New operator for FBO at Great Bend/KGBD, Kansas

Great Bend Municipal Airport, Kansas will see a change in the operation of its FBO from August 1st, when the ownership behind Iowa based P&N Flight and Charter begins the transition from current operator Centerline Aviation, who had declined to renew its lease.

P&N, which won the RFP, operates three FBOs in Iowa and will inherit an approximately 3,000-sq-ft terminal built in 1965 that also houses the airport offices. Additionally, the facility includes a WWII-vintage 19,500-sq-ft hangar with a door height of 17 feet, which allows it to shelter light to midsize business jets, and a smaller maintenance hangar.

With its central location making it a popular transcontinental tech stop, GBD features a 7,851-foot main runway that just underwent a 12-month long, $8 million reconstruction project. The GA-only airport sees 1,900 operations a month, split between turbine and piston traffic, and its FBO pumps approximately 15,000 gallons of fuel each month, 70 percent of which is jet-A. It is home to 50 aircraft, including a pair of Citations and a turboprop.

During World War II the facility was Great Bend Army Airfield and was used for United States Army Air Forces Second Air Force training. It was one of the first B-29 Superfortress bases, used to organize XXI Bomber Command before it deployed to the Western Pacific in 1944. It was closed during the late 1940s and turned over to civil control.