Yes, Manitowoc has an airport — and it plays an important role in the local economy. Here's how.
MANITOWOC - Set off from Menasha Avenue and surrounded by wide-open green space sits Manitowoc County Airport.
On a windy and overcast October afternoon, not many planes were flying into or out of the county airport.
“A lot of people don’t even realize Manitowoc has an airport,” said Bryan Linger, who has been the airport's manager since October 2020. “We really want to change that.”
For the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 14, 2021, the airport had 33,100 aircraft operations — an average of 91 per day, according to airport reports. Of those, 97% were general aviation, 3% were air taxi and less than 1% were military takeoffs or landings.
The airport’s busiest month so far this year, July, saw 1,011 operations, including 442 landings and 459 takeoffs.
The 700-acre airport doesn’t serve commercial passenger or freight flights. It’s intended to serve corporate jets, small passenger and cargo-jet aircraft used in regional services and small airplanes used in commuter air service, Linger said.
The complex has a 5,000-foot and a 3,000-foot runway and 30 hangars with room for expansion.
At one point, both Manitowoc Company and Orion Energy Systems had their own private jets and hangars at the airport. Linger would like to see more of the corporate business return.
Eight commercial service airports operate in Wisconsin, including Austin Straubel International in Green Bay and Mitchell International in Milwaukee, supported by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
In addition, the state has 90 diverse general aviation, public-use airports. Many smaller cities and towns support such airports, including Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac and Washington Island.
These smaller airports provide access to diverse communities for personal travel, business, tourism, emergency responders, agricultural spraying and flight training, according to WisDOT.
Linger noted a municipal airport can serve as a source of revenue. The aviation industry contributes more than $247 billion to the U.S. economy each year and employs more than 1.2 million people, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association estimates. General aviation aircraft log more than 25 million flight hours annually. General aviation is all civilian flying other than scheduled airline service.
General aviation airports can be a major factor for business owners looking to relocate operations to an area, Linger said.
“A community with a good labor pool, which I think we can say Manitowoc has, and an adequately equipped general aviation airport is appealing to a business,” he said. “Airports provide local businesses with access to the global market. They help retain and attract business to a community and, thus, provide jobs and economic prosperity for the area. The community without such an airport suffers from lost opportunity.”
Linger came aboard as manager in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic. Live business meetings, air shows and small passenger flights ground to a halt for those months. He said flights are now on the rise.
“I can’t speak for everyone,” Linger said, “but I see more and more people coming back. And it’s good to see people are continuing to do that even with these high fuel prices.”
He hopes to offer more public attractions at the airport to bring folks out to see what it’s all about.
Currently, the Manitowoc County annual fly-in is the first weekend in June and the local Experimental Aircraft Association’s local chapter has an event set for July 20-24, 2023.
The Manitowoc airport also houses the Pilotsmith Inc. flight school and flight training. This includes classroom work and Discovery Flights for an introductory experience with a professional flight instructor to give an inside look into the real world of flight.
“Not a lot of airports have flight academies, and we have one right here in Manitowoc,” Linger said.
Learning and sharing the joy of flight has been part of the Manitowoc fabric longer than one might realize.
The availability of war surplus training airplanes following the end of World War I provided an affordable means of entry into aviation for many enthusiasts in the early 1920s. A Curtiss “Canuk” plane could be purchased for as little as $300, far below that of a newly built civil airplane. People bought the military aircraft and operated them from farm fields belonging to friends and family, according to a history of the Manitowoc airport provided by Linger.
Arnold Schwartz, a local fish market owner, bought 40 acres in 1927 with the idea of earmarking space that could be used as an airport.
A few years later, a municipal hanger was build at the south end of that field and the airport was recognized on flight charges. Frank Shobaska was hired as airport manager before dying in a plane crash at an airshow in Livingston in 1937. A number of other managers followed.
In 1948, the Rahr Malting Company expressed interest in building a hanger to house its new aircraft. This was the first corporate hangar at the airport, and Rahr continued to use it until the mid-1960s, shortly after the company was sold to Anheuser-Busch.
A few years after the Rahr hangar was built, the Manitowoc Company bought its first aircraft and at one time operated two jet planes at the airport.
As early as 1948, Wisconsin Central Airlines sought approval to include Manitowoc on its schedule, but it needed hard surface runways and Manitowoc only had sod. Federal and state money became available, and a hard surface runway was put in. WCA later became North Central Airlines.
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At the time, the terminal building was a wooden structure. A brick building was completed in 1963.
Linger would like to see growth in corporate flights, noting the airport provides full-service fueling with fuel trucks.
The facility provides 24-hour service, flight weather briefings, flight training with aerial tours and sightseeing, aircraft mechanical services and inspections. Hangar space is available with rent and lease options.
Staff is keeping an eye on future updates, he said, including updates to the remaining runway and changing taxiway lights to LED, correcting some drainage issues, redoing pavement paint, completing tie-down repairs, and working on crack sealing and pavement repairs.
“We take great pride in keeping the airport in great shape for improved functionality and appearance,” Linger said. “We think it is one of the hidden gems of the community.”
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Got a tip, question or comment for reporter Patti Zarling? Contact her at pzarling@gannett.com or call 920-606-2586. Follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc airport seeks growth in corporate flights as economic driver
