Gil Speed & Associates: Welcome

Gilbert Speed has spent more than 50 years in the aviation industry, beginning as a student apprentice in 1952 at The Bristol Aeroplane Company, now part of BAE SYSTEMS.

In 1957 he moved to the US and began as a Development Engineer on new aircraft for Eastern Airlines in New York, working on the DC-8 and Lockheed Electra. In 1959, he joined Pan Am as a Structures Engineer, and later as an Aeronautical Engineer. At Pan Am, he worked on the specifications for the 727, 707 Freighter, Concorde, and Dassault Fanjet Falcon. In 1965, Mr. Speed became VP Marketing for Tridair Industries in California. In 1968, he founded Transequip, now part of Telair International, which manufactured composite panels, cargo and baggage containers and cargo systems. He sold his interests in 1978.

He founded SPEEDNEWS in 1979, and in 1991, launched SPEEDNEWS DEFENSE BIWEEKLY. In 1987, he started the first SpeedNews Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference. SpeedNews was purchased by Prism Business Media in September 2006, which also acquired Penton in February 2007. Prism Business Media is now known as Penton Media.

Mr. Speed is currently on the Board of Directors of KAPCO and LeFiell Manufacturing and on the Advisory Boards of M.C. Gill Corporation, Janes Capital Partners and Perfect Point EDM. He is also the Chairman of the Membership Committee of the Aero Club of Southern California and has been a member of the SAE since 1959, a member of ISTAT since 1983 and the recipient of the 2010 ISTAT Award.