Julie Davis
jdavis@cherryroad.com

When Blue Line Aviation LLC took over fixed based operations at the Nebraska City Municipal Airport three years ago, 27,000 gallons of aviation fuel were sold in the first year. Two years later, that total has increased to 95,000 gallons of fuel sold.

Kyle Gress, owner of Blue Line Aviation LLC, visited the Nebraska City Rotary Club Oct. 9 to talk about the airport and some of the improvements that are currently underway at the facility.

Gress said new fuel tanks with card-reader capability are being installed: a 10,000-gallon tank for avgas, which is used by piston-driven aircraft, and a 15,000-gallon tank for jet fuel. These new tanks, which Gress called “the Cadillac of fuel stations,” should be operational by the end of the year, and they will mean the airport can offer airplane fuel 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Most customers, though, will continue to rely on Gress and his staff to fuel their aircraft, he said.

“We’re always available, and the pilots know that,” he said.

One of the airport’s greatest advantages is its location, said Gress. He decided to capitalize on the mid-continent location by offering low-priced fuel and no additional fees for pilots to use the airport.

As pilots have put the word out online through favorable customer reviews on the Corporate Airline Association (CAA) app and social media posts, traffic has increased at the airport, which serviced more than 1,400 planes in the past year.

Gress said people have stopped at the airport because of all the positive online reports. He said his goal is to help increase the amount of revenue coming into the Nebraska City area from pilots stopping at the airport, renting a car, and coming into town to play golf, shop, or eat.

He said the airport’s current 4,501-foot runway limits the aircraft that can land at the airport, but he hopes that grant funds can be obtained to extend the runway to the 5,000-foot mark and also improve airport lighting.

The Blue Line Aviation LLC name comes from the fact that both Gress and his wife serve in law enforcement. He said he was flying before he was driving because his father had a plane on the family farm, and Gress was the first solo pilot at the Nebraska City Airport.

Gress estimated that 85 to 90 percent of airport traffic is now transit, or planes flying through, as opposed to local traffic, which was the bulk of the airport’s business in the past.

For more information on Blue Line Aviation LLC, visit their Facebook page or call 402-209-1012.