Glacier Aviation, which runs the helicopter flight school, Hangar 51 event venue and the hangar used by Airlift Northwest at the Olympia Regional Airport, is working to sell its business ventures to a new owner.
Glacier Aviation grew out of a helicopter touring business that Mike Thielen started in 1995.
The company, formally established by Mike and Lori Thielen in 2000, runs the Glacier Aviation helicopter and airplane flight school.
The school has an estimated 60 students working toward their licenses each year, according to South Sound Business.
Glacier Aviation opened the Hangar 51 event venue in 2020, and also leases the hangar used by Airlift Northwest for its operations at the Olympia Regional Airport.
Glacier Aviation is additionally a Fixed Base Operator (FBO), acting as a private terminal and a one-stop shop for private and commercial aircraft, flight crews and passengers.
FBO services provided by Glacier Aviation include aircraft fueling, aircraft maintenance and repair, hangar storage and office rentals for aircraft-related businesses.
After more than 25 years at the Olympia Regional Airport, the Thielens are now looking to sell Glacier Aviation and retire.
The decision was sparked by “some serious illnesses in the family,” according to Port of Olympia Economic Development Director Mike Reid.
The couple has already secured a buyer — Vesper Aviation, an FBO operating out of Seattle and Fort Worth, Texas.
The Port of Olympia’s Board of Commissioners is set to vote on a sale agreement and 30-year lease with Vesper Aviation on Nov. 23.
The sale agreement and lease combine Glacier Aviation’s three separate leases into one cohesive contract to be assumed by Vesper Aviation.
If approved, Vesper Aviation would take over all of Glacier Aviation’s operations at the Olympia Regional Airport.
Vesper Aviation would also assume ownership of the office building Glacier Aviation currently leases from the Port of Olympia for its FBO operations.
Glacier Aviation was an outlier at the airport for leasing its building from the Port of Olympia rather than owning it, and the sale sets up Vesper Aviation's operations to better align the port’s current business practices, Reid said.
Vesper Aviation would pay $102,000 to the Port of Olympia to buy the building, located at 7645 Old Highway 99 SE.
Like most airport tenants, Vesper Aviation would also pay ground rent to the Port of Olympia, in the amount of $67,260 per year, broken out to $5,605 per month. Rent would increase by 3% every five years.
At the end of the initial 30 year agreement, the Port of Olympia has the option to extend the existing contract for another 10 years, and for another 10 after that.
While Port of Olympia staff say the sale aligns with the port’s economic goals and allows Glacier Aviation’s legacy to survive, the prospective sale has stirred up concerns amongst surrounding residents about airport expansion.
Citizens giving public comment at the Port Commission’s Nov. 9 meeting expressed fears that the sale agreement with Vesper Aviation was a way for the Port of Olympia to subvert community wishes and build new hangars at the Olympia Airport.
Public commenters shared concerns about Vesper Aviation’s business model as an FBO, and the amount of renovation work it has done on its properties in Seattle and Fort Worth.
Public commenters said they did not oppose Vesper Aviation taking over Glacier Aviation’s existing operations, specifically the flight school.
But, they felt the proposed sale contract and lease agreement left enough loopholes for Vesper Aviation to expand without restriction at the Olympia Regional Airport, raising concerns about an increase in flight traffic and a lack of transparency for future development at the airport.
“What matters is not merely what Vesper intends to do tomorrow, but what the agreement would allow it to do for decades,” said one public commenter, Ronda Larson Kramer from Olympia.
Vesper Aviation founder and chairman Jon Wenrich provided his own public comment on Nov. 9 to address the concerns he has heard from the Thurston County community.
“It is not often that I hear such well-articulated and thought-through feedback and concerns, and I take that very seriously,” Winrich said, providing virtual public comment from his home in Troutdale, Oregon.
Winrich assured that the helicopter and airplane flight school would continue operating unchanged, and that Vesper Aviation had no current plans to build any additional hangars or facilities at the Olympia Regional Airport.
“Although if that need pops up, of course we'd be happy to do that for the economic benefit of the community,” Winrich said, noting that his company has invested over $3 million in renovating its Seattle and Fort Worth properties.
Reid confirmed Monday that, as written, Vesper’s contract with the Port of Olympia does not allow Vesper to pursue any new development at the Olympia Regional Airport.
The contract allows Vesper to conduct regular maintenance and make non-structural cosmetic improvements to its facilities at the Olympia Regional Airport.
Anything else requires direct approval from the Port Commission.
Oftentimes, requests from leaseholders for permission to renovate or repair their properties come before the Port Commission in the form of a lease amendment, according to Reid.
Larger requests, like wanting to build a new hangar, would go through a more substantive public process.
The Port Commission is scheduled to vote on the contract at its next regular meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23.
