Supporting the tremendous interest in learning to fly is a host of flight instructors at the Bloomsburg airport, including Rob Staib, CFII; Hans Lawrence, CFII/ MEI/ RI; Eric Cipcic, CFI and Phil Polstra CFII, recipient of the “2019 Flight Instructor of the Year Award” for the FAA Harrisburg District. In 2020, thanks to Steve Savage, of Northeastern Technology, WiFi became available in the Town’s hangars, making it possible to safely remotely engage the block engine heaters in the winter which saves on electrical costs and is better for the aircraft engines. Throughout the spring and summer of 2020, a much-needed reconstruction of the airport apron was completed.
The annual Dream Machine car show from above.
at all times, the head pancake flippers were the father/son combo of Stan and Ty Williams. Equally notable, most all fly- outs were commanded by Colonel Denny Stahl, a rank given him for the take charge skills he exhibited. 2016 brought the first Gyro-copter to N13 – 914RB owned by Ron Andress. Ron has graciously given countless pro-bono rides, always culminating in a completely satisfied customer. He averages about 300 hours of flight time annually.
As of January 2021, the Bloomsburg Flying Club is busting at the seams, maxing the number of members allowed by its by-laws with more than a half dozen on its’ waiting list. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just an indicator that aviation is alive and well at the Bloomsburg airport. Even during a period when Covid-19 has brought a lot of activities to a near screeching halt, between the two club planes, almost 700 hours were logged in 2020. While urgent air ambulance service is currently not available at N13, Angel Flights, and Pilots and Paws is alive and well in 2020. We thank all the Angel Pilots who donate their time and aircraft to this valuable mission of transporting patients for specialized medical care pro bono.
Ron Andress in his gyrocopter
Get in Touch
2017 Brought one of our first celebrity flight students, 11-year NASA veteran mechanical engineer Ms. Grier Wilt. One of Grier’s many responsibilities at NASA was preparing astronauts to safely perform their spacewalks by instructing them in the buoyancy lab. Grier completed her private pilot in 20 days! – then she went on to become the Deputy Director of NASA Space program in Star City Russia. She remains a member of the Bloomsburg Flying Club and the airport is always happy to see her when she returns home for a visit.
To learn more about the Bloomsburg Flying Club, the Bloomsburg EAA #1641 Chapter, the Bloomsburg Civil Air Patrol Squadron & the Aviation Explorer Post, visit the airport’s website: bloomsburgpa.org/community/bloomsburg-airport
In the End
Time is like rust, it has a tendency to fade memories, including historical facts unless someone records them and there are people passionate about keeping them alive. The Bloomsburg airport has a rich history that has created a heritage well worth preserving. It’s the hope of many today that eighty-nine years from now time has only added more memories and that they, too, will be recorded in some way they can be recalled by those with the same passion for the Bloomsburg airport then that we feel today. From the airport: We would like to acknowledge, and thank, the Press Enterprise Newspaper for granting us permission to use the newspaper photographs which appear in this History of the Bloomsburg airport. We would also like to thank the Enterprise’s many skilled photographers and talented journalists who contributed to these photos and articles. 9
Above, Grier, boarding NASA jet for Russia
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