AirCorps Aviation opens Bemidji fabrication shop for public tour May 7

Behind the doors at 540 Mahnomen Dr. SE, visitors will see machinery, workspaces and partially completed aircraft projects when AirCorps Aviation opens its fabrication shop for a self-guided public tour from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7. Employees will be on site to answer questions, and the free event offers one of the few chances each year for the public to step inside a business that normally keeps its shop floor closed.

AirCorps says it hosts only two open house events a year, rather than regular tours during business hours. That makes the spring stop especially notable in Bemidji, where the company’s work is spread across multiple facilities. Its office, restoration facility and AirCorps Depot are at 1180 Adams Ave. NW, while its fabrication facility is at 1259 Exchange Ave. SE. The May 7 open house at 540 Mahnomen Dr. SE gives residents a look at a different part of that operation and a better sense of how the company’s work is organized across town.

The company specializes in restoring, maintaining and rebuilding vintage WWII and legacy aircraft, while also handling build-to-print fabrication, metal forming, CNC machining, part manufacturing and complete aircraft rebuilding for the aerospace industry. AirCorps says it is a Certified FAA Repair Station with an approved FAA PMA Quality System, credentials that help explain why the shop needs specialized equipment, controlled workspaces and a skilled crew. The open house also puts a local face on a niche manufacturing employer that depends on precision trades rather than a typical retail or office setup.

Founded in 2011, AirCorps says its leadership has a combined total of more than 113 years of warbird experience. Erik Hokuf, identified by the company as a Bemidji native and founding member, has worked in general aviation for nearly 30 years and held an A&P Certificate with Inspection Authorization for 25 years. That kind of experience is part of why AirCorps has become one of Bemidji’s more distinctive employers, linking local fabrication and aviation know-how to projects with national reach.

Its broader footprint includes AirCorps Library, a digitized collection of thousands of pages of drawings and manuals for more than 50 models of WWII and legacy aircraft, plus a $1,000 scholarship through the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame for students pursuing aviation manufacturing, restoration, maintenance or flight. On its projects page, the company highlights restoration work on a P-47D razorback it describes as the world’s oldest flying and only Republic-built razorback P-47D Thunderbolt recovered from Papua New Guinea, along with a P-51C Thunderbird tied to Jimmy Stewart and Jackie Cochran. For Bemidji, the open house is a rare look at the shop floor behind that work, and at the skilled trades that keep it moving.