In my opinion, GA is not dead at Allentown Queen City Airport

N918KT

N918KT

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Messages
764
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Display Name
KT
Home Airfield
KOQN
I know that most pilots think that GA is dead or dying, but maybe it is not dead at every GA Airport. I had a ground lesson today with my CFI and I see his friend flying what I think is a Zenith CH701 or CH750. I even saw him bringing his little son for a ride in this Zenith, I think, last weekend. He seemed very nice and welcoming. After the ground lesson ended, we saw two pilots parking their Bonanza A36 in the hangar next door and my CFI and I both offered to help them put the plane back in the hangar, and also introduced me to his two friends. The two pilots were also friendly as well and it was the first time I met those two.

All in all, I think GA at Queen City Airport is still alive and well, and I find the pilots and aviation enthusiasts I met at that airport so far to be very friendly and welcoming to me. Seems like a perfect airport for me to hang out, but it's quite a distance from my home.
 
Dean V said:
General aviation is in decline. The number of existing pilots are declining more rapidly than new pilots are entering.
Click to expand...

The sailing and personal watercraft industries are in decline too. Like those industries, GA's decline does not mean it will not have a future.
 
Queen City is an airport with a strong following. It has a lot of GA advocates who fought very hard to prevent its closure.
 
Wow, I didn't know that Adam. When was the last time Queen City Airport was trying to be closed down?
 
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This is always good to hear; I love the vibe at small airports and have met some really nice people at lonely little airports in the middle of nowhere. We actually just built a new row of hangars at my airport and they were all spoken for before construction was complete, so I guess it's not all bad news everywhere.
 
Is there anyone on this forum who is based at Queen City or flies into Queen City often?
 
I live near the Braden Airpark (N43). It's hurting. Small field, used to have some flight training but they moved out. The city is trying to sell the airpark to help get the Lehigh Valley Airport Authority out of debt. Really sad, as my kids love watching the planes in the pattern. Hopefully it stays open, but it's unlikely IMO. Moyer leaving will probably be the last straw, unless they can get another operator to come in.
 
Rex, I been to Braden Airpark before once by car. My brother and I and my step father took a look at airplanes over there. A person probably from the flight school over there asks us what we were doing or is there something that he can help is with, I don't remember exactly. Our step father says that we just liked to see airplanes. The flight school person says "okay but don't go too close to the runway" or something like that. So we took a look around Braden Airpark. That was a few years ago.

Fast forward to today. I just got back from a dual cross country flight from Queen City Airport to Lancaster Airport and back. I told my CFI about how Braden Airpark is likely to be closing soon. I told him that maybe we could fly to Braden Airpark before it closes. He says that we could fly to Braden Airpark next weekend if conditions allow.

So I might get to visit Braden Airpark next weekend maybe.
 
I can't say I fly into KXLL a lot, but I have a good customer in Allentown and use that airport. This is flying my Mooney from Atlanta area to Allentown. I sure prefer it to Lehigh Valley Intl and wouldn't be happy if it closed.
 
When general aviation was growing, new little airports were built to accommodate that growth. That's perfectly intuitive. But for some reason, when GA or any other activity declines, it alarms us to see its infrastructure shrink. It's a natural and necessary outcome.

Just because GA is in decline, and many small airports are disappearing, doesn't mean all small airports will decline or disappear. If a small airport positions itself properly and is managed by someone who understands what's necessary to meet the needs of the future, it can actually benefit from the purge, as displaced activity looks for new homes. Management that chases the parts of aviation that are disappearing will fail.

Call it Darwinism, but I sincerely believe that some (not all) of these developers looking for new shopping mall locations will be doing us a favor in the end. Maybe we shouldn't try to save them all. I'd rather see one thriving airport with a waiting list for hangars than three that have become weed sanctuaries.
 
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