Cajun Crawfish and a JetPROP

Mike Frugé is a lifelong opportunity seeker and problem solver. By  becoming a pilot and aircraftowner, the native Louisianan further grew his international seafood logistics business that he had run for several decades.

Frugé Seafood Company is head-quartered in Branch, Louisiana, with distribution activity based in Grand Prairie, Texas. The 400 or so mile drive between the two locations became a very familiar route to Mike. He drove the five-and-a-half-hour trip at least once a week over a 15-year period. As luck would have it, his company’s distribution center is located near the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport (GPM). With general aviation traffic buzzing over his head as he pulled into the parking lot, Mike began to wonder whether flying himself for business would be a viable option.

As the son of an ag pilot who built his own Pitts biplane by hand (without following formal plans), Mike already had some aviation background knowledge. Fascinated by his father’s aerial involvement, he initially dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot. Early in the process, though, he learned that a significant hearing loss in his left ear disqualified him from a military fixed-wing cockpit, so he decided to pursue another career path. 

Now considering flying again, Mike was excited about the possibilities. As a self-starter, he jumped into training and gained a commercial certificate with an instrument rating in a relatively short time. He trained in a Piper Archer, an aircraft model he ultimately decided to acquire. The airplane cut his routine travel time in half and enabled company growth almost from the start. Family tradition laid the groundwork for Mike’s business portfolio – a mix that currently consists of Frugé Seafood Company, Frugé Aquafarms, www.cajuncrawfish.com, and J.T. Meleck Distilleries. 

The familial entrepreneurial legacy began in 1896 when Mike’s great uncle (J.T. Meleck) began a rice growing operation in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, on 20 acres. Using the same parcel of land, the four companies all grew under Mike and his brother Mark’s crawfish farming efforts during college. The siblings saw an opportunity to utilize the rice fields (typically sitting dormant during the offseason) as a vestibule for crawfish breeding. While there were other examples of this across the region, “aquafarming” of this sort was in its infancy at the time. 

As the market’s demand for these commercially produced freshwater crustaceans grew, the opportunity to improve distribution became apparent. As any seafood aficionado will unapologetically say, freshness is of the utmost importance. Moving the highly perishable products is both an art and a science. Once
Frugé Seafood Company mastered transporting crawfish efficiently around the country (the company ships them live overnight to customers’ doorsteps), they added many different products to their offerings. Today, they market and transport a litany of seafood from alligator to wolffish. 

After owning the Archer for about a year and a half, Mike decided to move into a Bonanza A36. The new-to-him aircraft was his workhorse for nearly 15 years. During this period, he averaged roughly 250 to 300 hours of flying a year, the majority of flight time between Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) and Grand Prairie Municipal Airport (GPM). By flying for business in all types of weather and situations, Mike noted this allowed him to become confident in the Beechcraft and as a pilot in general. But, eventually, “everyone wants to go higher and faster.” 

His search for his next aircraft began in 2011. First, he considered installing a turbine engine on his A36 but was told by a friend that this idea wouldn’t be practical and should instead consider a Piper JetPROP. Having little knowledge of the aircraft but interested in the possibility, Mike began diligently immersing himself in researching JetPROPs. He spent nearly two years becoming familiar with the nuances of the various airframes and powerplant options. One of the most important considerations for the aircraft is, unsurprisingly, the engine. Each JetPROP has a PT6 installed the front, with the earliest conversions boasting a -21 and the latest having -35’s (a -34 is also an available option). 

Once satisfactorily educated on the possibilities, he awaited a good buy to come to market – a wait that stretched. “With a little over 350 Piper aircraft or so converted, and only around 10 or so available for sale at any given time – most of which weren’t ones I was interested in – it can be difficult to find the perfect JetPROP to call your own,” Mike explained.

Finally, one off-market bird came to Mike’s attention by a broker in Texas that he had previously contacted. It fit the bill, and he snatched up the airplane before it ever became a public listing. The PA-46 had a 1996 airframe with a 2007 engine (-35) conversion with more than two-thirds of the time remaining until TBO. It checked all the boxes avionics and maintenance-wise and was offered for a fair price.  

Most importantly, it allowed Mike to fly higher and faster, cutting down his routine Louisiana to Texas flight time considerably. The JetPROP is roughly 100 knots faster (260 knots) and typically flown at around 27,000 MSL – a stark contrast to his previous A36’s operating ceiling. Mike noted he primarily flies his aircraft for business purposes but occasionally uses the airplane for personal use, which has included family vacations to North Carolina, Florida, Maine
and Oregon. 

Another reason to fly presented itself with the addition of J.T. Meleck Distillers, his portfolio’s newest company. J.T. Meleck Distillers uses the same family-grown Louisiana rice that the crawfish feed upon and turns it into vodka. The company is another way that Frugé has been able to vertically integrate their crop into new opportunities and reduce waste. When he first had the idea to distill the farm’s leftover grain into spirits, he flew the JetPROP to distilleries and various trade shows across the country to learn the craft of distillation. The need to “be in more than one place at one time” became even more frequent. The company currently only sells its product within the Bayou State, but expansion plans are underway. The company also recently started aging its first whiskey batch.

When asked about the possibility of transitioning to a new aircraft in the future (especially as his businesses continue to take him further outside of Lafayette), Mike iterated something his recurrent instructor once said to him: “You want to be in a plane that you don’t have to think about.” 

He said this in part due to his comfort level in his JetPROP of eight years, both in terms of flying and operational costs, as well as the possible aircraft that could compete with it. 

“JetPROPs truly are one of the best planes that you can get for the money, in my opinion. Sure, there are some that are a little faster and carry a little bit more, but financially are not comparable,” he continued. “All-in operations cost averages about $500 per hour, not considering random upgrades. Wet costs are cheaper per mile than the Bonanza was and are roughly $300 per hour (without reserves).”

As such, he does not intend to transition to another aircraft at the present moment. But, if JetPROP’s were “outlawed tomorrow,” the entrepreneur would consider a TBM 850 if the numbers worked out cost-wise. He feels this aircraft would be a viable turbine-class upgrade from a JetPROP as it cruises roughly 70 knots faster. “But I am comfortable with my current aircraft as it fits at least 80 percent of my missions and serves me quite well.”