Marburger/Kalispell City AirportHello Council Members,
My name is Dudley Marburger and I am a pilot. I am a member of the
Flathead Flyers and we hanger our Cessna 172 at Kalispell City Airport.
I started flying in Tucson Arizona fifteen years ago and kept falling in
and out of lessons and instructors until my wife, three kids and I moved
here permanently five years ago. Thankfully we bought an older home ten
years earlier when prices were affordable. For Father’s Day my wife
bought me a glider ride used as a fund raiser for the glider club that
is based out of S27. When we landed I told her that I wanted once again
to try to get my pilots license. Through a newspaper article I found
the Flathead Flyers, joined the club and started flying with Bob Alm, a
fellow member and flight instructor. There are twelve active members in
the club with many retired Air Force pilots which means aircraft
maintenance and flight safety is a major priority for the members. We
have monthly meetings to discuss flight issues and pass around the
buckets of experience of fellow members. The spring of 2009 I finally
took the written, passed the oral and did the practical successfully.
The flight examiner told me after we landed, “That was one of the best
check rides I have ever taken.” Our plane isn’t very pretty but it
flies beautifully.
I can safely say that Kalispell City Airport is extremely well
located. I can get there in just a few minutes drive. The club
appreciates the great FBO Red Eagle and Jim Pierce. We appreciate the
affordable hanger rental which allows us to fly all year around. The
friends and family that visit us in the Flathead love the scenic flight
over Big Mountain, Glacier National Park, Hungry Horse Dam and Flathead
Lake. We can take off, do this loop, and be back on the ground in an
hour. All of this makes flying affordable for me and my family. My
profession is arborist and landscaper. I am not rich by any means. We
have food on the table, a warm house, healthy children and we all love
flying including my five year old daughter. If the airport closes or
moves, this will end for me and my family.
Thank you. Dudley Marburger.