Aviation community seeks to work with Lock Haven to save Piper Airport

LOCK HAVEN, PA – An informal assemblage of local aviators stands ready to work with the City of Lock Haven in an effort to make sure the William T. Piper Memorial Airport stays in operation. The city had notified airport employees in July of the possibility of a sale of the airport to an aviation interest, citing an operating loss of $1.9 million over the last decade.

Local flying club members and business operators at the airport, among others, have subsequently organized over any prospective loss of the airport and on Tuesday eight of them met with local media to present their case why the airport, part of Lock Haven’s history since 1937, should remain in operation.

Alan Uhler, Jr. from Bellefonte chaired the one-hour meeting; he rents hangar space at the airport. He reiterated on multiple occasions the group is not complaining but wants to work with the city as part of an effort to assure the airport “can be run on a balanced budget.” He later said the group wants to be supportive of the city and “I feel it can be better run.”

Meeting attendees said the group has a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with city administration and two city council members to discuss the matter.

Uhler and others talked about the possible formation of an authority to oversee the facility and cited the Mifflin County Airport as a similarly sized airport, one run by a county-sponsored authority.

The group provided the media with a multiple page packet detailing the airport, its history, its economic impact and a breakdown on facilities there, the latter sheet stating, “Overall airport facilities are functional but in decline and in need of maintenance.” The information noted there are 24 tee hangers on site and there is a waiting list for utilization.

The material said there are nine aviation-related businesses at the airport, employing some 30 people. According to information from the state Department of Transportation, on-airport activity produced an annual payroll of more than $2.2 million in 2022.

Participants included Ron Dremel, President of the Piper Aviation Museum, where the Tuesday meeting was held. He noted the economic benefit of the museum, what he called “a great international tourist destination that few people in Clinton County know about.” Information provided said the museum draws 2,500 to 3,000 visitors each year. He termed the airport “economically a tremendous asset to the city.” Unlike other similarly sized airports, several speakers said, pilots can land at the airport and walk to town, a unique feature. Revenue generated from the annual Sentimental Journey to Cub Haven was also cited.

Other airport attributes listed included; airport access for commercial and industrial development; the strategic importance of airports during natural disasters; and aviation utilization of the airport for activities from aerial spraying operations to a Life-Flight transfer point.

As to the future, material provided said there are currently over 200 companies investing hundreds of millions of dollars into innovative and potentially autonomous air taxi aircraft and “airports will still be needed for this technology.”