Page Field means different things to different people, depending on how far back in time they go. Old-timers may remember the introduction of airmail service and some passenger service well before World War II; during the war, they remember Page as a base for military aircraft. Prior to 1983, it was Lee County’s only commercial airport, and if you were around then, you probably remember now-defunct Eastern Airlines Boeing 727s coming in low and slow across U.S. 41 on their way to landing at Page Field.

If you have moved to the area since Southwest Florida Regional (now International) Airport opened in 1983, then Page Field is just a huge expanse of open land to the east as you drive along otherwise-congested U.S. 41, with small airplanes circling overhead. If you are a very recent addition to Lee County, Page Field may mean nothing more to you than Best Buy and Old Navy, and the rest of the stores in Page Field Commons shopping center.

No matter what the perceptions, Page Field has always been an important contributor to the local economy. That is as true today as it ever was.

An economic impact study commissioned by the Lee County Port Authority — the airport’s managing body — and released last November determined that Page Field contributed $35.4 million to the local economy in 1999. Of that, $22.3 million was generated by visitors flying into Page Field; the remainder came from business activities both directly and indirectly related to the airport. The economic impact study also estimated that Page Field added 847 jobs to the economy. Those numbers will only continue to increase each year, say Port Authority officials.

“Page Field provides a good business climate,” says Peter Modys, director of aviation for Lee County Port Authority. He notes that many area businesses take full advantage of the airport.

Convenience is the main reason Peter Tschernitz flies his company aircraft out of Page. Tschernitz owns two Fort Myers-based businesses: Crown Colony Management Inc., which develops and manages golf courses, and Euro-Tile, a distributor of glass tile. Both businesses require frequent trips to destinations in the eastern half of the country. “If you fly commercial from Fort Myers, it takes you a day to get anywhere,” says Tschernitz. “You end up sitting in Atlanta for two or three hours.” In his own Cessna 414, Tschernitz, a licensed pilot, can get where he is going more conveniently and, carrying three or four people, more cost-efficiently than with scheduled airlines. He flies out of Page a couple times a week.

“To pilots and aircraft operators, Page is a first-class airport,” says Mark Twombly, an aircraft owner and president of the Page Field Association, an airport users’ group. The airport has a long and wide primary runway and a cross-wind runway, a precision instrument approach, an air traffic control tower, fuel for piston and jet aircraft, maintenance and avionics shops, flight schools, and a convenient location, Twombly points out. “The Fort Myers area has the best of both worlds for aviation. It has a top-notch airline airport and a top-notch general aviation airport. Without both, the place wouldn’t be the same,” he adds.

Modys estimates business use of the airport to be at least 70 percent of the total 90,000 operations (take-offs or landings) per year at Page Field. That’s about 12,000 more than occur at Southwest Florida International (known by its FAA identifier as RSW). This includes private company aircraft; government operations such as EMS, Forest Service, and Highway Patrol; cargo flights; and flight instruction. “Page Field provides a home for all this activity,” notes Modys. Otherwise, these operations would move to RSW and consume a tremendous amount of capacity there, he explains. That would translate to more flight delays, traffic jams, and safety concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration has officially designated Page Field as a “reliever airport,” meaning it “relieves” the area’s commercial airport of non-airline traffic, enabling all flights to operate more efficiently.

That reliever status is one reason the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), a group representing aviation businesses throughout the United States, in December named Page Field as one of the country’s 100 “Most Needed Airports.” The other reason Page Field made the list was its projected growth. (Naples Airport was also named, but for more negative reasons of limitations and hostile political circumstances because of concern about noise from older business jets landing there.)

Page Field is definitely in a growth pattern. Annual operations in 1998 numbered 81,000. They are up to 90,000 now and are forecast to reach 110,000 in 2010.

Such growth wasn’t always the case. After the new RSW opened in 1983, Page Field was for many years the forgotten stepchild while its flashy new cousin got all the glory — and all the dollars from airline fees. “We just picked up one night and moved,” recalls Modys. “That left Page Field without an air carrier. It had to support itself on general aviation [non-airline civilian traffic] alone.”

