Inflight Aviation, which recently acquired the former Elliott Aviation FBO at Minneapolis-area Flying Cloud Airport, has embarked on a complete renovation of the six-acre facility.
This is the first FBO for Inflight, which began as a flight school based at Elliott. CEO Trever Rossini grew it from two aircraft a decade ago to a fleet of 25 today. Elliott exited the FBO business at Flying Cloud after providing services there for some 60 years.
Rossini told AIN that the Phillips 66-supplied property is getting a $2 million makeover with fresh paint, new illuminated signage, Wi-Fi throughout the complex, a surveillance camera network, and repairs to the fuel farm.
The 1970s-era 7,400-sq-ft terminal is being gutted and rebuilt in two phases. When completed by May 2024, it will feature an open, airy floor plan with new flooring and HVAC systems, a gas fireplace in the lobby, a club lounge, a pilot lounge, a conference room, new restrooms, offices, and a business center. In the meantime, according to Rossini, the construction area has been walled off from the operational part of the terminal with a temporary pilot lounge, complete with an 86-inch television, installed in a mobile trailer.
Aircraft are accommodated in 67,500 sq ft of heated hangar space, which can hold a super-midsize business jet.
“My goal is to build lasting relationships with our customers and to become an exclusive community where people want to be when they come to the Twin Cities,” Rossini said. “We are taking all of our knowledge of being tenants in the space, countless hours of conversations with the old base tenants, many of whom were tenants of Elliott for over 25 years, along with the fact that everyone who works at our company is a licensed pilot who has experienced the FBO process.”