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Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport

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For the similarly named airport in Ohio, see Butler County Regional Airport.
Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport

K. W. Scholter Field, Butler County Airport
Airport management office building
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerButler County Airport Authority
ServesButler, Pennsylvania
LocationPenn Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania[1]
Elevation AMSL1,248 ft / 380 m
Coordinates40°46′37″N 079°56′59″W / 40.77694°N 79.94972°W / 40.77694; -79.94972
WebsitePittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
BTP is located in Pennsylvania
BTP
BTP
Location of airport in Pennsylvania
BTP is located in the United States
BTP
BTP
BTP (the United States)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8/26 4,801 1,463 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Aircraft operations (year ending 6/15/2020)74,386
Based aircraft110

Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport (IATA: BTP, ICAO: KBTP, FAA LID: BTP), also known as the Butler County Airport or K. W. Scholter Field, is a public airport located in Penn Township,[1] 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the central business district of Butler, the county seat of Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The airport serves the northern suburbs of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. It is owned by the Butler County Airport Authority.[2]

History

View of the airport from the air

Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, formerly Butler County Airport, opened as the Pittsburgh-Butler Airport[3][4] on September 27 and 28, 1929, with much fanfare and aircraft demonstrations.[4] The airport originally had three turf runways, one of which was later paved, and a turf runway closed. The remaining turf runway ran N/S. The airport was opened by Pennsylvania Aviation Industrial Corp. (PAIC), owned by George Hann, the Mellon interests and some others, who hoped to lure Pittsburgh traffic.

During the Great Depression, the airport shut down for some years when there was little business. The two large hangars were used to store corn.

In the 1930s, John Graham along with Kenny Sholter helped to clean out the hangars and reopened the airport. It was then renamed the Butler-Graham Airport.[3][5]

During its early years, the airport served as an important training area for potential pilots. Amelia Earhart[4] received her instrument flight certificate there while practicing for her solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.[6] It was at the airport that Earhart had the long-range fuel tanks installed on her Lockheed Vega.[6] Another notable aviator was C.G. Taylor, who in 1935 moved his Taylorcraft Aircraft company to Butler.[6] His new planes were tested at the airport, and his Taylorcraft B model was introduced here.[7] During World War II. Graham Aviation trained so many pilots under the Civilian Pilot Training Program that Piper Cubs had to be stored tilted up on their noses to fit them all in the hangars.

For many years, Butler-Graham served as an alternate airport for TWA should the weather be down at Allegheny County Airport, which from 1931 to 1952 was the primary airport of the city of Pittsburgh until Pittsburgh International Airport opened.

By the late 1990s, the airport was too small to handle the number of aircraft coming in, so plans were made to extend the runway by 800 feet (240 m).[6] The extension of the single runway was completed in 2004.

The airport had a name change in May 2016, going from the Butler County Airport to the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.

On October 31, 2020, President Donald Trump held a rally at the airport during his second run for president in the 2020 United States presidential election.[8] In 2024, Trump's campaign team requested a rally again at the airport, but was denied by the airport authority due to a conflict in venue. Trump eventually held his campaign at the nearby Butler Farm Show Airport, where an attempted assassination happened.[9]

Facilities and aircraft

View of runway 26 at dusk

Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport covers an area of 304 acres (123 ha). It contains one asphalt paved runway designated 8/26, which measures 4,801 by 100 feet (1,463 by 30 m).

For the 12-month period ending June 15, 2020, the airport had 74,386 aircraft operations, an average of 204 per day: 98% general aviation, 2% air taxi and <1% military. As of May 16, 2024, there were 110 aircraft based at this airport: 89 single-engine, 8 multi-engine, 8 jet, 4 helicopter, and 1 glider.[2]

The airport has an onsite restaurant.[10]

Accidents and Incidents

  • On June 7, 2018, a Vans RV4 crashed shortly after taking off from the airport due to a total loss of engine power, resulting in aircraft substantially damaged and the pilot injured.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Penn township, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2024-07-18. Butler County/k W Scholter Fld
  2. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for BTP PDF, effective 2023-8-10
  3. ^ a b Parisi, p. 37
  4. ^ a b c Brandberg and Clements, p. 97
  5. ^ An Historical Gazetteer of Butler County, Pennsylvania, p. 247
  6. ^ a b c d Biller, Ed (December 6, 2009). "Airport turns 80" Butler Eagle. Retrieved December 28, 2009
  7. ^ Russel, W. L. (July 22, 1947). "Move Started to Bring Plane Factory Here". Pittsburgh Press – via Google News.
  8. ^ "'We Win Pennsylvania, We Win It All': President Trump Rallies Supporters In Butler County". CBS Pittsburgh. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  9. ^ Butler Eagle (18 July 2024). "Butler County airport authority denied Trump campaign request because of conflicting event". TribLIVE. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Unique restaurant allows you to eat on the runway at Butler County Airport". CBS Pittsburgh. Oct 18, 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Aviation Investigation Final Report ERA18LA163". National Transportation Safety Board. February 5, 2019.

Sources

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