The essence of Al Conklin's contribution to aviation lies not in his accomplishments in the military or aircraft sales, but in his unique contribution to business aviation. Prior to Al Conklin, business aviation was struggling with proving itself as a business tool and not a "perk." Al Conklin not only recognized this, he developed and refined a set of impartial operating cost numbers that today, set the standard in business aviation. Al showed in the cold analysis of finance that business aircraft were a valuable resource.
Al acknowledged the questions of the CFO, conceptualized the data, organized it, developed the format and communicated its existence. The benefits to business aviation are obvious. Al Conklin's "cost numbers" make the acquisition, operating and selling of aircraft a more intelligent, more informed and more efficient activity that puts all the cards on the table in an impartial manner. Like Al himself, those numbers speak to fairness, to honesty, to full disclosure in telling it as it is without bias, favor or disingenuousness.
Individuals, Fortune 500 companies, US and other government agencies rely on Al Conklin's cost information when making aircraft choices. What Al Conklin has done for business aviation is to make the financial case that the term "business aircraft" is not an oxymoron. It speaks to Al's fundamental character as a human being whose devotion and service to aviation inspire us all.