A hangar at the Orange Airport is a link to the beginnings of one of the oldest continuously operating aero clubs in the country. The Orange-Athol Aero Club was started in 1937 by Norman Boyer, Hober Tandy, Merle Hunter, Creighton Domina, Erwin Stockwell and Earl Bancon.
Two hangers at the airport were also built by the club, the first in 1947. “The 1947 hanger has the names of some of the original members in the cement, placed there when they poured the cement,” according to Doug Mowry, club president. The other hangar was built in 1986 and has a plaque honoring the people who built it. The club has retained a lot of documents over the years, including the original flyer from the supplier when the hangar was built, Mowry continued.
The club was founded to keep flying affordable and as a social organization with the club owning the planes and club members renting the planes from the club. “Flying has always been expensive. If you went back to the ’30s and compared the cost of an airplane to the cost of a house, the cost would probably be comparable; it’s not that different today. That dynamic has not changed much.”
The club originally was open to pilots from Athol and Orange and the surrounding towns. However, as interest in flying decreased, the club became aware there were not enough pilots from these towns wanting to join the club. “After World War II, people were interested in flying. It continued to increase until the 1960s and 1970s, when it peaked. It has now been declining for years.” Thus about 10 years ago, the club membership was opened to residents beyond these towns.
The 1937 club owned one plane, a Piper J-2 Cub. The club now owns four planes, two of which are antiques, a 1946 Aeronca Champ and a 1941 Taylorcraft, neither of which are original to the club. “The club has had a number of planes over the years,” Mowry said, adding that one of the aircraft that the club owned for 70 years or so was an aeroChamp 1936.
More information on the Athol-Orange Aero-Club can be found on their facebook page.
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on history with a particular interest in the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.