Flying under the radar

By Liz King
Staff writer

November 15, 2008 12:15 am

—

NEWBURY — A dozen 3- and 4-year-olds and their parents gathered at the Plum Island Airfield yesterday, as rain pelted the metal hangar above them.

The children, part of Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm's Farm Friends preschool program, ignored the bad weather as they sat in the cockpit of a classic Bird Dog airplane, as parents snapped photo after photo.

"How fun is this for the kids? You can't just walk in and sit in a plane any day of the week," organizer Arleen Shea said.

That's not entirely true, notes Charlie Eaton, the Little Museum's curator and member of its board of directors, who notes the airfield is open to the public more often than most realize.

"I don't think that many people know that it's here and open to the public," Eaton said. "During the week, you can make appointments, but it's not really necessary. You can come in whenever someone's here with keys."

Eaton, a retired Newbury police officer, said that school classes and Scouts come to the airport for trips, but they also give talks to adults about aviation and the airport's history, which dates to 1910, six years after the Wright brothers took flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

Parent Don Batsford, an admitted history buff, was enjoying the trip and history lesson as much as his daughter, Bridget.

"It's super cool. I didn't know the airport had a connection with the Red Baron," Batsford said. "It's nice to see an airport like this running. Running a commercial airport is like running a bus depot, but here ... the romance of the airplane is still here."

The field trip started in the display museum in the main building, where Eaton taught the children about the history of the airport, referencing photographs, memorabilia and airplane models as he spoke.

The group then went out to the hangar to meet Steve Noyes, the airport's manager, chief pilot and mechanic. Noyes has been involved with the airfield his whole life, even tracing his roots back to it. He started the nonprofit Plum Island Aerodrome, which leases the airport from Historic New England, about three years ago. He said that the Little family, which owns the land, is part of his family tree and that his forefathers founded Newbury.

Noyes showed the children the O-1, or Bird Dog, a piece of aviation heritage that was used extensively in the Korean War.

"They're loving it," Shea said. "For the fellas, anything with wheels is a big, big attraction."

Donations, which are tax deductible, can be sent to the Plum Island Airfield at 24 Plum Island Turnpike.

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