Local businessman and developer Ed Boesen is in the process of buying Exec 1 Aviation Inc., a private aviation business based at the Ankeny Regional Airport. The deal is subject to approval by the Polk County Aviation Authority and other regulatory boards, but Boesen believes it could be finalized in the next 60 days.

“We’re just in the throes of finishing that deal up,” said Boesen, who also is co-owner of Boesen the Florist and part of the Rice Elementary School property development in Beaverdale.

Exec 1 currently operates a fleet of about 10 charter planes, and Boesen said he will add the two planes he owns to the fleet in an effort to boost the charter business. The company also runs a flight school and maintenance facility, assists in buying and selling aircraft, repairs and installs aviation equipment and handles freight shipments. Barney Bushore currently is CEO and co-owner of the operation.

Boesen said this purchase represents his interest in aviation rather than an effort to boost his other businesses.

“There’s absolutely, positively no synergy whatsoever,” he said. “Everything else we do is with a master plan. This one is just, I have a couple of airplanes and a great deal of exposure to that world, and there’s a ton of good things that can happen to serve the entire metropolitan area.”

Boesen said he has been pursuing the deal for the past few years.