New hangar tenant sees potential for growth at Hutchinson Municipal Airport-Butler Field (KHCD), Minnesota

The loss this summer of the Life Link III helicopter ambulance service as a major tenant at Hutchinson’s municipal airport meant a loss of some prestige in the aviation family.

But Life Link’s decision to shift operations to Willmar’s to extend its reach farther into western Minnesota has opened the door to a different tenant for the hangar with potential to grow.

ASI Jet, a 30-year-old company based at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, has opened a maintenance base at Ken Butler Field, the city-owned airport along State Highway 15 on the south end of Hutchinson. The company is performing maintenance on a fleet of agricultural aerial applicators, better known as crop-dusters, of its ag division, while also servicing planes for others.

The company is using the former Life Link hangar. With the pending retirement of Tom Parker, the airport’s fixed-base operator, or FBO, ASI Jet is leasing the space in the main terminal hangar formerly used by Parker.

Tim Ashenfelter, founder and president of the company, has more than 30 years experience in aviation. While almost all of their aerial application business is with members of three or four farm co-ops in southern Minnesota, Hutchinson’s airport is a perfect spot for their maintenance operations, he said.

One thing they’ve happily found is a qualified work force of mechanics. Their local staff includes Tim Miller and Tim Fischbach, both Hutchinson residents, as full-time aircraft mechanics. In addition, there are qualified local people they’ve accessed on a part-time basis.

“We’ve been able to find everything here we’ve needed as far as qualifications,” Tom Ashenfelter, Tim’s son, said. He works with the aircraft sales part of ASI Jet. “And the facilities are near new.”

“They are fantastic facilities,” Tim said of Ken Butler Field. “It was obvious to us that the city was really progressive in its support for the airport. We still have a sales office at Flying Cloud, but we are getting the word out about having a maintenance facility in Hutchinson.”

Learned of Hutch by accident

The Ashenfelters learned of the Hutchinson airport somewhat by accident about a year ago while attending the annual Aerial Applicators Association national convention. There they first met Miller, who was completing the restoration of a 1966 Cessna crop-duster at about that time. Miller, a pilot himself, was a mechanic for Life Link.

Miller told them about Hutchinson. The Ashenfelters had been looking at airports for potential FBO work.

“We have a lot of experience in FBO,” Tim said. “I started one in 1983 in the Twin Cities, selling fuel, doing maintenance, offering flying lessons and charters. And Tom has been involved since he was 16. Between us we have more than 50 years of experience.”

While their sales operation is based at Flying Cloud, they see synergies in having a maintenance facility 50 miles away and close to their home in Mound. It is easier for them and their customers to fly into Hutchinson for service.

The company is one of only two Thrush aircraft dealers authorized to sell in North America. That means they have sold planes to all corners of the continent. It has sold Thrush, a line of turbo-prop jets for four years, but has been dealing in planes since 1983.

“Aircraft sales has always been a big part of our business,” Tim said. “It is a benefit to service what you sell.”

“It helps the sales process if maintenance is done by people they trust,” added Tom.

ASI Jet services more than Thrush aircraft, working on just about any type of craft in general aviation. Its experience has resulted in some larger-than-usual planes calling on Hutchinson this summer. Those include Cessna Caravans and Beechcraft Barons as ASI moves to expand the operations here. There are savings in flying into a smaller airport such as Hutchinson’s versus flying into the Twin Cities’ large international airport.

“We just see a lot of potential for growth with the FBO here,” Tim said.

Story and Photo:  http://www.hutchinsonleader.com