Visit to St. Charles County Regional Airport - Smartt Field: EAA Chapter 32 and Piston Aviation

By Carmelo Turdo

Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 32 held their November meeting at St. Charles County Regional Airport - Smartt Field on Saturday.  Along with the usual business reports, Chapter 32 President Jim Hall reviewed the accomplishments for the year and thanked the members for their contributions. Known for their monthly Young Eagle rallies at Smartt Field and generous support of other EAA chapter events around the St. Louis area, Chapter 32 has much to celebrate this holiday season. Their excellent newsletter provides more details, including:

306 Young Eagles flown at the Smartt Field rallies alone;

Chapter 32 assisted with Young Eagle flights at SOAR Into STEM and St. Louis Regional Airport events;

Ray Aviation Scholar Alex Randolph recently achieved her solo flight;

The EAA Ford Trimotor had a successful tour stop at Spirit of St. Louis Airport; 

Aviation Explorer Post 9032 continues to promote aerospace careers for area youth;

The annual Open House and Pumpkin Drop was a successful outreach event;

The chapter now has two aircraft build projects - RV-6 paint/assembly and Taylorcraft repairs.

The Aero Experience thanks EAA Chapter 32 for their hospitality during our visit, and we look forward to more coverage of their activities in the year ahead.

Following our time at EAA Chapter 32, some of the members took the short walk to the neighboring hangar, now being transformed into Piston Aviation's St. Charles training center. Piston Aviation will provide single and multi-engine training along with aircraft maintenance services at this location while continuing to serve their Creve Coeur Airport and St. Louis Regional Airport customers. The public grand opening will be celebrated on January 17, but here is a sneak peek at the office and training rooms: 

St. Charles County Regional Airport is also referred to as Smartt Field in honor of Ensign Joseph G. Smartt, killed in action on December 7, 1941, while serving with Patrol Squadron 11 at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Ensign Smartt took flight training at the St. Louis Naval Reserve Air Station, for which St. Charles served as an auxiliary airfield. The Dallas, Texas native was commended for his actions in alerting the Kaneohe Naval Base to the air attack. The USS Smartt, Destroyer Escort DE-257, was also named for him. A marker, sponsored by the Missouri CAF Wing, is located near the wing's hangars.