Cutter Aviation held the grand opening for its new FBO at Colorado’s Colorado Springs Municipal Airport last week. At 9,300 sq ft, the $3.5 million terminal more than doubles the size of the older facility the company had been operating from since 2006, when it purchased the former Colorado Springs Aviation FBO. Furnished in the mountain lodge style, with timber and stone inside and out, the terminal includes a pilots' lounge, snooze room, 12-seat conference room, covered porte-cochere and patios offering views of nearby Pikes Peak.

The family-owned business also added a new $600,000 fuel farm that can store 50,000 gallons of jet-A and 12,000 gallons avgas; it will decommission the old fuel storage unit later this year. Last year, Cutter acquired a 23,000-sq-ft hangar from the city of Colorado Springs, capable of sheltering aircraft up to a Boeing 737-400, bringing the location up to 33,000 sq ft of hangar space. Next month, it expects to complete a 60,000-sq-ft hangar, which will be occupied entirely by a single tenant. The new expansion also increased Cutter's footprint at the airport from nine acres to 19 and, as part of the agreement with the airport, it will add another 20,000-sq-ft hangar over the next several years.

According to Cutter CFO Steve Prieser, the new terminal will cater to business jets and turboprops, while a separate facility that includes the older 2,000-sq-ft terminal, attached to a 10,000 sq ft hangar, will be reserved for lighter GA use.