Korn Field Revisited

Korn Field Revisited

Written by: Judy Finkenbine-Fisher
Spiral bound, 115 pages

Non-Members: $30.00 + $5.00 Postage and handling
Members: $25.00 + $5.00 Postage and handling

This community history records the story of many small plane pilots who touched down at the Korn Flying Field amid the corn fields of Midwest Ohio in the mid-20th century.  This Korn airfield, one of the first open in Ohio in 1910, was the research base and flight strip for the Early Bird aviator, Edward Korn, and plane designer-mechanic, Milton Korn.  Both brothers contributed to early aviation’s advances in the 1907-1916 decade.

Subsequently, the Korn Field near Montra, Ohio, gained a reputation as the oldest operational airstrip in the first fifty years of Ohio aviation history.  It was certainly the oldest one to remain in public use.  The airfield’s length of survival is credited largely to the management of a younger brother, Arlington Korn, and his wife Marvel.

After World War II, many private airmen and local citizens gathered at the Korn Field.  Some signed up for flight training; others converted from military to commercial pilots under the G.I. Bill.  A number tied down their small planes at the airport.  They shared the camaraderie as members of the Korn Field Pilots Club.  Flying Farmers from the area checked out the countryside from above.

The Korn Field remained a significant hub until Ari’s death in 1957, influencing both aviation in the area and impacting on the lives and contribution of pilots who flew further afield.  While the airfield was dismantled in 1968, the site continues to carry historical aviation importance within the Midwest region.