Vintage ‘wings and wheels’ at the historical Aerodrome

On Sunday, May 19, the Bayport Aerodrome Society will be hosting a Vintage Wings and Wheels  from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Located at 60 Vitamin Drive in Bayport, the Aerodrome provides free entry to spectators with lunch also available for $10 per adult and $5 per child.

Vehicle registration begins at 9 a.m. and is $25 per car, with all vehicles 1980s and older eligible. The driver will receive a free lunch.

Amongst the vintage cars and antique planes. There will be a live band and a biplane ride raffle.

As a unique “living museum,” the Aerodrome has a variety of antique aircraft flying on the field, including biplanes, champs, and cubs, among others.

The Bayport Aerodrome Society was formed in 1972 and its membership is composed of aviation professionals, recreational pilots, and community members committed to preserving aviation history.

“Long Island has long been known as the cradle of aviation history, with many aeronautical firsts occurring here since the Wright Brothers first took to the air in 1903,” said a representative for the Aerodrome.

At one time, there were as many as 120 private and commercial airfields operating all over the island. One by one, these airfields were shut down and lost as Long Island prospered, property values soared, and developers sought land to build new communities and industries throughout the 20th century.

“The Bayport Aerodrome has beaten the odds to survive as a throwback to those grass airfields of aviation’s golden age. It’s a story of how a colorful individual by the name of Curtis Davis, a former Civil Air Patrol pilot, hacked a rustic working airport out of the Long Island Pine Barrens in the years just after WWII that was miraculously saved from the developer’s axe 30 years later by an equally colorful community of passionate vintage aviation buffs led by John G. Rae, who formed the Bayport Aerodrome Society. Their combined achievements led to the existence of one of Long Island’s best-kept aviation secrets,” said the Aerodrome Society.