A long-simmering plan to develop an aerospace cluster at the Eastern Iowa Airport is nearly ready to come to a full boil.

And for airport director Marty Lenss, the time has come for the airport — along with the state as a whole — to fully embrace its aerospace industry potential.

“It’s about stepping back and recognizing that aviation is an origin story for Eastern Iowa, but we haven’t really thought of it that way,” Mr. Lenss told the CBJ. “The Wright brothers got their inspiration for flight here. That’s well documented. You think of Arthur Collins [and Collins Aerospace] growing into the largest employer in the region. You think about [James] Van Allen and the Space Lab that now exists at the University of Iowa. These are some real pioneers and innovators in aerospace. So it’s a DNA thing … We want to leverage that storytelling, that talent, and activate our property in a way that we never have before.” 

Background and foundation

The Eastern Iowa Airport has been building toward an aerospace industry cluster for several years.

The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission has accumulated roughly 3,000 total acres over the past 50 years — approximately 1,000 inside the airfield perimeter and 2,000 outside it.

About 1,500 acres north of Wright Brothers Boulevard now comprises the CID SuperPark, the central focus for local aerospace company development. That land base, Mr. Lenss said, is central to the entire effort.

About 40 acres of the site — known as Tract 7 — has already been activated as a shovel-ready parcel to attract private aviation businesses, including a taxiway extension to make the site accessible from the main airfield.

And an important legislative win — a sales tax exemption on aircraft parts and labor signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in June 2022 — has given Iowa competitive parity with neighboring states and about 70% of U.S. states that already had such exemptions, Mr. Lenss said.

The Oliver Wyman study

A key development came in 2024, when the Eastern Iowa Airport and the Iowa Economic Development Authority jointly commissioned New York-based management consulting firm Oliver Wyman to conduct a strategic study on building a formal aerospace industry cluster in Eastern Iowa.

That study, completed in late 2025, is now functioning as the roadmap for a long-term growth strategy centered on the CID SuperPark and surrounding development sites.

Mr. Lenss said leaders plan to move aerospace out from under the transportation category and establish it as its own recognized economic sector through the airport’s overall 10-year development plan.

IEDA Director Debi Durham has said the presence of Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems in Cedar Rapids means the area already constitutes a “mini cluster” — but not yet a full one — and that with intentional focus and targeted marketing, Iowa could see the sector grow significantly.

What the report says

The Wyman report defines the cluster’s core objective: becoming “a competitive and recognized Aerospace Industry Cluster” capable of retaining and enhancing existing aerospace and defense companies while attracting new ones — specifically by activating the SuperPark, growing the local talent pipeline, and building name recognition among target sectors and site selector
stakeholders.

The potential of such a sector is substantial.

According to the Wyman report, the U.S. aerospace market is projected to grow from $270 billion in 2025 to $400 billion by 2030. Space will likely be the fastest-growing segment, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 13.3% through 2030, driven by falling launch costs and the emergence of what the Wyman report calls a “Second Space Race” led by private companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and the United Launch Alliance.

Civil aircraft production is forecast to experience double-digit growth, while civil MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) business is expected to hit $35.5 billion in annual sales by 2030 due to an aging narrow-body air fleet.

Defense spending is also forecast to grow, driven by geopolitical tensions and military modernization.

The report says Eastern Iowa offers several advantages in the creation of an aerospace cluster, including a lower cost of living, an educated workforce, and a sizable airfield-accessible site of more than 500 acres.

However, the report also cautions that “Eastern Iowa must identify ways to expand its qualified workforce, improve infrastructure, leverage its innovation capabilities, and enhance marketing efforts to attract new tenants.”

The report documented more than $26 billion in total addressable aerospace investments nationally between 2020 and 2025, with the South capturing a disproportionate share, due to advantages such as a lower cost of living, a business-friendly environment and aerospace-specific tax incentives.

