More than 500 visitors made their way to Wheeler’s Westfield Airport Aug. 24 for the annual Aviation Day, hosted by Indy Flyers Light Sport Aviation Club.
If you didn’t know there was such an airport — you’re not alone.
“It’s a well-kept secret and, in some ways, on purpose,” Indy Flyers President Amy Solomon said. “This is still the most family-orientated little slice of Americana you’re going to find in Westfield.”
Indy Flyers Light Sport Aviation Club is a chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Founded in 1984, the club welcomes visitors to the airport each August for Aviation Day, when they can take a ride in a plane, learn about planes and experimental aircraft, learn about flight training and children can plan on model craft. This year, Aviation Day included a visit with two craft used for training during World War II — a North American T-6 Texan and a Stearman biplane.
“We want to make sure that the public understands us and wants us here,” Solomon said of the annual event. “We sometimes see little kids in their pajamas. Their parents made their way here after getting doughnuts because they saw the planes. There’s a lot of pretending that goes on during this day, and for most of us, that is the driving force.”
Frank Ingegno is the treasurer of Indy Flyers. He said club members share a love of being off the ground.
“The club is really aviation enthusiasts. It’s really people who just love aviation,” Ingegno said. “A lot of these guys are small-airplane pilots, single-engine airplane pilots. Some of them fly ultralights, which are almost like flying kites. It’s basically a go-kart with a fabric wing. It’s really out-in-the-open stuff, so some of the members like to fly those things.”
Ingegno is restoring a Cessna at the airport. He said flying was always an interest — he spent his professional career as a mechanic and engineer with United Airlines.
“I just love watching them fly,” he said. “Things that fly sometimes just excite people. We do (events like Aviation Day) just to get people exposed to airplanes. When I went to high school, nobody told me I could have a career in aviation. So, for us, the objective is to expose the public to airplanes close up. This is local and easy for locals to experience.”
Brock Naylor has lived with his family in Westfield for the past four years. He said the family-friendly event was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
“We just saw a posting on Facebook and I like planes,” Naylor said. “I’m trying to get my son interested as well.”
Naylor was one of dozens of visitors who said that while they knew there was an airport nearby, they often associate planes with the Indianapolis Executive Airport further west on Ind. 32.
Wheeler’s Westfield Airport has been in existence for three generations and is part of the Wheeler family farm.
“It’s privately owned, but it’s public use. So, anybody who has an aircraft can fly in,” Ryan Wheeler said. “We don’t have any government funding. It’s just our family-owned airport.”
Wheeler said the airport was originally created in 1954 by his grandfather, Les Wheeler, who was a fighter pilot in World War II. Wheeler said his grandfather and some family friends decided to plow some of their fields to create a small air strip.
“It was a really short runway,” Wheeler said. “They just built a little strip out in the middle of their farm field.”
The original runway — now the taxiway — was 1,650 feet with a few hangars. Through the years, the site has grown, with a 3,000-foot north-south runway and more than 30 hangars.
Wheeler said events like Aviation Day let the public see what his family and members of Indy Flyers have enjoyed most of their lives.
“Not a lot of people have the opportunity to go up and see an airplane right up close,” he said. “That’s something we’re always hoping for, that we can meet people — kids and adults — anybody who is interested in aviation and possibly wants to learn how to fly. We just want to give people the opportunity. So many times, you’re outside the fence at an airport or your only experience with aviation is at Indianapolis International. We just want people to come out, get close and realize that people who fly are really just people in your community. It’s definitely something achievable.”
Learn more about the airport at westfieldairport.com.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
For the members of Indy Flyers, sharing their love of aviation with the public at events like Aviation Day means opening up a world of possibilities.
“It’s the extreme, ultimate freedom,” club president Amy Solomon said. “It’s crowded down here. Once you get above it, you feel it. You feel a very high-as-high natural high — a freedom in the air that you can’t get on the planet.”
Solomon said she understands why some people have a fear of flying. But, she said, it’s also a freeing sensation that she and club members recommend and promote.
“Learning to like flying really does come from just a tiny little bit (of open-mindedness),” she said. “As soon as you think of yourself in a kite instead of a car, it makes you feel better about flying. You have wings; you are a bird. If you have a competent pilot, he or she has spent a lot of time training to use those wings to get you where you need to land safely. That’s why I feel good about flying.”
Indy Flyers was founded in 1984 by Les Wheeler and Dean Batman as an ultralight club promoting safety and community. The club is Chapter 1527 of the Experimental Aircraft Association and consists of aviation enthusiasts, aircraft builders and pilots who come together with like-minded people to share ideas, encourage safety, serve the local aviation community and have fun.
Learn more at indyflyers.org.
