Leading Edge was founded by Mike Manclark in 1989 as an aircraft detailing business based in John Wayne International Airport in
Orange County, California. The company expanded through the 1990s, with Manclark becoming a private jet detailer for celebrities such as
Bob Hope and
Frank Sinatra. After a contract with McDonnell Douglas for a KC110 heavy-check maintenance clean, the company began to work on large aircraft, first stripping paint for maintenance purposes, then contracting paint jobs. The company's first high-profile job was to design United Airlines' new brand image, to be released at the Super Bowl. The company gained contracts with major airlines such as
Delta and
Continental, as well as for special projects such as the
Arizona Diamondbacks-themed
Boeing 757 for
America West Airlines, historical restorations, and
Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign plane. Other notable milestones: In 2008, The company repainted a World War II era
Douglas A-26 Invader, now on display at the Orange County John Wayne Airport. In 2009, restored a Blue Angels
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, now on display at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. In 2010, was contracted to repaint 631 planes in the United and Continental Airlines merger, expanding the company's
Amarillo, Texas location. In 2012, received AS9100 certification. The same year, the company painted the first
Boeing 787 Dreamliner, for
Air India, and were contracted to paint all 787s built in Charleston, SC. Vance Street Capital LLC made a private equity investment in Leading Edge in 2012. Leading Edge began repainting
American Airlines' fleet of aircraft when the company changed its "AA" logo to a stylized American flag in 2013. In 2016, Leading Edge, Associated Painter, and Eirtech Aviation merged into 1 brand - International Aerospace Coatings, Inc. (IAC). == Awards ==