Some family-owned aviation companies stretch back decades, spanning generations, and among them is Holman Aviation, an FBO at Montana’s Great Falls International Airport (KGTF). The company was founded in 1950 when Homer Holman, a former World War II U.S. Marines aviator, set up shop at the formerly military-controlled airfield.

“In the Marines, one of my dad’s responsibilities was as an instructor, teaching others how to land on aircraft carriers, and I always thought that was kind of a unique involvement in World War II,” said his son and current company president Dwight Holman. “When he came back he brought that safety and service culture to the FBO, and that’s what I have embraced.” Today the company is into its third generation with Dwight’s daughter, Jamie Ronholdt, serving as v-p of customer service.

The FBO—which claims the majority of general aviation traffic at the airport—sits on a 19-acre leasehold at the Northeast end of 10,500-foot runway 3/21, near the U.S. Customs facility. According to Holman, the airport is a popular and convenient entry port/tech stop for European flights headed to California, and his facility receives several business jets a day on that route. The Customs station is normally staffed eight hours a day but with advance notice, arriving aircraft can clear at any time. Holman Aviation is certified for international trash disposal and is open 24/7 to perform quick turn services.

The two-story 7,000-sq-ft terminal built in 1977 just underwent a three-month-long $250,000 interior renovation, its first since 1999. The company expects to conduct a similar project on its exterior next year. The building features a pilot lounge, flight-planning area, a bistro/break area, refreshment bar, 20-seat A/V-equipped conference room, shower facilities, and a dedicated catering kitchen. Other amenities include crew cars and rental cars, which are delivered to the FBO from the airport’s main terminal area.

In terms of aircraft shelter, the FBO has a pair of heated hangars, one at 16,000-sq-ft and the larger at 20,000-sq-ft that can accommodate the latest ultra-long-range business jets. They are home to 20 aircraft including two Citation Mustangs and a Pilatus PC-12. Holman also has an in-house Part 145 repair station that performs various light maintenance and examinations and is also contracted to conduct repairs for the airlines that frequent KGTF.

In 2018, the company replaced its Phillips 66-branded fuel farm with a new complex which now has a capacity of 150,000 gallons of jet-A, 15,000 gallons of avgas, and 10,000 gallons of diesel and unleaded gas for ground service equipment. Holman has six jet-A tankers—three of them 5,000-gallon and three 3,000-gallon—and a 700-gallon avgas truck. The FBO’s NATA Safety 1^st-trained staff performs fueling for not only GA aircraft, but for the air carriers at KGTF, boosting its annual fuel flowage to over four million gallons a year.

But the Covid pandemic, which has proven a major boost to the private aviation industry, has been a double-edged sword for the FBO as the commercial carriers curtailed their schedules. “When the pandemic happened and the airlines were having a bad day, well so were we because of the fuel sales and so forth,” Dwight Holman told AIN. “But then as people had the financial strength to move from the airlines to charter, we like a lot of the industry, have seen this dramatic increase in bizjet traffic.” He noted that the company’s volume of jet fuel sales to business aircraft operators has increased by 50 percent year-over-year.

The Great Falls area, while not known as a resort destination, sits amidst some of the finest fly-fishing territories in the U.S. Angling is such a draw that Holman eschewed the normal aviation trappings found in FBO terminals. “We do get quite a few people coming in for that activity, so that’s what we kind of put as a theme in our lobby,” he said. “You don’t need to see another propellor in our lobby, we focus on fishing.” The FBO's peak activity runs from the beginning of summer through the end of hunting season in November.

While the town is also home to Malmstrom Air Force Base and its arsenal of nuclear missiles, the military closed its 12,000-foot runway to fixed-wing aircraft in 1996, leading those flights to migrate to KGTF. Holman recalled one operation where his FBO handled 18 C-5 Galaxy flights in one month.

As for customer service, “We don’t like to say no to our customers,” said Ronholdt. “Anything is a possibility.” She explained that there are times when a customer’s specific catering request exceeds the selection in Great Falls, involving a three-hour round trip to Helena, something the staff has done when necessary.