Aviators are dreamers. For over a hundred years aviation has made significant advances only when aviators were able to bring their dreams into reality.
Ace Aviation owner Kurt Boswell is an aviator and a dreamer; he soloed the same year he earned his driver’s license, emerging into the local aviation community as a pilot, a skilled mechanic and accomplished business man.
The dream of a new facility with expanded services started percolating with Kurt nearly 10 years ago. His vision was to create a new multi-disciplined facility, designed not merely as a hangar, but as a true aviation maintenance facility, with all of the features and services needed by a wide range of clients and their planes.
Today that vision is becoming a reality with the help of HomeStreet Bank and the Northwest Business Development Association. The new state-of-the-art maintenance facility at Renton Airport is approaching completion. This new facility will allow Ace to expand its business to accommodate general aviation clients and to also service larger turboprop clients with the same high level of quality that the company has provided for the last two decades.
The new aviation center is destined to become the signature architectural statement at the south end of the Renton Airport, marking a clear departure from the drab white “boxes” associated with airport facilities of the past. The larger maintenance and operations building is reflective of early 20th century manufacturing buildings with rows of grilled windows, while the adjacent office tower has a light and airy design. The interior of the office tower will feature a three story entry-way with the nose section of a Boeing 737 cantilevered out from the wall. The new facility is being touted as a “catalyst facility” for the renovation and re-location of several other aviation facilities at the south end of the airport, due to its large size and bold architectural character. It will be capable of servicing aircraft with wing spans up to 95 feet through the new building’s massive 100 x 28 foot high rolling service doors. The new facility was designed jointly by Snodgrass Freeman Associates and Castino Architecture of Gig Harbor, Wash.
Schedule
The facility is nearing the “home stretch,” with the construction directed by Powell Construction out of Bellevue, Wash. The new facility is scheduled to be completed this summer, with a public grand opening to be announced in the near future.
Services
The facility will offer many new services:
MAINTENANCE
Ace Aviation is first and foremost a maintenance and repair facility. The new facility will have expanded capacity with the addition of individualized “task” rooms and a larger service staff. Ace has decades of experience working on a wide variety of manufacturers, and in October 2014 was designated an authorized service center for Cirrus Aircraft.
FLOAT INSTALLS
Ace has built a reputation for being the lead float installation center for both amphibious and straight float configurations. The company has worked closely with Aerocet Inc., based out of Sand Point, Idaho, installing its prototype and TSO’d floats for the Kodiak Quest. The new facility was designed to accommodate the Kodiak Quest and similar aircraft. “We feel strongly about the humanitarian efforts for which the Kodiak was designed, and we wanted to be sure when we planned our new facility that it could support the needs of the Kodiak for many years to come,” said Kurt Boswell.
NEW SERVICES
The new facility will offer an Avionics installation and sales department, a parts distribution network, a pilot supply marketplace, a new larger paint booth and, in the near future, a fueling station.
New Tenants
Ace’s vision included offering space to other lines of businesses to further support the aviation industry. The center has over 1,500 square feet of office space available to sublease. A key new tenant is Aviation Training Center, which will relocate from Boeing Field. “We are very excited to offer our support to ATC and to be able to provide this resource to customers looking to pursue pilot training, interview preparation and simulator training,” said Boswell.
“The overall goal of our new facility is to provide a superior environment and service to current and future customers,” he continued. “We pride ourselves on a high level of quality and we encourage customer education and the understanding about the maintenance needs of their aircraft. We are very excited about the new facility and look forward to seeing how the inspiration behind it will help propel the aviation industry and the community of Renton over the next few decades.”
For more information, visit Ace Aviation online at www.aceaviationinc.com. To inquire about positions in mechanics, avionics, parts distribution and more, please contact info@aceaviationinc.com.