Air Prop Specialists keeps the world flying from Marianna
By: Shelia Mader
At the Marianna Municipal Airport, a globally recognized name in aviation quietly operates from a hangar that buzzes with precision, expertise, and history. Air Prop Specialists, better known as “Air Prop” in the aviation world, is run by Chris Giersberg and his wife of 36 years, Amy. Together, they have grown a legacy business into a global leader in aircraft propeller maintenance and certification.
Founded in 1967 by Bob Miller at Wheelus Airport in Dothan, Air Prop relocated to Marianna in 1994. Just a year later, Chris stepped in to take the reins. What started as a modest operation servicing just a handful of propellers each month has expanded significantly under Chris’s leadership. Today, Air Prop averages close to 25 propellers per month, serving clients across the globe.
“Air Prop goes everywhere,” Chris shared in a recent interview. “Our main states in the U.S. are Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and parts of South Carolina. But I've done propellers from as far away as Kathmandu.”
With over 31 years of experience in the business, Chris brings a rare level of expertise to a critical aviation need, propeller overhaul and certification. As he explained, airplane propellers must be inspected and overhauled every six to seven years or after a certain number of hours in service, as required by manufacturers.
“It’s a routine maintenance thing,” he said. “Just like planes require an annual inspection, the props have to be inspected too.”
The cost for this vital service varies depending on the type and size of the propeller. Composite props, the newer, high-performance models, can cost between $12,000 and $18,000 to overhaul. Traditional aluminum props typically range from $9,000 to $13,000.
Air Prop employs a team of 12, with three working in the office and the rest hands-on in the shop. The company not only receives props shipped in from across the country and around the world but also provides pickup and delivery services with two dedicated trucks.
Chris’s passion for aviation is matched by his dedication to the community. Though born in Munich, Germany, he considers Jackson County his true home and is deeply committed to the area’s future.
“Jackson County has been pivotal in both my personal and professional life,” he said. “I’m committed to helping it grow, especially in terms of economic and aviation development.”
A particularly unique piece of history sits in Chris’s shop, a single blade from General Douglas MacArthur’s personal plane. It’s one of the few props that couldn’t be repaired, but its legacy remains part of the story Chris continues to write every day at Air Prop.
With a global reach and a local heart, Air Prop Specialists stands as a shining example of excellence in aviation—and of what can happen when precision, passion, and place come together in flight.