(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Air National Guard’s K-C 135 aircraft from the 185th air refueling wing have returned to their home base in Sioux City. The giant flying fuel stations operated at bases in Topeka, Kansas and Sioux Falls, South Dakota after runway construction got underway at the airport in April. Lieutenant Colonel Ben Young is a K-C 135 pilot who is happy to be back home in Iowa: “It’s just great to have airplanes back this is our home this is where we want to be flying out of fill a lot of pride when we see the airplanes overhead and when we’re flying out of Sioux City here,” he says.

The construction project closed the longer of two available runways used by the K-C 135 aircraft so parts of them could be refurbished. “The runway was supposed to open up at the beginning of October but weather and delays happen and we flexed with that the Sioux City Airport Authority has been great to work with flexing the plan we were able to get a few jets back early in November so we could do some exercises with them,” Young says.

They did the flyover for Friday’s Iowa/Nebraska football game and now get back to a regular schedule. “We’ll come right back from Thanksgiving and we got an aircraft generation exercise that will be a week long,” he says. Young says have the jets back at their home allows everyone involved to enjoy more time with their families.