Specifically, the report cited North Carolina’s $450 million site readiness fund, which helped improve taxiway access at Piedmont Triad International Airport prior to landing the JetZero investment, as a best-practice example of proactive site readiness. (see separate JetZero story, starting on page 4.)

Five pillars of the cluster strategy

The Oliver Wyman study benchmarked Eastern Iowa’s aspirations against what it calls “Gold Standard” aerospace clusters — regions like Wichita, Tulsa, Spokane, and Greensboro — and identified five best-practice areas the report recommends the airport adopt:

• Quality workforce — Building apprenticeship and pipeline programs connecting students directly to aerospace employers. The report cites Wichita State University Tech’s guaranteed interview program with Spirit AeroSystems as a model.
• Site readiness — Proactively developing infrastructure before prospective investors come knocking, including hangar access and airfield connectivity.
• Public incentives — Advocating for aerospace-specific tax credits and preferential incentive policies at the state level. Oklahoma’s 10% tax credit on aerospace engineer salaries and Spokane’s business and occupation credits for aerospace firms were cited as examples.
• Innovation capabilities — Partnering with universities and research institutions to build research and development capacity. Wichita’s National Institute for Aviation Research was cited as a Gold Standard example.
• Marketing and government advocacy — Mounting a coordinated, trade-show-present marketing effort with dedicated economic development teams. Oklahoma’s State Department of Aeronautics was cited as a model for state-level coordination.

The report proposes an airport-led operating model organized around those five pillars, initially managed by existing airport staff in coordination with state and local partners, including the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Greater Iowa City.

Organizational structure

The Wyman report also envisioned the airport hiring dedicated full-time staff to manage business development and partnerships.

The first step in that process is now moving forward, as the airport commission voted in May to authorize the hiring of a new aerospace development strategist. Mr. Lenss said he hoped to have that position filled by July 1.

The strategist will coordinate internal work groups to track KPIs, manage the cluster’s website and inbound site selector inquiries, and support pitching efforts alongside Mr. Lenss and Caleb Mason, the airport’s director of properties and business development.

While aviation industry conferences can be valuable for creating and reinforcing connections, Mr. Lenss was quick to stress that the position won’t be focused on conference attendance.

“Conferences are great,” he said. “You’ve got to get out there, and that may lead to some further conversations. But this isn’t an effort to justify sending them out to a bunch of conferences. We’re very targeted on which ones we might attend.”

Workforce pipeline and educational partners

Workforce development and partnerships with higher education institutions will be a central element of the aerospace cluster strategy, the Wyman report says.

Mr. Lenss described the workforce development effort as one of the cluster’s two most critical differentiators, alongside the available land.

In 2025, the airport announced the development of its new Aviation Workforce Development Campus, a space spanning two airport hangars for students to learn and train in their aviation programs.

That campus now includes:

• Kirkwood Community College’s aviation maintenance program, which has been full every year since it opened, with a waiting list for each new class.
• Coe College’s aviation management and flight training program, in its first full year, having just received FAA restricted ATP certification — the same standard as programs at the University of North Dakota and Embry-Riddle. Coe’s program allows freshmen to fly from their first week on campus, which Mr. Lenss said distinguishes it from many larger programs. Enrollment growth has prompted a move from its original hangar to the former Signature FBO facility, which provides more than double the square footage.
• Executive Aero, Iowa’s only Cirrus-certified flight training center, now operating in the new Signature hangar.
• A vacant former airport administration building adjacent to the Kirkwood/Coe campus, which is available for future classroom or simulator use.
• Two acres of greenfield space acquired from Collins Aerospace, set aside for new program facilities as enrollment grows.

Mr. Lenss also noted that the airport has developed key educational relationships with Iowa State University’s aerospace engineering program, the University of Iowa (particularly the Van Allen Space Flight Lab and the Operator Performance Lab at the University of Iowa)and Indian Hills Community College’s aviation maintenance program in Ottumwa.

