On the subject of floods, there have been a total of 28 floods in Bloomsburg since records started in 1850. Since the Bloomsburg airport opened in 1932 there have been 23 in excess of flood stage at 19 feet. The first one to affect the airport was March 20, 1936 at 27.8 feet. The most severe occurred on June 5, 1972 (31.2’); June 28, 2006 (28.64’) and September 9, 2011 (32.75’) respectively. Most floods were considered minor or moderate with many not affecting the airport operations.
Above: 46-year A & P veteran Mechanic Karl George in 2020.
October 2015 saw a major overhauling of the Columbia Aircraft facilities from the maintenance shops to a completely remodeled office complex. Today, Columbia Aircraft Services is a global entity, receiving and shipping engines andmagnetos from as far away as Germany, England, Italy, Norway, South and Central Americas, Africa, Thailand (Royal Air Force) and Mexico. Convenient to Bloomsburg University, an unknown number of parents over the years have utilized the airport to bring and pick up their sons and daughters who are students at the school. Over the years, the Bloomsburg Fair has also benefited from the airport as numerous high-profile entertainers took advantage of flying into town to perform at the annual event. Some of the performers included Roy Clark, Pat Benatar, Mickey Gilley, John Denver, Sawyer Brown and bands Alabama and Chicago. Other notables that have traveled to the Bloomsburg airport include former Congressman Dan Flood, Senator John Heinz and golf legend Arnold Palmer. Once again, the increased business use of the Bloomsburg airport created a demand for corporate hangar space. Addressing the need in 1987, Gary Hock, once local owner of Hock Construction Company and a corporate jet, erected “Big Blue,” a two-story business hangar equipped with an office, second story storage space, restroom and kitchen. Soon after Big Blue, Stanley Oberender built a scaled down corporate hangar for his business use Bonanza. This hangar was later acquired by Sunny Hills Farms for its plane. And, although he recently sold his RV 8, Chris Mazzitti still hangars a meticulously maintained Cessna 140 in this eastern most building at the airport. As Harry Magee imagined long ago, many companies both local and nationwide have benefited from the Bloomsburg airport. Here’s just a short list of those that have used N13 over nearly nine decades: Region Oil Company, Royal Swan Foods, Catawissa Lumber Company, JDK Management, Gary Hock Construction, Kama Corporation, Labar Trucking, Bercon Industries of Berwick, Custom Air Charters, A-1 Air Services, Rovac Pump Company, Multi Engine Charter Services, Orangeville Manufacturing, Alaska Wood Stoves Company, Laubach Trucking Company, Ray Hoffman Charter Services, Wise Potato Chips, Pennsylvania State Police, Kawneer, Geisinger Medical Center, Press Enterprise, Angel Flights & many more. 7
Columbia Aircraft Services Shines
In 1978, Mobil Oil Company selected Columbia Aircraft Service’s engine test cell to perform a required 500-hour continuous engine run for the approval of one of its engine oils used in airplanes. Columbia is only one of a handful of approved engine repair stations on the east coast that has an FAA approved aircraft engine test cell.
Above : Columbia Aircraft Crew with owner on far right, Fred Vietig.
Bill Bartsler, who started working at Columbia Aircraft Services at age 16 in 1949, took over ownership in 1979, retiring in 1991. Shirley Brobst, who started working at a Columbia Aircraft as a secretary in June of 1966, and Scott Smith, who started as an aircraft mechanic in January 1967, takes over as co-owners in 1991. With the retirement of Scott Smith in 2008, Karl George partners with Shirley Brobst as co-owner of Columbia Aircraft. Then in April 2013 George and Brobst sell their interest in CAS to Kelly Green.
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