Company History
46 Years in Business…
Still Growing and Going Strong
Business Aviation Services at Joe Foss Field, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was started in 1959 by an investor group and later bought by Keith Everton, who ran the company from 1959 until 1987. In 1987 the company was purchased by Medivest, Inc., an out-of-state investor group that were primarily interested in the Air Ambulance Manufacturing. The business hit hard times, and the present ownership group purchased Business Aviation from Federal Bankruptcy Court on April 16, 1990.
The initial investors Pete Pederson, Pete Hegg, Bill Rush, Bill Janklow, Dale Froehlich, and Linda Barker purchased the privately held company known as Daedalus, Inc. d/b/a/ Business Aviation in 1990. At the time of the purchase, the company had 3 hangars, 6 aircraft, and 35 employees. Now called Business Aviation Services (BAS), the business umbrellas all the general aviation services provided by Daedalus, Inc., has encountered changes in ownership, acquired other businesses on the field, and expanded the business over the last decade.
On May 1, 1992, BAS purchased Sioux Falls Aviation, which operated primarily as an air freight company. Today the company, now called Business Aviation Courier, is a wholly owned subsidy of BAS. It operates 20 aircraft, including six Metro III's, and provides air cargo service to many companies and individuals throughout the Midwest.
Fractional Ownership is a popular new program for aircraft ownership. BAS started the concept of fractional ownership in 1993 with a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) partnership called Viking Air. Viking Air owned three aircraft that were used by the ownership group and were managed and leased back to BAS for charter use. Since that first partnership, ten additional aircraft LLC partnerships have been formed. These aircraft are managed for the ownership and leased back to the charter department or flight school operations when their ownership groups are not using the aircraft.
In May 1993 BAS acquired the assets and assumed operational control of a maintenance facility known as Aircrafters. The building now houses all the ground support equipment and fuel truck maintenance. In July 1994, BAS purchased the Dakon T-Hangars. This set of 10 individual hangars is managed for storage of individual small and mid-sized piston aircraft. In November 1994, BAS acquired the assets and operational control of buildings, aircraft, motor vehicles, fuel storage, and other assets of Sioux Air Service.
In March 1995, the flight school moved to a new location on Minnesota Avenue and Hangar Street when Hangar 7 was added to the company assets. By March 1996, the flight school became a Cessna Pilot Center and Computer Assisting Testing Services (CATS) was added . In February 1997, Business Aviation School of Aeronautics became a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Business Aviation Services.
In 1997, BAS updated their fuel farm to meet all of the EPA and state requirements making it a state-of-the-art fueling facility. In 1998, BAS built the new 24,000 square foot hangar to accommodate the increasing number of freight and larger turbine and jet aircraft on the airport. In 1999 BAS built the a new set of T-Hangars next to the Flight School and a showcase hangar adjacent to the flight school to accommodate the increasing number of new Cessna aircraft that were being sold and for the expansion of the School of Aeronautics. Business Aviation Services became a Cessna Sales Center in August 1998, and sales of new Cessna Aircraft boomed!
Business Aviation Services' present ownership group now consists of Dale Froehlich as CEO and president, Richard Smith as Vice President, and Pete Pederson as member of the Board of Directors. Business Aviation Services is a dynamic and constantly growing and changing company that prides itself as the choice aviation service center in the Midwest.
Business Aviation Services currently employs 195 employees, has 128,000 sq. ft of hangar and shop and 35,000 sq. ft office space (June 2006), owns and manages 43 aircraft and includes a 283,000 gallon fuel farm.
In May of 2005 BAS broke ground on a $3.65 million new general aviation terminal and hangar. The project includes a 28,000 sq. ft hangar and 14,450 sq. ft. of passenger terminal and office space. The project is slated to be completed by June 2006.
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