LIMESTONE, Maine — In a scene reminiscent of Loring Air Force Base’s heyday before it closed in 1994, a sizeable crowd watched as a hulking aircraft approached and landed on the tarmac.
The arrival of a Boeing 777 on Wednesday marked a new era for the runway that once teemed with B-52s and KC-135 tankers. Aero Intelligence, a Kansas City aircraft repair and retrofitting company, has moved into Limestone.
It will be the first regular activity on the runway since maintenance and repair firm Telford Aviation left in 2017. Aero Intelligence will inhabit the massive arch hangar, one of only two like it in the U.S., thereby preserving the historic structure.
The company’s arrival bolsters the Loring Development Authority’s plan to create an aerospace hub and bring new jobs to Aroostook County. It’s good news for an area that has suffered population losses and economic uncertainties since the military left.
But how did a Missouri company choose this former air base in northern Maine? It all happened thanks to a military training program and some intense community collaboration, LDA president and CEO Jonathan Judkins said.
The 260th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron from Pease, New Hampshire, carried out the first of five annual sessions called Operation Northern Phoenix at Loring in May. Participants were impressed with the facility, and word spread.
“We got attention from Operation Northern Phoenix,” Judkins said. “We got a call from a third-party vendor, who is like a brokerage, and they put me in touch with Varghese Samuel, Aero Intelligence’s president and CEO, and it took off from there.”
Judkins discussed available facilities with the brokerage, who sent a representative two days later to tour the area. Samuel visited near the end of July, and he and the authority signed a long-term lease — five years with extensions to 20 years — on Aug. 1.
Over those 20 years, Aero Intelligence will pay a total of $5.4 million in rent, with that revenue covering complete restoration of the hangar, Judkins said. No additional Limestone tax revenue will be required.
What happened next was, as Judkins put it, “an insane amount of work in an insane amount of time.”
After years of disuse, the hangar needed multiple repairs and updates. So far, workers have installed doors, modernized the offices and working space inside, updated the electrical and heating systems and painted inside and outside.
There’s more to be done, including additional painting, creating a new overhead door, repairing a roof panel and installing a supplemental heating system.
Limestone Public Works handled much of the cleaning, with assistance and equipment from Caribou Public Works. Presque Isle International Airport staff started repainting the runway lines, but ran out of paint, and Scott Gervais of County Striping in Limestone completed the job.
“It was a combination of people. The community collaboration that made it all happen is nothing short of amazing,” Judkins said. “The same message was repeated from all of these vendors: ‘We’re so excited that this building is going to be reused.’”
The 777 took off at around 11 a.m. Eastern time from Roswell, New Mexico, Judkins said.
At the arch hangar yard, roughly 50 people gathered, including company staff, Limestone and Caribou officials, Presque Isle International Airport staff, legislative representatives and local residents.
Limestone Town Manager Ed Pocock III said the moment came thanks to the efforts of many, from Judkins to townspeople to the crews that pulled together to get the runway and hangar ready.
“It was a major team effort and I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of the town of Limestone,” Pocock said. “Here’s an example. Limestone Public Works spent Labor Day weekend here cleaning the runway.”
Presque Isle Airport Director Scott Wardwell called it “a great day” for aviation and the future of Aroostook County. Wardwell will advise the Loring airport operations, and if the Federal Aviation Administration grants it status as a public airport, he will assist more, he said.
Inside the arch hangar, the plane rolled slowly to a stop and people disembarked. Among them was Aero Intelligence chief operating officer Chris Persaud, who first visited two months ago to view the property.
“We’re so appreciative of the whole community,” Persaud said. “When I came to visit this hangar two months ago, I saw a lot of potential. But what really sealed the deal was all the great folks I met here.”
The LDA owns the hangar and other nearby structures, including a DC aircraft hangar and a fabrication shop adjacent to the arch hangar. Aero Intelligence may expand into some of those in the future, but details are unclear right now, Judkins said.
The authority’s efforts to revitalize have also included agreements with Maine-based developer Green 4 Maine. Green 4 Maine purchased 450 acres at the Loring Commerce Centre in 2023, and its plans include aerospace, new housing and drawing in local businesses.
Judkins looks forward to seeing Loring vibrant once again, so Aroostook residents and Mainers in general see the site as an asset, rather than a liability.
“The excitement that I feel about the utilization of these taxpayer assets is only surpassed by the joy I get from knowing that this region of Maine will benefit from multiple generations of opportunities related to the aerospace industry,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the group that led Operation Northern Phoenix.
