I was pleased recently to read about the appointment by the County Executive of a new, highly-experienced Manager for the Jamestown and Dunkirk airports.

These airports are two gems of aviation infrastructure which we are fortunate to have and which we will need in the future.

I admit that I am not an uninterested observer. I have been an airplane “nut” at least since the days when I was building model airplanes growing up. I saved all of the money I earned on the farm as a kid to take flying lessons at the Jamestown Airport (JHW.) I soloed when I was 16 and earned my Private Pilot’s license when I was 17 while still in high school. When I came back to the area in the early 1970’s after Vietnam, the GI Bill enabled me to attend the VA-approved training school at the Dunkirk Airport (DKK) where I attained a commercial, instrument, multi-engine rating from the FAA. These two airports were, and are today, essential components in our area for anyone associated with aviation.

My first airplane ride was on an old DC-3 operated by Allegheny Airlines. I was 10 or 11. My Dad flew with me from Jamestown to Bradford, and my mother (who was late because she got lost) drove to the Bradford Airport and drove us home. For many years, scheduled airlines operated out of Jamestown–the high-point being the days when Chautauqua Airlines operated from here as its homebase. Today, unfortunately, the combination of deregulation, TSA requirements and convenient/cheaper alternatives have led the general public to drive to Buffalo or Erie for flights. It is doubtful that scheduled airline service can again be brought back to the airport.

Nevertheless, aviation and the need for it are not going away. Planes need to maintained, pilots need to be trained, charter companies need good airports to operate from, businesses need a nearby airport to support their operations–and we in Chautauqua County have two beautiful, well-maintained facilities to support that.

There is another financial factor that helps when it comes to airports–and that is the fact that infrastructure improvements for both JHW and DKK are eligible for 95% federal and state infrastructure support. Thus, we are not on our own in keeping these facilities maintained and up-to-date.

Another reality is that it would be next to impossible today to build or replace airports like the two we have. The cost, political/environmental objections and competition for open space–many factors–mean that we need to maintain the airports we currently have. Once gone, they are never coming back.

No one can predict the future, but there is no prediction that I know of which does not envision the need for more aviation in our lives in the days ahead. Both Jamestown and Dunkirk airports are just at the beginning of what their long-term importance will be. Kudos to the County Executive and County Legislature for recognizing this and for providing the leadership to help make the airports all that they can be as a catalyst for growth and in promoting business in our area.

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.