On And In The Air
Story Originally Posted: 9/25/2008
I have spent a career on-the-air, but “in-the-air & on the air” simultaneously was quite a different experience the morning of Wednesday, August 6th 2008.
An invitation was extended by Dave Ruckle and Golden Aviation pilot Dick Sharrow after I had mentioned “on-the-air” that the late Mayor of Bloomsburg, Chip Coffman and I were to take-in the beauty of our area with a plane ride from the Bloomsburg Airport. Unfortunately, that never happened due to Chip’s passing.
The beauty from above was incredible. The panoramic view was breath taking and not because I was hyperventilating with fear of being a thousand feet above Columbia and Montour Counties. Having this opportunity to broadcast on the air from in the air makes me understand why Chip wanted me to have this experience.
Bloomsburg, PA boosts of having the Bloomsburg Fair, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Bloomsburg University and a beautiful Norman Rockwell downtown. Let’s add to that list, The Bloomsburg Airport, rich in history and community potential.
Story Courtesy of: Joe Reilly, WHLM News
Pilot Recounts Memory of Airport
Story Originally Posted: 7/01/2008
During the summers of my college years in the early 1980s, I would stop by the Bloomsburg airport after working evenings at the Hotel Magee. I would buy a Coke from the soda machine at the airport and sit on the hood of my car to watch the (very) occasional airplane land in the dark. The rotating beacon and the sound of cars crossing the open-grate river bridge were usually the only things disturbing the darkness.
One evening in the summer of 1983, an airplane landed (a Cessna 172, I think) and after the pilot parked the airplane, he struck up a conversation with me. He recognized me from when he would eat at the Publick House restaurant at Hotel Magee. He offered to take me for a ride sometime. The pilot's name was Carl Grower (I think this is spelled correctly) and a few days later, I went for a ride with him.
It was a beautiful day. As I recall, we flew from Bloomsburg to Lock Haven and back. What a great experience. I was sure that as soon as I finished college the next year, I would start taking flying lessons.
Well, I now live near Reading and I finally started taking flying lessons at Morgantown airport in 2007. In January of 2008, my "big" solo cross-country flight was from Morgantown to Williamsport, to Bloomsburg and back to Morgantown. Although there were no fireworks or marching band waiting for me when I landed at Bloomsburg, it was a very big deal to me. The runway did look a little narrower and shorter than I remember from 1983, though! On July 2, 2008, I passed my practical test and received my private pilot certificate...almost 25 years to the day after Carl Grower took me for my first ride in an airplane. Why did I wait so long? That is a story for another day.
Story Courtesy of: Dale Litwhiler
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