The Bend Municipal Airport is a very important part of the City of Bend’s economic vitality. When the opportunity came up a few years ago to help one of their major businesses, Leading Edge Aviation, we were excited to be able to help. It was a good fit for us, and they have been proven to be a good partner.
Expansion in 2015 to Redmond’s Roberts Field Municipal Airport
In 2015 Leading Edge expanded to Redmond’s Roberts Field Municipal Airport with their Leading Edge Jet Center. Included are passenger & pilot’s lounges, a flight planning room, conference room, and much more. This newly renovated FBO services facility provides fueling, hangar storage, aircraft maintenance, an avionics shop, aircraft detailing and cleaning, and many other supplemental aircraft and pilot services.
We recently spoke with Marti Fraley, Leading Edge Marketing Manager, who shared about how Mid Oregon helped them with their growth and expansion.
How Mid Oregon Helped Leading Edge
How did Mid Oregon solutions help your business?
Our relationship with Mid Oregon Credit Union has been crucial to our growth. In partnership with Mid Oregon, we were able to open a line of credit and secure financing that allowed us to acquire assets, like additional aircraft for our training facility.
What did you like best about working with Mid Oregon?
By looking at our business as a whole and truly investing in relationship with us, Mid Oregon has provided an extremely positive experience. They have consistently been willing to look at the big picture of what we do, what our values are, and the long term goals we are pursuing before proposing creative ideas of how can continue to grow as a company.
What would you tell a fellow business regarding your experience with Mid Oregon, if they were looking for a recommendation?
We are always recommending Mid Oregon to fellow businesses, community members, and even our own employees, with assurances that the people at Mid Oregon are attentive, knowledgeable, and great to work with. We have always found that Mid Oregon has our best interest at heart, shown by their willingness to spend the time to get to know our business. They always put in a great amount of effort to understand our needs, offering excellent advisement as we continue to move forward.
Brief description of the expansion:
We are currently working closely with the city of Bend, Connect Oregon, and the FAA to do a major expansion of the Northeast side of the Bend Municipal Airport. This expansion will significantly extend our facilities, improve our capabilities and give us more room to grow.
More About Leading Edge Aviation
In 2006, Leading Edge Aviation started helicopter flight training operations at Bend Municipal Airport. Flight volume has increased every year and now represents a large portion of Bend Airport activity. At the Flight School they also train fixed wing aircraft, or airplane, pilots. They offer a program through Central Oregon Community College for students pursuing a degree in Aviation, having a variety of aircraft available, in addition of 2 flight simulators owned by COCC.
Their centrally located FBO, at the Bend Municipal Airport, continues to provide domestic and international customers with quality fuel and services, delivering quick turnaround while maintaining high safety standards. Services include courtesy Cars, restrooms, kitchen, conference room and more. Other services they provide are fueling, aircraft maintenance, airplane, helicopter and part sales, leasing, and charters.
They have charter services available, and a great variety of Central Oregon helicopter tours. Specific tour options include Wine Tasting, Mt. Bachelor Winter Wonderland, Bend City & Lava Lands, Cascade Mt. Ring of Fire, and for this year, the “Helicopter Luxury Champagne Eclipse Basecamp 2017”.
Website: flyleadingedge.com
Address: 63048 Powell Butte Highway, Bend, OR 97701
Phone: (541) 383-8825
Leading Edge Jet Center
Address: 1050 SE Sisters Ave, Redmond, OR 97756
Phone: (541) 504-3848