237 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 10 PIERRE REGIONAL AIRPORT take-offs at the same time. It started as an actual B-17 bomber base and then, towards the end of its career with the Army Air Corp, it switched over to P47 and P40 fighter aircraft base. The P40 was the first Warhawk. And the P47s were called Thunderbolts. Pietz flies a restored P-51 Mustang and is deeply involved in air shows and the aviation community. This is where the name Mustang Aviation derives from. The hope is that he will be putting on an air show here next year. “We have always been a pretty big part of this for other people’s aircraft. They have one hangar now which also serves as their service workshop. This new hangar will free up space in that service hangar so that they can get more work in and be more responsive to customers whenever they have service needs or whatever for their aircraft.” Cowles goes on to describe how the airport is still laid out in the two-runway triangle pattern of an army air base during World War Two, which is where Pierre Regional got its start. It was laid out in this manner so that they could do multiple
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