Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2021
Online Issue
EAA’s Pioneer Airport at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was dedicated on July 24, 1984, and featured a ribbon cutting ceremony by aviation pioneer, Dale Crites of Waukesha, Wis. EAA Founder Paul H. Poberezny and his wife, Audrey, held the poles that stretched the ribbon for the ceremony.
Dale Crites was the first pilot to take-off and land at the airport. He was flying his 1911 Curtiss Pusher biplane, an exact replica of the original Pushers built in quantity during the early years of aviation. The technical development of internal combustion engines paralleled the development of the airplane.
Pioneer Airport is located directly behind the EAA Aviation Center and is 1800 feet long and grass.
Buck Hilbert of Union, Illinois, also landed at the airport that day, flying his 1926 Swallow mail airplane.
The idea to build Pioneer Airport was conceived by Poberezny, who said, “The EAA Aviation Foundation possesses many rare and beautiful aircraft that are completely airworthy. It would be a shame to lock them up in some dark warehouse. Unfortunately, we simply do not have enough room in the EAA Aviation Center and Air Museum to house or display them all. The obvious solution was to add another building to the Aviation Center complex. We enhanced that solution by trying to recreate the atmosphere of aviation in the 1930s.”
The first hangar at Pioneer Airport was modeled after hangars of the 1920s and ‘30s. It was Poberezny’s vision to eventually feature antique airport vehicles, old-time gas pumps, and vintage signs and advertisements. Poberezny said, “It will reflect both the spirit and the reality of the early days in American aviation.” As the funds became available, the hangars were built and furnished as Poberezny had envisioned.
EAA members and their families are encouraged to visit Pioneer Airport during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, July 26-August 1, 2021.