At the high school level, Prairie High School has launched an aviation maintenance pathway through its Choose Aerospace program. Mr. Lenss said he and Mr. Mason have conducted “road shows” at other area high schools, with the Cedar Rapids school district exploring a career pathway program and discussions underway about an aviation program at Jefferson High School.

Mr. Lenss personally teaches an introductory aviation management course at Coe.

“Now we have a pathway to further that interest in our own backyard,” he said of the regional educational pipeline.

He acknowledged one key missing piece: An aerospace industry presence in Cedar Rapids that actually needs certified mechanics, which would drive Kirkwood’s enrollment growth.

“Once we can get that to happen, then I think we will see Kirkwood’s program grow further,” he said.

Innovation layer

NewBoCo, a Cedar Rapids-based entrepreneurial and innovation-focused organization, is developing an Iowa Aviation Technology Center — an effort designed to complement, rather than duplicate, existing programs.

Mr. Lenss described the center’s role as building an aerospace innovation lab capacity — one of the “gold standard” components of successful clusters — that could connect high schools, community colleges and universities.

he Operator Performance Lab is one potential partner in that ecosystem, Mr. Lenss said.

State and regional partners

Mr. Lenss repeatedly emphasized the strength of the region’s partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and director Debi Durham’s office.

“Our alignment with IEDA and the partnership that we’ve really strengthened in this aerospace is one of [our] key differentiators,” he said, noting that cohesive state-local alignment is not universal among competing regions.

The effort also involves the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Greater Iowa City, and area government economic development offices.

Competitive differentiators

Mr. Lenss summarized the Eastern Iowa Airport’s case in several key areas: shovel-ready greenfield land with airfield access and room for a future third runway; an existing aerospace workforce that hasn’t yet been formally aligned; a cost-of-living and cost-of-operating advantage over more mature aerospace regions where workforce competition and housing costs have increased; and a strong state-level economic development partnership.

“Iowa can win in that space,” he said.

Mr. Lenss identified airframe MRO companies as one of the airport’s most realistic near-term opportunities.

Industry reports say the global aviation MRO market has fully recovered from COVID-19 impacts, reaching over $114 billion in 2024, an increase of 7.2% above the 2019 pre-pandemic peak, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.7% through 2035 to $156 billion.

Reports from several trade publications confirm the MRO sector is facing a significant shortage of skilled labor, including engineers, technicians, and mechanics, which limits the capacity of MRO providers to meet growing demands.

Forecasters say interest in the MRO sector will not dissipate in 2026, with workforce shortages remaining a huge challenge. With that backdrop, Kirkwood’s aviation maintenance program could well serve as a strategically valuable asset as it continues to develop.

Defining potential

The long-term goal, Mr. Lenss said, is for Eastern Iowa to be recognized nationally as a leading aerospace industry cluster.

The Wyman study serves as both a reality check and a roadmap for the area’s potential in that realm, he said.

“Are we just nuts?” Mr. Lenss said of the study’s purpose. “Do we have a real opportunity here, or are we nuts?”

The study affirmed the opportunity to develop aerospace clusters in Eastern Iowa, and helped narrow the field to six target industry archetypes the region is best positioned to pursue: new-age OEMs (including drone manufacturers), new defense tech, component suppliers (the wheelhouse of Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems), payload and satellite suppliers, airframe MRO operators, and international defense companies.

One finding from the report, Mr. Lenss said: Satellite component manufacturing doesn’t require airfield access, making it a candidate for University of Iowa Research Park development tied to the Van Allen Space Flight Lab.

“That’s an opportunity for our region to go after,” he said.

Progress may come in small increments, rather than large-scale projects, Mr. Lenss said, but it’s important to stay in the game for the long run.

“Some of these efforts, to give it a baseball analogy, might look like a single or a double,” Mr. Lenss said. “Maybe it’s an airframe maintenance repair overhaul organization. It could be something in the space satellite component arena that would tie into the University of Iowa. Or it could very well be vertical development within the University Research Park. It’s all part of the aerospace development process.”