Yingling Aviation marks 80 years at Wichita base

Yingling Aviation is marking 80 years based in Wichita, Kansas. The maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist still occupies the site it moved to in 1954, at what is now Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport. It now covers around 46,000sq m, according to chief executive Gregg Fahrenbruch, and has no plans to expand beyond Kansas.

The firm calls itself a full-service provider, working on aircraft from Cessna 182s to ultra-large-cabin Bombardier Globals and Gulfstreams. About half its business comes from Textron customers, Fahrenbruch said.

Avionics and connectivity are a focus. Yingling is an authorised service location for Collins, Honeywell/Bendix-King, Avidyne, Garmin and Gogo. It also supports McCauley Propeller and is one of the larger suppliers of Textron parts.

Defence and special mission work is another part of the operation, including on Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft King Airs. "There are a lot of opportunities in the government space," Fahrenbruch said.

The company also runs the airport's fixed-base operation. Its customers include crews bringing aircraft in for maintenance or technical stops, business travellers, and brokers who come to Yingling to close deals.

The Yingling family controlled the company until 1982. It is now majority owned by AE Industrial Partners, a private equity firm based in Boca Raton, Florida, that focuses on aerospace, defence and government services.