Van Sant Airport

Vansant Airport[1][2] or Van Sant Airport[3] (FAA LID: 9N1) is a public use airport located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States and owned by the Bucks County Airport Authority.[1] It is two nautical miles (3.7 km) southwest of the central business district of Erwinna, Pennsylvania.[1]

Van Sant Airport
(Vansant Airport)
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorBucks County Airport Authority
LocationErwinna, Pennsylvania
Elevation AMSL390 ft / 119 m
Coordinates40°29′03″N 075°05′59″W
Websitewww.bcaanet.org/... www.VanSantAirport.com
Map
9N1
Location of airport in Pennsylvania
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5G/23G 1,340 408 Turf
7/25 3,058 932 Turf
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations25,695
Based aircraft53

History

In 1944, John Van Sant (born 1912) bought the Silver Star Airport, renamed it to The Old Star Airport, and started his own business, Van Sant Flying Service. The business offered crop dusting and flight training. Since then the airport was sold then resold to the Bucks County park system. Now the airport is a landmark for Classic Biplane rides, vintage airplanes, and sailplane operations.

After World War II, John Van Sant founded and owned Van Sant Airport. His family sold it to Bucks County in 2003, and it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.[4] The 198.5 acre (0.8 km²) piece of property was sold to the county for almost US$3 million.[5] The Bucks County Airport Authority currently maintains the airport, and facilities on the field are leased to Bird Of Paradise http://866mustfly.com/about.html , a fixed-base operator (FBO). The Soaring Tigers http://www.soaringtigers.org sailplane nonprofit gliding club operates from the airport and provides glider flight instruction to club members.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers an area of 167 acres (68 ha) at an elevation of 390 feet (119 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with turf surfaces:: 7/25 is 3,058 by 120 feet (932 x 37 m) and 5G/23G is 1,340 by 200 feet (408 x 61 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending June 17, 2008, the airport had 25,695 aircraft operations, an average of 70 per day: 100% general aviation and <1% military. At that time there were 53 aircraft based at this airport: 75% single-engine, 23% glider and 2% ultralight.[1]

As of October 2018 The Soaring Tigers club http://www.soaringtigers.org bases three sailplanes at the airport including a Schweizer SGS 1-34, Schweizer SGS 1-26B, and a two-place Schweizer SGS 2-33A. The airport provides glider aerotows.

References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for 9N1 (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2009-07-02.
  2. Vansant Airport at Bucks County Airport Authority website
  3. Sport Aviation, Inc, the fixed-base operator (FBO)
  4. Dorfman, Marjorie (2005-08-24). "Van Sant Airport: Tribute to Aviation". HappyNews.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  5. Heuckroth, Sandy (2003-08-21). "County preserves historic Tinicum airport". Doylestown Patriot. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
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