Soaring Through Butler Skies
Not only was Butler, Pennsylvania the birthplace of the Jeep and five other automobiles, but it also has a rich history related to aviation! The flat fields of farmlands in Butler County made it an ideal area for early pilots to land. One of those landing strips of farmland these aviators used, Nixon and Dodds Farm, is now the location of the Butler County Airport. Today’s air traffic, however, has a much safer 4,801-foot paved runway to greet them.
1908
In 1908 Augustus Roy Knabenshue, a member of the Wright Brothers’ Exhibition Team, soared over Butler in a one-man dirigible. His trip, noted as the first flight in Butler County, covered from the old fairgrounds (now Butler High School) to the Courthouse and back.
As many other local aviators gained interest in flight, their needs were met on August 27-28, 1929 when the Pittsburgh Aviation Industries Corporation established the 230-acre site in Penn Township as the Pittsburgh-Butler Airport. The Penn School of Aviation, modeled after the United States Army training schools, was originally housed here and was regarded as one of the most state-of-the-art air transport and mechanical schools in the nation. Pittsburgh-Butler Airport served as the primary airport for the Pittsburgh region until Pittsburgh International was built in the early 1950s.
1929 As you can imagine, such a distinguished reputation garnered the interest of many notable aviation greats. Amelia Earhart, who was present for the airport’s 1929 dedication, later returned in 1932. She trained in Butler’s skies for three months to acquire her instrument flight certificate prior to her flight across the Atlantic. Amelia even had long-range fuel tanks installed on her Lockheed Vega (Little Red Bus) while in the area.
1932 1935
You may have heard of Taylorcraft Aircraft, but did you know that C.G. Taylor had facilities in Butler in 1935? Here he manufactured his original two-place side-by-side aircraft, with its original design drawn out on the floor of the airport’s historical hangar, C-1.
1938
In May of 1938, for the first time in the airport’s history, airmail was flown out of the Pittsburgh-Butler Airport to the municipal airport in Pittsburgh. As WWII roared on, Butler’s airport served as a training facility for American, British and Canadian pilots. Many of these cadets bunked at the dormitories of Slippery Rock and Grove City Colleges while earning their flight hours.
1969
John Graham purchased the airport and ran Graham Aviation there from 1969 until 1980 when the authority obtained the entire airport as it exists today. During that time, Graham’s friendliness to private and sportsmen aviators turned the airport into a hub, since larger airports were more concentrated on commercial and international flights. Butler County Airport Authority purchased the tract of land from Mr. Graham through approximately seven deeds.
1950
Following the war, the Butler County Airport authority was formed and in 1950, the runway was paved. These changes enabled the authority to apply for federal funds.
Despite improvements such as the addition of an 800-foot runway extension in 2004, the airport continues to be operated by only three people. The airport is also still uncontrolled, meaning pilots are responsible for announcing their intentions on a common advisory frequency (UNICOM) or contacting the tower at Pittsburgh International Airport during bad weather.
2004
Today, aviators can take
advantage of the services of the Butler County Airport’s fixed base operator, AirQuest Aviation, or dine at Hangar 4.7.3 overlooking the runway of the airport.
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