Van Sant Airport

Vansant Airport^[1][2] or Van Sant Airport (FAA LID: 9N1) is a public use airport located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States and owned by the Bucks County Airport Authority.^[1] It is two nautical miles (3.7 km) southwest of the central business district of Erwinna, Pennsylvania.^[1]

Van Sant Airport (Vansant Airport)
IATA: none ICAO: none FAA LID: 9N1
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Bucks County Airport Authority
Location	Erwinna, Pennsylvania
Elevation AMSL	390 ft / 119 m
Coordinates	40°29′03″N 075°05′59″W
Website	www.VanSantAirport.com
Map
9N1 Location of airport in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania 9N1 9N1 (the United States) Show map of the United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 5G/23G 1,340 408 Turf 7/25 3,058 932 Turf
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations 4,515 Based aircraft 52 (40 single engine aircraft, 12 gliders)
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

History

In 1945, John Van Sant (born 1912) bought the Silver Star Airport in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, renamed it to The Old Star Airport,^[3] and started his own business, Van Sant Flying Service. The business offered crop dusting and flight training. Van Sant dealt in aircraft and also bought US government surplus parts. In 1957, he moved his business to Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In 1960, he moved to Erwinna, Pennsylvania where he founded and owned the Van Sant Airport.^[4] In 2003, the 198.5 acres (0.803 km²) property was sold to the county for almost US$3 million.^[5] Today, the airport is a landmark for Classic Biplane rides, vintage airplanes, and sailplane operations. It is part of the Bucks County park system.^[4] The Bucks County Airport Authority currently maintains the airport, and facilities on the field are leased to Bird Of Paradise,^[6] a fixed-base operator (FBO). The Soaring Tigers, a sailplane nonprofit gliding club, operates from the airport and provides glider flight instruction to club members.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers an area of 167 acres (68 ha) at an elevation of 390 feet (120 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with turf surfaces:: 7/25 is 3,058 by 120 feet (932 by 37 m) and 5G/23G is 1,340 by 200 feet (408 by 61 m).^[1]

For the 12-month period ending May 10, 2022, the airport had 4,515 aircraft operations including 15 military operations. At that time there were 52 aircraft based at this airport: 40 single-engine, and 12 gliders.^[1]

As of late 2022, The Soaring Tigers bases three sailplanes at the airport, including a Schweizer SGS 1-34, Schweizer SGS 1-26B, and a two-place Schweizer SGS 2-33A. The airport provides glider aerotows.^[7]

See also

• List of airports in Pennsylvania