In August 1927, just months after his heroic solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, Charles Lindbergh landed on a dusty strip of land along a bend in the Missouri River, dedicating one of the nation’s great inner city airports and officially launching Kansas City’s aviation industry into the national spotlight.

That airfield, now known as Kansas City Downtown Airport (MKC), has served as home to Howard Hughes’ Trans Western (and later Trans World) Airlines and as the primary commercial and general aviation airport until Kansas City International Airport (MCI) opened in 1972. In the ensuing years, MKC has become a major regional center for business aviation due to its proximity to downtown Kansas City, Mo.

Today, the Kansas City Aviation Department is nearing completion on a $70 million refurbishment program at Downtown Airport. The MKC refurbishment program, begun in 2005, includes a $28 million project to raze and resurface both airport runways; $20 million to bulldoze 40 old hangars and replace them with 96 new hangars; $17 million for runway safety projects; and construction of a $1 million general aviation terminal, which includes a pilots’ lounge and large waiting room capable of accommodating up to 66 people, an aircraft self-fueling avgas station and outdoor aircraft wash bay.

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