Thunderbird Aviation

Thunderbird Aviation is a full-service general aviation company at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie and Crystal Airport in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. In business since 1962, it provides aviation fuel, FBO services, aircraft maintenance and management, flight training, aircraft sales and executive charter, and describes itself as one of the oldest commercial aviation operations in the Midwestern United States. Nancy Grazzini-Olson has been president since 1990 and owner since 2000.

Services

• FBO services at both airports, with customer service representatives arranging lodging, valet parking, car rental and other concierge requests
• Flight training, described as the only Twin Cities flight school offering a choice of formal ground school or interactive online training, with certified flight instructors, scenic flights over the Twin Cities and Lake Minnetonka and discovery flights
• Aircraft maintenance with a large parts and supplies inventory, covering piston engine aircraft through turbines
• Aircraft sales and acquisitions for buyers and sellers in the general aviation market
• Executive charter under FAA air carrier certificate TBDA360I to destinations across the United States and Canada
• Aircraft management and monthly Meet the Fleet open events at Flying Cloud, run with Academy College

History

Founder Albert Grazzini, a Minneapolis native and Second World War veteran who kept B-24 Liberators flying from a parts depot in Italy, ran an accounting firm in the 1950s and flew with reservist relatives before reorganising a flying club into a fixed base operation named Thunderbird Aviation in the early 1960s. The company became one of the largest Piper dealers in the manufacturer's network, built and acquired hangars as general aviation grew, and in 1975 was among the first operators to receive an FAR Part 135 air taxi certificate as corporate travel demand increased. Grazzini is a Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame inductee. The team includes a former US Air Force A-10C mechanic and long-serving staff who began as line service technicians.

Shows

Thunderbird Aviation appears in the exhibitor lists of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2027, NBAA-BACE 2026 and NBAA-BACE 2027.

Contact

Locations: Flying Cloud Airport, Eden Prairie, and Crystal Airport, Minnesota, United States
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