10/28/2026
Nebraskaland Aviation Trades Quonset Huts for a 350-Foot Hangar
At Brewster Field in Holdrege, Nebraska, Nebraskaland Aviation's old Quonset hangars were so tight that the crew sometimes parked planes sideways on carts because that was the only way they would fit.
“The airplanes kept getting bigger, but the hangars didn’t,” says Tye Marquardt, who owns the family business with his wife, Aimee, and their children.
They now work in a 350-foot hangar that fits up to 10 airplanes. Six Schweiss bifold doors line the building, with four 70-foot doors on the front and two 60-foot doors on the back. Their Air Tractor 602 has a 56-foot wingspan, so it clears the front doors with room to spare on both sides.
Tye chose lift straps because they are quieter, faster, and safer than cables. He also likes that a bifold door folds up and stays out of the way of planes parked on the ramp. “Schweiss Doors are well built, and they do their job. We’re happy with them,” he says.
The hangar’s a gathering spot, too. Tye says it’s hosted weddings, baby showers, graduation parties, and football watch parties. A couple of years ago, the Holdrege Dusters wrestled Nebraska City on a mat beside an Air Tractor 602. It was the first wrestling match held in an ag aircraft hangar.
