A Learning Opportunity

Dec. 27--OTTUMWA -- Stephen Black wants to see the passion he first felt for aviation in the eyes of today's youth.

Black, of Des Moines, went to his first air show at the Ottumwa Naval Air Station as "just a little guy."

"That day, I decided I wanted to go for a ride in an airplane so myself, my siblings and my dad all went up flying," Black said. "I was hooked."

From that day forward, Black's eyes were on the sky. His goal was to one day fly rockets, but he didn't have the 20/20 eyesight required. Despite his best efforst, Black couldn't convince the U.S. Air Force recruiters to let him apply.

"I was born at the wrong time," he said. "I ended up making a switch to computer science. My first love, though, is flight."

Today, Black owns three planes: a Beechcraft Musketeer, a 1940 Stinson 10 and a 1932 American Eaglet project.

Black said after hearing Bob Taylor with the Antique Airplane Association, among others, talk about the Administration Building and how "something should be done about it," he decided over Labor Day weekend in 2010 that he would tackle the project.

"Even though the base closed in 1947, the military was active out here until the early 1980s," Black said.

The last task completed in the building was urban assault training in the 1980s, which left a mess of debris and holes in the drywall and roof.

"So often, this country's full of things like this and you'll get a lot of people that will want to see something done but they just won't do it," Black said.

The next thing Black knew he was in a meeting with local engineers, Ottumwa Airport Maintenance Supervisor Tom Francis, City Planner Dave Shafer and others to check out the insides of the building.

Snyder & Associates, an engineering consulting firm, found that the building was structurally sound, despite its less-than-appealing exterior.

After Friends of NAS Ottumwa became incorporated this July and was then confirmed as a non-profit organization this November, Black proceeded to contact those interested across the state and the country, including the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum in Cape May, N.J. to talk through how they restored a hangar that was "an eyesore, worse than this."

"All you need is a good structure," Black said.

At last Tuesday's Ottumwa City Council meeting, the council approved the non-profit's purchase of the building for a mere $100.

"We realize this could fail," Black said. "We don't want it to but ... when you learn to fly airplanes you think about what could go wrong and what are you going to do about it. You do that with anything in life. Ask yourself: What if this doesn't work out? What's the alternative?"

There are just a couple steps left before the group can get started on its first priority of repairing the roof. The Federal Aviation Administration has to approve the plans and Black has to complete a quit claim deed with the city to turn ownership rights over to the non-profit.

But he said a grassroots effort will be needed to raise funds, which will be followed by a lot of grant writing.

"People have to dig into their pockets," Black said. "Enough people have to show they care."

Black said his main goal is to see Iowa's aviation history passed on to the next generation.

"This was a training base and educational center for teaching pilots the disciplines necessary for flying aircraft, which gets into physics, sciences and math," Black said. "I want to see busloads of kids coming out here and seeing that."

The organization's next meeting will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 in the Terminal Building at the Ottumwa Regional Airport and is open to the public as Black said they are still looking for more board members.

Web Extras:

Go to www.nasottumwa.org for more information or search for the group on Facebook: U.S. Naval Air Station Ottumwa, Iowa.

Copyright 2011 - Ottumwa Courier, Iowa