime warranty HS-1A headset.

Mr. Lorden is pleased to announce that beginning January 1, 2022, Greg Robbins will become ASA’s new owner while maintaining his role as sales manager. Mr. Robbins has prior aviation sales experience that includes charter and aircraft sales. Additionally, he spent two years as a faculty instructor focusing on curriculum development with Japan Aviation Academy in Hokkaido, Japan. He holds a bachelor of science from Western Michigan University and a Commercial Pilot license with Multi-Engine, Instrument, and Seaplane ratings. Mr. Robbins will be the sixth family-operated owner in ASA's history.

Jackie Spanitz will remain as the ASA general manager, where she oversees maintenance and development of more than 1,000 titles and pilot supplies in the ASA product line. Ms. Spanitz has worked with airman training and testing for more than 25 years, including participation in the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) development committees. She holds a bachelor of science in aviation technology from Western Michigan University, a master of science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Instructor and Commercial Pilot certificates. She is the author of Guide to the Flight Review and the technical editor for ASA’s Test Prep and FAR/AIM series.

Greg and Jackie have been collaborating colleagues for more than 13 years and look forward to continuing to lead the ASA team in providing quality aviation training products and supplies and developing new training solutions for generations to come.