Endre Holen and Stephanie Goetz

Endre Holen and Stephanie Goetz share a lighthearted competition. Who has more flight hours? Endre, with 3,300. Type ratings? Stephanie, with four. Who enjoys flying more? That’s a tie, as the husband-and-wife duo are as enthusiastic about aviation as anyone could be. They have a collection of aircraft and flying stories that prove their enthusiasm to be true.

The couple met shortly after Stephanie first flew in a general aviation aircraft. “I took my first flight in a Piper Archer in 2014, just a week or so before Endre and I met. I was a news anchor and reporter at NBC/CBS then, and a flight instructor called me out of the blue to do a story on getting a pilot’s license. He had me sit in the left seat and fly the plane. I remember pulling the yoke back for the first time and thinking, ‘Where has this been all my life?! This is incredible!’ I was instantly hooked,” she explained.

“Serendipitously, I met Endre about a week later. He was flying a Turbo Commander at the time. However, I didn’t actually go for my pilot ratings until June 2019, five years later. Within a year and a half, I went from zero flight hours up through commercial ratings, CFI, MEI, and a CE-500 type rating,” she said, adding that most of her training was with Endre, now her husband, as her CFI.

When the couple first started dating, there were a lot of miles between them. The distance led Endre to consider what plane would best bridge the distance. He ultimately settled on a Citation V, which they now hangar alongside their Twin Comanche and an Aero Vodochody L-39C Albatros at North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT).
“One big part was that I lived in Seattle then, and Steph lived in Minneapolis. We began thinking about moving to Vegas together. If you draw a triangle around those, that’s 1,200 nautical miles between Seattle and Minneapolis and from Minneapolis to Vegas. This mission was right at the edge of my Citation I Stallion capabilities. Sometimes, we could make it, and sometimes, we would have to stop for fuel. So, I started looking for a 1,800-nautical-mile airplane,” he recalled.

“I thought briefly about a Citation II, but I decided the Citation V was more modern and robust. You get the heated wing on the inside and the boots on the outside instead of TKS. And the reason I got the V was I wanted to keep the capital cost down. So, I was comfortable with a slightly older Citation. But I wanted a Citation because of parts availability and Textron’s superb support. And every mechanic in the U.S. knows how to work on a Citation. You roll up into some little town and have a generator out; you will find somebody who can help.”

Fortunately, he hasn’t had to locate a mechanic in a pinch or wrench on the plane himself in the field (Endre is an A&P and will perform select tasks on his aircraft), so the ability to easily find help is a nice plus. The aircraft also has positive aspects from the ramp and cockpit perspectives.

“I just like the way they look and the way they fly. This model has a gross weight increase STC, so it’s a 16,500-pound airplane. With that, I can get a 1,200-pound useful load with full fuel. And it gets above the weather well, too. We can get up to FL430 easily and then [FL]450 if you need to. It’s just an incredible traveling machine. We see about 380 to 400 [knots], depending on temperature, and a fuel burn of about 1,000 pounds per hour,” Endre said.

“The Citation V is the greatest find. It is a great airplane, and we love it. I found this one (1992 model) down in Mexico with the help of my brokers. Its owners maintained it only by authorized service facilities in Mexico and the U.S. At the time, it had 3,500 hours on it, which meant it only flew a hundred hours a year. It was in mint condition, except for the interior,” Endre explained.

Stephanie noted that they refurbished the interior shortly after purchasing the aircraft in September 2020. New paint and avionics followed. After all of the work, the low-time bird looked like it had just rolled out of the factory.

This Citation flies about 150 to 200 hours per year, on average. The couple’s mission is varied, primarily personal travel to various destinations around the country. Endre and Stephanie are each certified to fly the aircraft single-pilot, but they usually fill both pilot seats. They completed their part 61.58 single-pilot exemptions at LOFT in early February this year.

“We often fly the Citation together and absolutely love doing so! We are so fortunate to be best friends, soulmates, partners, and co-pilots. Sometimes one or the other flies individually,” Stephanie began.

Endre followed, “It’s designed to be a crew-flown aircraft, and we fly a lot together as a crew. We follow NetJets (for whom Stephanie presently flies a Citation Latitude as a first officer) protocols and callouts, focusing on safety. Even though I’ve said otherwise a few times, the reality is that this is my final airplane. It’s the biggest plane with the most capability that we can fly single-pilot.”

Intensely passionate about the benefits of early-model Cessna jets, particularly the Citation 560, Endre advocates for the 500-series lineup within the Citation Jet Pilots (CJP) organization. He serves as the Chair of the Legacy Citation Safety Committee.
“CJP has a group of pilots committed to the legacy fleet. On the forum, you can ask any questions about what these airplanes cost to operate, the missions they can perform, and their advantages. It is an incredible resource for people considering older Citations. You cannot get better airplanes for the money you spend. When properly maintained and upgraded, they are an incredible value. My Citation V has been the most reliable airplane I’ve ever owned.

So, what aviation goals are next for the couple since they aren’t pursuing another aircraft? They are mobile and excited to travel, flying to new destinations as far as The Bahamas. Another pursuit of theirs is helping aviators achieve goals of their own.

“Our Twin Comanche was originally a trainer and time-builder for Steph, and now she has more time in it than me. However, one of the things that we both like to do is give back to the aviation community, which has given so much to us. We give scholarships to young professional pilot candidates in need of help. That’s been with Women in Aviation International (WAI), the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), and other organizations. Not only is it a fun sightseeing plane for us, but it’s also a philanthropic platform. It gives us and many other people joy,” Endre began.

“So, for the numerous scholarships we’ve given, we will train the recipients in the Twin Comanche. Our big thing is giving away multi-engine ratings and commercial licenses. We will provide the option of $5,000 for recipients to acquire these on their own or they can train with us – which most have chosen. That’s a different level of gift-giving because you get to find a mentor and share camaraderie,” Stephanie concluded.