Board dispute halting museum's expansion

PORTAGE TWP. — The Liberty Aviation Museum near Port Clinton is expanding its program of offering flights aboard its historic Ford Tri-Motor aircraft and plans to get its big PBY Catalina flying boat back in the air this summer. Yet, even as it looks for ways to expand its offerings, the museum recently indicated its planned construction of a third hangar has been held up by an ongoing dispute between two counties over the makeup of the board that runs Erie-Ottawa International Airport, where the museum is located, at 3255 E. State Road. Ed Patrick, the museum's CEO, said he is trying to avoid taking sides in the dispute between commissioners in Erie and Ottawa counties. Patrick, however, said he needs the board to take action to allow his new construction project to move forward. The hangar project "has been stalled for months," Patrick said — and, meanwhile, $200,000 worth of structural steel is rusting away in an airport parking lot while the museum waits for the two sides to resolve their differences. The nine-member airport board is supposed to have: • Four members named by Ottawa County • Four named by Erie County • A ninth member who is a joint appointee The board currently only has the four Ottawa County members, so it lacks a quorum to do business. Erie County's commissioners said they have been pushing for years for the airport to be self-sustaining. They want to end subsidies of local tax funds for airport operations. Erie County has applied pressure by refusing to fill four vacancies and hasn't been able to agree with Ottawa County on the appointment of the ninth member. Asked for an update on Thursday, Erie County commissioner Matt Old said talks are ongoing. "We are still working with the Ottawa County commission to find a joint board member we can agree on," Old said. "Someone who believes the airport should be run in a way that does not require taxpayer subsidies for its operations." Hangar held up The museum along with its collection of vintage airplanes, other equipment and displays are housed in two hangars at the airport. Patrick said the museum needs to build a third hangar, about 12,000 square feet, next to the hangar at the back of the museum site. The project will cost nearly $2 million. Patrick said he needs the airport board to act and approve a lease agreement for the hangar site to allow the project to be carried out. Without the new hangar, the museum doesn't have enough space. He said the museum has had to: • Borrow hangar space from the airport • Pass on public events that would bring in revenue "We've been turning down large groups right and left," Patrick said. "We have not been able to book in a lot of events. "If this thing gets strung out, it could severely impact our future here." More museum projects Meanwhile, Patrick also announced the museum is expanding opportunities for people to buy rides on the City of Port Clinton, the museum's historic 1920s airliner, a Ford Tri-Motor. The aircraft is now permanently based at the museum and will fly off to other aviation events when it isn't busy locally, including an air show in Toledo on May 10-11. "We're expanding the number of opportunities to fly it rather than a weekend here and there," Patrick said. The City of Port Clinton, originally the City of Wichita, is a part of American aviation history. It is one of the original airliners used by Transcontinental Air Transport, or TAT, which began service in 1929, promising to use a combination of airplanes and railroads to take passengers from New York City to Los Angeles in just 48 hours. Buffeted by the Depression and other problems, the service soon failed and was merged into what became TWA, but the Transcontinental Air Transport is still remembered as a pioneer in air travel. The route ran through Ohio, with passengers who boarded a train in New York City climbing aboard a Ford Tri-Motor at the Columbus airport. In 2022, the museum bought and flew in a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat. It's a big aircraft — the wingspan is 105 feet. During World War II, Catalinas were used in a variety of roles, including anti-submarine operations, bombing raids, transport and rescuing U.S. pilots shot down over the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft is called a "flying boat" because it is designed to be able to safely land on the water. The plane's long range, more than 2,000 miles, made the plane ideal for patrols and allowed it to play a key role in important naval battles. When the German battleship Bismarck was trying to evade the British navy, a Royal Air Force Catalina spotted it, leading to the sinking of the Nazi ship. The most important naval battle of World War II, the Battle of Midway, resulted in the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers. The approach of the Japanese fleet was spotted by Catalinas. Patrick said the museum's flying boat has been getting an overhaul, including a new electrical system and improving the fuel tanks and fueling system. Plans call for the aircraft to take to the air this summer, perhaps in July, and rides eventually will be offered on the aircraft. Although the plane could set down in Lake Erie, plans call for its takeoffs and landings to take place on dry land, as the museum does not have a way to tow the plane to safety if something went wrong when it was on the lake. Patrick also announced that the museum's diner is expanding its hours to seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The diner reopened on May 1.