| St. Marys Municipal Airport is
located approximately three miles east of St. Marys in Elk County. The Airport's proximity
to the City and the area's concentration of powdered metal, hardwood lumbering an other
industries make it ideal for business and corporate air traffic. Some of the tourist
attractions in the area are the Straub Brewery, the Allegheny National Forest and the East
Branch Lake. Over one-half of Elk County is devoted to National Forests, State
Parks, or State Game Lands which boast herds of elk that roam the county. The original concept for the airport was born during a blackout of a meeting of the St. Marys Kiwanis Directors on February 15, 1944. Before the meeting closed, a chairman was appointed and a committee was formed to begin work developing an airport to serve the region. The newly formed committee wrote to the Civil Aeronautics Association (CAA) and the Pennsylvania Aeronautics Commission (PAC) for advice and literature on the subject. After searching for sites that met the criteria of the State Plan for Airports for Small Communities, the present site along South Michael Road was located and approved by both the CAA and PAC in October, 1944. At the time, much opposition developed from members of the St. Marys Borough Council who felt the taxpayers should be consulted before the Borough assumed an obligation that might be a financial burden in the future. The Borough accepted the project with the stipulation that no taxpayer money would be required for building, improving or operating the airport. Local industry strongly supported the airport since the beginning. Changes over the past several years with most of the local companies being sold to non-U.S. companies, the airport needed the support of local municipalities for survival. An airport commission was established to develop the airport and campaigned local businesses for funding the project. The St. Marys Airport officially opened on June 30, 1950 with a 3,700' x 75' strip. An air show followed the opening ceremony and a profit of $450 was used to renovate the existing Hoffman residence into the administration building. From 1950 - 1966, approximately $377,000 in Federal, State, and local funds was spent on the development of the airport. In July, 1954, the first runway rehabilitation project was completed which extended the paved portion of the runway to 2,400'. Since that time, the airport has seen continuous change. Over $7,000,000.00 in Federal, State, and local funds have been invested in the airport from 1966 to the present time. Elk Flyers, the local flying club, provides flight instruction and has two aircrafts available for their members use. In addition to the two club aircrafts, there are 20 privately owned aircrafts based at the St. Marys Municipal Airport. Today, one runway (10/28), 4,300' x 75', serves the general business aviation needs of the airport users. Several Charter Flight Operators serve the St. Marys Municipal Airport. These companies will fly passengers or freight from St. Marys to anywhere in the country. The Fixed Base Operator (FBO) is the St. Marys Area Airport Authority which provides Jet A and 100 LL fuel, retractable tie downs, and a courtesy car. Most recently, the airport has completed a major runway rehabilitation project. Initially, the runway project scope was to remove the dip in the runway, but the estimated cost was over $7 million. The re-scoped project that was completed in October, 1998, consisted of milling and replacing the entire bituminous runway surface, base repair, drainage work, construction of safety areas, construction of a blast pad, lighting rehabilitation, apron crack sealing, new tie-downs, T-hanger taxiway resurfacing and markings. The monetary value of the Airport property, buildings and equipment is estimated to be over $3,000,000. What does the future hold? In the spring of 1999, construction began on a new 120' x 100' commercial hangar. This hangar is presently occupied by Caruso Air Service which specializes in the refurbishing of Stearman Aircraft and Bell Helicopters but will refurbish any type aircraft. Caruso Air Service also does major and minor repairs, overhauls and repairs damaged aircrafts. Work will continue on the airport action plan, environmental study and ALP update to investigate the proposed 700' extension of Runway 28 end and construction of a parallel taxiway, a new terminal building, and an industrial park is also planned. |
| The St. Marys Municipal Airport (OYM)
is operated by the St. Marys Area Airport Authority. It is located three miles
southeast of St. Marys in Elk County. The airport property is a sprawling 278 acres
in area which contain the airport administration building, runway, hangars, aircraft
services area, a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ), and a timber forest. There are
four commercial and four T-hangars that house 20 airplanes, two helicopters, and an
aircraft repair and refurbishing facility. Telephone number: (814)
834-4671. The hours of operation area 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday. Callouts area available, the numbers are posted at the airport. Fuel
available - Jet A and 100 LL. Aircraft maintenance and refurbishing is available at
Caruso Air Service (814) 834-7099. The airport elevation is 1,940'.
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| Authority
Members Victor C. Straub, Chairman Terry Pontzer, Vice Chairman Ray Klaiber Richard Bauer Tom Bauer David Brennan Faisal El-Awar Joseph F. Bologna, Airport Manager Sharon Wiesner, Treasurer Alyce Prechtl, Secretary Tom Coppolo, Solicitor Telephone number: (814) 834-1647 FAX: (814) 834-1533 Meeting information: The Authority's meetings are held the second Monday of the month. When there is a holiday (such as July 4th), the meetings are then held on the third Monday of the month. All meetings are held at the administration building at 159 Cessna Road at 3:30 p.m. |