Midwest Airport Visit: Spirit of St. Louis Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

The opening weeks of the new year have provided mild weather and opportunities for The Aero Experience to visit several airports in the heart of the Midwest. Along with the recent feature on Creve Coeur Airport, we now add Spirit of St. Louis Airport to our initial coverage of Midwest airports. We are regularly engaged with our sponsors operating out of this location, and we are expanding our current and future cooperative efforts for the coming year. Below we include some highlights from our recent airport visit, including Elite Aviation, Wings of Hope and several memorials to Midwest Aviation.

Elite Aviation is the St. Louis area's premier flight training center, conveniently located in the Spirit West Terminal. They offer a modern aircraft fleet, systematic Cessna Pilot Center training program and advanced Redbird MCX full-motion flight simulator. Elite Aviation also provides piston aircraft inspection and maintenance services for customers from around the region. Here we feature the remodeled lobby, aircraft operations and a new maintenance customer.   

Wings of Hope is a global aviation charity that serves the Midwest and locations around the world. Incorporated in 1967, Wings of Hope provides aircraft and support for humanitarian services in developing countries as well as the Medical Relief and Air Transport (MAT) Program based in St. Louis. Since 2003, the MAT has provided air transportation for patients travelling to medical facilities around the Midwest. Here we show the lobby, including decorative items from areas served around the world, and the hangar containing the Wings of Hope fleet and aircraft being serviced for future use.

Spirit of St. Louis Airport also contains several memorials to the Midwest Aviation community. Included here are Boeing Park, featuring a McDonnell Aircraft F-101B Voodoo interceptor on display and Fabick Family 50 Years in Aviation commemoration. Nearby is the Richard E. Hrabko Aircraft Viewing Park, named for the first employee and later Director of the airport. This site also contains the Spirit of St. Louis Airport dedication plaque and memorial to pilot Leo S. Lawrence.