Business View Magazine | April 2021

116 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE APRIL 2021 Personalized service for you and your airplane 300 County Airport Rd. Hangar A Vacaville Ca 95688 707-451-2860 www.avispec.com The airport itself started as a dirt strip behind the fruit stand, created by Ed Power Jr. who had a love of aviation. “And it grew and grew and became a famous airport,” says Leno. “Ed Power Jr., son of the original owner, had worked on bombers in World War II and was the second- generation owner of the Nut Tree. He was the one who branched it out, building up the restaurant and creating a train that you could take from the airport over to the rest of the buildings. In 1955, they were issued a permit by the State of California to operate as an airport and it became a common place to fly into, for people who would then head up to Lake Tahoe or Sacramento.” The airstrip made the popular road stop even more accessible, and to capitalize on it, Ed Power Jr. started holding air shows with speakers like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Chuck Yeager drawing in huge crowds. “Then in the ‘70s, the Powers family decided to give up the airport side of it,” explains Leno, “and I believe they first approached the city of Vacaville and the city turned them down because they felt it was too far outside of the city limits at the time – which it isn’t anymore. So they turned to Solano County. As part of the deed, the county agreed to always keep the Nut Tree name. They also agreed that it had to remain a public airport.” Nut Tree Airport now boasts an expanded 4,700- foot runway that accommodates light aircraft to corporate jets. The airport’s on-site services offer aircraft rentals, flight lessons, pilot training, and aircraft/helicopter maintenance and repair.