Page Sees Dawn of Aviation

Page has provided air service to Fort Myers since the 1920s. The city of Fort Myers purchased the property where Page Field stands today from Realtor Charles Stadler in 1924. The land was intended to be a golf course, but various officials saw its potential value even then, at the dawn of aviation, as an airfield. Named in honor of Channing Page, a World War I hero, the airport was being used for daily airmail service by 1926 and served as a joint military and civilian airfield.

In 1937, National Airlines began scheduled passenger service into Fort Myers. About that time, because it didn’t have enough money to make the necessary improvements to accommodate increased traffic, the city of Fort Myers transferred ownership of the airport to Lee County. During World War II, Page Field served as a military airfield, a training ground for the U.S. military’s latest fighter planes, such as the P-39.

After the war, Page Field continued to develop its airline service, introducing jet service in 1965. Eastern Airlines started flying to Fort Myers in 1973, initiating construction of a new $850,000 terminal. By 1978, Page reached the milestone of 100,000-plus passengers arriving and departing during the peak month of March. Five years later, Page was abandoned by the airlines when the new airport opened.

With all attention focused on RSW, Page Field languished. Although private aircraft continued to operate from Page, growth was stagnant. The field had two privately run fixed-base operators (FBOs) serving general aviation customers, but, says Modys, neither one really put anything back into the field in the way of improvements. Meanwhile, Page Field was losing $250,000 to $300,000 a year just to cover the basics, like keeping the lights turned on, cutting the grass, and providing fire service, says Modys.

After years of inattention and neglect, however, Page Field began to make a comeback. The turnaround got its start 10 years after RSW opened, when Robert Ball came in as executive director of the Port Authority in 1993. The new administration “saw an opportunity to return Page Field to a top-notch facility,” says Modys.

One of the Port Authority’s most important steps was to purchase Fort Myers Jet Center, one of the two FBOs on the field, in 1996. “It was a great opportunity to generate income and fix runways, lights, signage, T-hangars — do all the things that should have been done over the past 10 years,” explains Modys.

About a year later, the lease on the second FBO, Fort Myers Airways, came up for renewal. Long-time owner Ed Wilson entered into what became bitter and divisive negotiations with the Port Authority, culminating in a legal battle that Wilson lost. The Port Authority closed down his FBO and tore down the building that housed it and the defunct Mike’s Landing, once a popular restaurant and bar. The result is that the Port Authority now operates the sole FBO on the airport, with a staff of 16. It also employs six maintenance workers.

Since taking over, the Port Authority has made several improvements, including resurfacing runways and ramps, renovating hangars, re-roofing and painting older buildings, tearing down dilapidated structures, and generally cleaning up the airport, says Modys. It also added self-fueler, allowing its customers to buy fuel for their aircraft at a discount.

About the same time the Port Authority was moving into the FBO business at Page Field, it also got involved in commercial land development with Page Field Commons. The 635-acre Page Field parcel had a few valuable acres to spare fronting on U.S. 41. It entered an agreement with Ohio-based developer Wasserman and Associates to lease 40 acres that became the very successful Page Field Commons. That project brings in $300,000 a year in ground-lease payments, and that figure is expected to rise as the profit-sharing part of the deal eventually kicks in.

The Port Authority generates another significant chunk of income through its lease of the former terminal building to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That brings in $327,000 a year. “So we are beginning to provide revenues that weren’t here before,” notes Modys.

Last fiscal year the Port Authority saw earnings of $150,000 after all operating expenses. It was the first year the field operated in the black since 1982, the last full year it functioned as the region’s airline airport. Page Field has to support itself on airport-related income and state and federal grants. It receives no property tax revenues from Lee County. The Port Authority immediately reinvested the earnings into improvements at Page Field. None of the money earned at Page can be transferred for use at RSW, and vice versa.

Several new projects are just getting under way: An airfield signage program for pilots begins this month, as will construction of 26 new T-hangars (so named because of their shape) on the east side of the airport. Also planned is the addition of angled taxiways, which will increase operational capacity and safety and mean fewer delays for air traffic.

