City airport's history stretches for decades

The first recorded aviation use of the land that makes up Kalispell City Airport was June 21, 1911 — well before it was dedicated as an airport in 1929.

That’s when “Bird-Man” Eugene Ely, an aviation pioneer, flew his 50-horsepower Curtiss biplane into Kalispell.

Ely flew around and landed at the fairgrounds, where throngs of spectators were gathered. On a second flight that day he landed in a grass field that later would become Kalispell City Airport.

Kalispell bought 137 acres for an airport in fall 1928. One report shows the city paid about $9,000 for the land.

Improvements such as a three-stall hangar with “retiring rooms for men and women, a telephone and electric lights” pushed the total cost up by a few thousand more.

The airport had two runways in those days, one running north to south and one running southeast to northwest.

It was formally dedicated on July 3, 1929, with many spectators.

As part of the dedication, an air race was held from Spokane to Kalispell, won by local aviator Fred Buck in a time of 1 hour, 42 minutes.

Mayor Bruckhauser dropped a “monster wreath” of flowers down from Buck’s plane.

And speaking later to the assembled crowd on the ground, Bruckhauser recalled days not long before, when ox- and horse-drawn vehicles and bicycles were used to get around.

“It gets one thinking of the great progress that has been made these past few years,” he said.

“Today our valley is covered with automobiles and the time is not far distant when the air will be filled with buzzing planes as it is today.”

By the 1960s, the airport was little used and in a state of disrepair.

In 1963, Kalispell offered the airport to the 3M Corporation for $1 a year, but 3M decided on a different site.

The Kalispell Airport Association formed in March 1966, raised money for a number of improvements and rededicated the airport following year.

It ran the airport until the city of Kalispell took it back in the mid-1980s, moving it between the parks and recreation and public works departments until it was eventually split out as an enterprise fund and forced to operate on its own fees and leases starting in fiscal year 2005-06.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.