Lufker Airport is a private airfield located in East Moriches, New York, USA. It has a 36/18 2300 ft turf runway and has a pattern altitude of 800 ft MSL and is situated near Spadaro Airport. The field is mainly used for banner towing, skydiving, glider towing, and flight instruction, and has been operational since the late 1940s. The airport was purchased April 1984 by Lou Lufker from Teddy Kijowski. The airfield is open to the public and has FAA Identifier: 49N. There is no control tower and operations are restricted to daylight hours.
Airport Origin
The airport was originally a farm field owned by Teddy Kijowski's father. The farm was used to grow cabbage, melons etc. Teddy began taking flying lessons from Frog Chapmans Airfield in the late 1940s which was located one mile to the west of Lufker Airport in the same town of East Moriches (Frog Chapmans Airport has long been closed and the East Moriches Elementary School sits were the airport used to be). This happens to be the same airport (Chapmans) were Juan Trippe (The founder of Pan American Airlines) bought his first airplane, a "Curtis Jenny" for the Harvard Aero Club. After Teddy soloed his first airplane, he began taking airplanes into his father's field. He used a dirt road that ran down the middle of the fields as his runway. The dirt road is were the current runway lays. Eventually, Teddy bought his own airplane and began keeping it on the field. He also turned the dirt road into a grass runway. Friends began to bring their airplanes there and people started to rent tie down spaces. It was not until 1963 that Bart Spadaro bought land next to Teddy's Airfield and decided to put a runway in that paralleled Teddy's runway. In the 1970s the airport was used for flight instruction and several airplanes were built from the ground up.
Airport Sold
Teddy Kijowski sold the airfield to Louis Lufker in April 1984. Lou Lufker was a Suffolk County Police Officer who was interested in the field for several years. At the time he was operating an aerial advertising business around the New York City area and was looking for his own field. Lou was familiar with the field, many years prior he gave flight instruction lessons (out of Zahn's and Bayport Airports) and would bring his students in there. Mr. Lufker was also operating seaplanes (charter) around the Long Island area around the same time. As an Army Aviator, Lou would bring Army helicopters into Teddy's Field and gave Mr.Kijowski a ride. A friendship started which would eventually lead to Teddy selling the field to Mr. Lufker.
Lufker Airport Today
Since 1984, Mr. Lufker has rented the field out to several banner towing operations and at one time operated a glider school. In the early 1990s Mr. Lufker opened a machine shop at the field. Lufker Precision Manufacturing made metal and plastic gears for the aircraft and automotive industry.[1] The field is home to general aviation aircraft including biplanes an ultralights. There is also a skydiving company that uses the field. On the weekends during the summer, there is a flea market on the airport grounds. The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) has a chapter on the field.
Side Notes
The field has also been used by Hollywood actor Cliff Robertson. He would fly into the field in the 1970s and hang around. John F. Kennedy Jr. would fly in and park his airplane and go out to the Hamptons. Ironically, Mr. Lufker owns a plane (L-19), that President John F. Kennedy bought and put on his compound so John Jr. could play in as a kid. New York State Governor George Pataki would use the field in the state helicopter.