Pilots have been waiting patiently (some not so patiently) for the arrival of new T-hangars. About 250 aircraft are based at Page Field. All hangars and permanent parking positions are filled, and during the winter season, the airport must resort to temporary parking for overflow. The waiting list for hangars currently stands at about 85 (whittled down from 230 with the addition of a $50 deposit), according to Jim Cawthard of the Port Authority.

The cost of building 26 hangars will run about $1.3 million, split fifty-fifty with a grant from the state of Florida. “You can see it eats up revenues real quick to provide hangars and develop the airport for the aviation community,” notes Modys.

With increased activity at the airport comes increased concern about noise affecting nearby residential areas. A few residents of Whiskey Creek, a few miles to the west of Page Field, have complained about noise from jets. “Wherever there’s an airport, there are always noise issues,” says Modys. The problem is not severe at Page, which serves mostly smaller, lighter general aviation aircraft that don’t generate as much noise as larger, older jets. Nonetheless, the Port Authority is sensitive to these noise issues, says Modys, and promotes a “good neighbor policy” among pilots who use the field.

An Enticement for Business

Page Field is one of many enticements to businesses locating in Lee County. It was “a very important factor” in choosing the site for Summerlin Centre, a 34-acre office park planned for Summerlin and Boy Scout Road, according to Gary Tasman of Grubb & Ellis/VIP-D’Alessandro, representing Naples-based developer Joe D’Jamoos. “It gives us another demand generator,” Tasman explains. Indeed, the location has already attracted a prospective tenant who has a business directly related to Page Field.

This is the first Fort Myers project for D’Jamoos, who says the proximity of Page Field helped sway him on the location. He hopes to attract large companies that have multiple locations around the region or country, and thus need easy access to an airport. He also plans a hotel and conference facility for the site, so “it will be a real advantage to be near the airport,” he says.

“Page Field is a real positive for the city of Fort Myers from an economic development point of view,” says the city’s economic development director, Bill Mankin. “It spurs development.” He only regrets that the airport lies just outside the city limits, so Fort Myers derives no tax dollars from it.

From Lee County’s perspective, Page Field “has a significant effect on the local economy,” says Janet Watermeier, director of the Economic Development Office of Lee County. EDO lists Page as one of many assets the county offers businesses, and touts Page as a companion airport to Southwest Florida International. “What’s important about it is you have a growing international airport and you have the private aviation side. The two of those are very compatible,” she says.

Although RSW also accommodates private aircraft — and is only six miles from Page — the two airports serve two different geographic markets, says Modys. RSW serves south to Bonita Springs and Naples. Page Field serves downtown Fort Myers, south to Sanibel and Captiva. RSW also has a longer runway attractive for larger corporate jets and international operations.

Watermeier also sees Page as an appealing site for attracting aviation-related businesses to the area. To encourage such businesses to locate on the airport, the Port Authority started an “aviation incubator” offering offices at minimal rent in the renovated Gulf American building on the east side of the airport. It has been “tremendously successful,” says Modys. The building, once used as a staging point for people brought in to tour and purchase property in Cape Coral, now houses two flight schools, a helicopter operator, sightseeing operation, aircraft sales business, a flying club, and a flight physician.

One of the incubator’s recent success stories is Gulfshore Maintenance and Gulfshore Helicopter. Owner Bob Walker moved out of the incubator when he built a new 10,000-square-foot hangar and office building to house his growing business last year. Walker, who has operated his business at Page for eight years, credits the Port Authority with improving the airport in the past five years — “both the physical plant and how it’s operated,” he says.

Walker has a few complaints, mostly encountered in the course of building his facility. The miasma of government regulations and requirements for building on the airport was difficult to navigate, leading to many a sleepless night, says Walker. “The reason why you don’t see a restaurant here and other maintenance facilities is it takes a lot of time, planning, and a will to carry on.”

Despite the challenges, Walker, like many other Page Field users, is banking on the airport’s upward growth curve to continue feeding millions of dollars into the local economy. The airport has been a successful Lee County fixture for the past 75 years, and looks to be on course for the foreseeable future.

Susan Holly is a freelance writer based on Sanibel.