Preservation of Early Aviation and the Early Air Terminals

by Bill and Jennie Kavage
 

A top-flight lineup will bring to life the early days of aviation in Central Ohio as well as plans for preservation of its historic past in a Big Walnut Area Historical Society program at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 13, at the Myers Inn. The presentation is open to the public.

Aviation hero Charles A. Lindbergh’s connection to Port Columbus along with the train-plane 48-hour coast-to-coast operation of Transcontinental Air Transport will be discussed. TAT, through mergers, would eventually become Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) in 1930.

Speaking on these early aviation developments will be: aviation historian Capt. Don Peters, retired TWA pilot; local historian Russ Arledge, director of the now-closed Ohio History of Flight Museum at Port Columbus, and airline historian and photo journalist Jim "Jet" Thompson, retired fleet service agent with US Airways.

Tom Kromer, co-founder of the Preserving the

TAT became TWA

 
the Old Columbus Air Terminal group (POCAT), will talk about the effort to save both the old terminal and Hangar #1.

Foster Lane of Porter Township


Big Walnut's connection with aviation history begins with Foster Lane, founder of Lane Aviation, who grew up in Porter Township and attended Sunbury High School. His flying career started as a barnstormer flying out of his father’s field along Centerburg Road. A number of local residents got their first plane ride with Lane when he was barnstorming in the area.

Families who have stories or photographs of these early flights are invited to share them with the BWAHS at the June 13 meeting.

       
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(05/20/2017)