Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. is an American producer of

aircraft part An aircraft part is an article or component approved for installation on a type-certificated aircraft. Approval for these parts is derived from the jurisdictions of the countries that an aircraft is based. In the United States, the Federal Aviati ...

s and services including plans for

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

History

Aircraft Spruce Co. was founded in 1965 by Bob and Flo Irwin as a follow-on to founding Fullerton Air Parts. Initially the company sold only one product: aircraft grade

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

lumber for aircraft construction and restoration. Aircraft Spruce Co. added more products and adopted the name Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. Jim Irwin, Bob and Flo's older son, managed kit programs such as the Vari-Eze in 1975 while still in college. In 1978 Jim acquired the company, and he became president in 1980. Aircraft Spruce was housed in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

, from 1965 until 1997 in a historic Fullerton former citrus packing house. It then moved to a facility in

Corona, California Corona (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crown") is a city in northwestern Riverside County, California, United States, directly bordering Orange County, California, Orange and San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino counties. Its curre ...

. Aircraft Spruce East moved to a new facility in

Peachtree City, Georgia Peachtree City is the largest city in Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 38,244. Peachtree City is located in southern Metro Atlanta. Golf carts are widely used in the city. Over 10,000 hous ...

, in 2004. Aircraft Spruce Canada was opened in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 2006, and moved to the

Brantford, Ontario Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County but is politically separate wi ...

Airport in 2008 with a new facility coming online in 2016. In 2019, Aircraft Spruce opened two new facilities with Aircraft Spruce Midwest operating in a facility in

West Chicago, Illinois West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,614 at the 2020 census. It was formerly named Junction and later Turner Junction, after its founder, John Bice Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Un ...

, and Aircraft Spruce Alaska in a building in

Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States, and the List of cities in Alaska, fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanus ...

. Ron Alexander's Alexander Aeroplane Company was purchased and integrated into the company. The Aviation Book Company was purchased in late 2014. It integrated PilotShop.com into its business in August 2014. Founder Bob Irwin died on 26 June 2015 at his home in

Lake Havasu City, Arizona Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started du ...

Expansion

The company acquired the estate of

Paul Poberezny Paul Howard Poberezny (September 14, 1921 – August 22, 2013) was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting hom ...

in 2017. It acquired A.E.R.O. in Stock in September 2018. The company opened a new midwestern facility in

in September 2019. A new distribution center was opened in Middletown, Pennsylvania in 2023. Eastern Aero Supply was acquired the following year. In July, a branch was announced in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

. The company acquired Wag-Aero two months later. Aircraft Spruce, along with Aero Performance, opened a sixth location of in Roanoke, Texas on 8 March 2025.

Locations

Aircraft Spruce operates the following locations: * West –

* Southwest –

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, fourth-most populous city in Arizona ...

* Central –

Roanoke, Texas Roanoke is a city in Denton County, Texas, Denton County, Texas, United States and part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. Roanoke is currently growing at a rate of 3.77% annually and its population has increased by 76.74% since the 2010 census ...

* Midwest –

* Northeast – Middletown, Pennsylvania * East –

* Alaska –

Palmer, Alaska Palmer is a city in and the county seat, borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States, located northeast of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Matanuska Valley. It is the List of cities in A ...

* Canada –

* Australia –

Keysborough, Victoria Keysborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Keysborough recorded a population of 30,018 at the . Keysbor ...

Products

Aircraft Spruce has the rights to sell kits and plans for a large selection of homebuilt aircraft.

References

External links