As the Director of Operations at GreatAmerica Financial Services headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, being a pilot offers Martin Golobic a major advantage to running the business. Golobic’s love affair with planes started as a young child on his flights back and forth to Europe, his parents’ birthplace. Invited on the flight deck as a boy, he knew he wanted to one day be a pilot and his dream became a reality 18 years ago when he learned to fly in a Cessna 150. Quickly working his way through a Cessna 172 and Piper Warrior, his family eventually went on to purchase a Cessna 182 in 2003 when he was still a college student.
When Iowa faced a serious flood in 2008, Martin was able to use the aircraft to travel to displaced employees working from all over Eastern Iowa. The plane allowed his father, owner of Great America Financial, to maintain his long-standing tradition of handing out payroll checks in person to his employees. Without the aircraft, they never would have been able to accomplish that in a single day.
Martin traded his 182 for a Piper Matrix, allowing him to go faster and carry more passengers. It did not take long before he realized he should be flying higher where often you could find smoother air and you could be above the clouds, he traded up to a new 2013 Mirage, which he kept for two years before selling and moving to Atlanta. Longing to return to flight, he rented Aero Atlanta’s Cirrus SR22 for his time in Georgia. Returning to Cedar Rapids in July of 2016, Martin was ready to make the jump into a Meridian.
The Meridian, quickly showed its advantages being a turboprop and provided impressive performance. He took family flights to both coasts and was able to visit customers and feel confident that he could trust his aircraft to perform when he needed it to.
Less than eight months later, Martin purchased an Embraer Phenom 100 from Lone Mountain with less than 1,000 hours of flying under his belt. Flying is now a significant timesaver for work trips. Martin can easily travel from Cedar Rapids to Savannah, Ga. for a presentation and return home within the same day. He now utilizes the aircraft more for business than any other aircraft he has owned due to its comfort, speed and economy.
According to Martin, working with Lone Mountain’s team allowed him to understand the benefits of maintenance tracking and engine and airframe programs while ensuring he found the aircraft that was perfect for his needs.
“Lone Mountain spent a lot of time with me, working through what would be the right fit based on my budget. We spent a lot of long hours talking through the competitive differences in performance, comfort, cost of operations and maintenance requirements.” said Martin. “They also handled all of the due diligence of jet ownership. I did not even know what an engine program was when I operated the Meridian. After going through the process with Lone Mountain, I do not feel like I could have lined up the right people, put paperwork together, and got an aircraft into inspection by myself.”
As the former Regional Sales Director for Embraer, Lone Mountain Sales Rep Mark Stear utilized his many industry connections and unparalleled product knowledge on the Phenom aircraft.
“Lone Mountain has expertise in a variety of aircraft, and I trusted them completely to help me find the right light jet for my needs,” said Martin. “I couldn’t be happier with my purchase.”
Our team of pilots at Lone Mountain Aircraft Sales loves helping businessmen and women find the aircraft suitable for their day-to-day operations. For more information on GreatAmerica Financial Services, go to GreatAmerica.com.
