Pilots: Jon Martin

Martin was 15 when he started regularly coming to New Garden Flying Field, on the far west side of Philadelphia’s Class B airspace. Old-timers were happy to mentor the new kid, and Martin quickly got his hands dirty helping to restore a Fairchild PT–19. At the time he was pumping gas, cutting grass, and performing other odd jobs just to be at the airport. A pilot certificate and a degree at Penn State University came soon after.

Unlike a lot of kids who move away thinking they are heading on to bigger and better things, Martin came back after graduation, and soon he was offered the airport manager job. Since then he has worked hard to make New Garden Flying Field a place for everyone, including the community.

In 2009 he started the Future Aviators Camp, two one-week sessions of summer camp that bring hundreds of kids to the airport each year. Each kid gets an airplane ride; they go to museums, learn about rockets and wings, and have fun build contests. Martin smartly uses the camp as a conduit to the community, and one night campers’ families come in to see the airport, eat some barbecue, and watch model airplanes fly. It’s a soft sell, and the welcoming nature of Martin and the rest of the airport bums lets people know New Garden is a place they will be welcome.

He’s figured out other ways to bring people into the community, including a walking path that loops airport property, and there’s long been a summer airshow. Martin’s goal isn’t to make the town tolerant of the airport; it’s to make the airport an ingrained part of the town. “When I came in, the town supervisors made it clear they didn’t want the tax dollars to go to the airport,” he said. “My first goal was to promote it as a self-sustaining airport and make it a pillar of the community.”

Along the way he’s found time to continue flying and restore his own Fairchild. It’s a beautiful red Fairchild 24 with a Ranger engine that makes a Lycoming feel like a jackhammer (see “Formula 24,” April 2018 AOPA Pilot). With rides in his airplane, tours, answering the phone, attending city meetings, or just being available to lend a hand, the airport bum is passing to the next generation the welcoming atmosphere previous generations gave to him. In the process he’s creating a place for more than just pilots.

“I remember as a kid looking over the airport and thinking it would be cool to manage it,” he said. “It’s hard to describe, but given that opportunity, it’s been excellent.”

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