MISSION
The mission of SNOHOMISH FLYING SERVICE (SFS) is to promote General Aviation, to transport persons and cargo for hire, and to train, educate and graduate superior, competently skilled, and qualified professional career pilots, and those individuals wanting to pursue pilot ratings for a variety of personal and/or business-related reasons in airplanes. SFS holds On Demand Air Charter and Approved School Certification under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certificate #GIQA307E and GIQS307 respectively.
HISTORY
Harvey Field (S43), located in Snohomish County, has a 2,750’ paved runway and a parallel 2,665’ turf runway. The 150-acre privately-owned field is one of the busiest airports in the Puget Sound area, with more than 200 based aircraft and annual operations in excess of 100,000. The airport supports 17 diverse businesses and has a regional visitor and business impact of more than 24 million and 330 jobs. (2012 WSDOT Economic Impact reported in 2010 dollars)
The modern-day Harvey Field resides on a portion of the John Harvey Homestead settled in 1859. The homestead remains in family ownership today; 159 years later and 6 generations strong. The Harvey family has a legacy of community involvement dating to their 1859 homestead days, when John Harvey first arrived in Snohomish. John Harvey served as Snohomish County’s first treasurer and was one of the first three Snohomish County commissioners.
It seems the homestead land was destined to become an airport very early on with the first balloon flight occurring in 1908, followed by the first airplane flight in 1911, both from the “Harvey Homestead Ball Park”.
First Balloon Flight - 1908
John and Christina Harvey - 1859
First Airplane Flight - 1911
In 1944, airport construction began on part of the homestead. By 1947, the budding grass strip had hangars, fuel servicers, a flight school and buildings for maintenance, administration and a restaurant. In 1950, Snohomish Flying Service was incorporated and an Aeronca 7AC Champ was purchased as a training airplane and still today is a part of the fleet after more than 13,000 hours in the air.
Richard and Kandace Harvey assumed airport management in the mid-1970s, adding a paved runway, securing FAA approval for the flight school and authority to train veterans under the GI Bill, remodeling the restaurant, flight school and airport office, and extending the hours of operation. In the early 1980s Harvey Field was designated by the Federal Aviation Administration as a General Aviation Reliever Airport. Richard lost his battle with cancer in 1995. The airport remains under the management and ownership of Kandace Harvey today.
SNOHOMISH FLYING SERVICE at Harvey Field offers both Part 141 and Part 61 flight training for fixed and rotor wing aircraft, welcoming students locally, and from all over the world. Current student enrollment exceeds 300, and training programs include everything from sport pilot certificates in through professionally-oriented courses, in both single- and multi-engine aircraft. FAA-Designated Pilot Examiner, Aviation Medical Examiner, and an FAA-approved testing facility on-airport make for convenient one-stop preparation for any certificate and course of training.
A wide range of aviation venues color the sky from Beavers to Balloons, Helicopters to Amphibians, even a DC-4 during Corn Roast Fly-in in 1978, and the ever-present Skydivers and turbine Cessna Grand Caravan 208B.
Scenes Around the Airport
Flight School Office
Preflight Briefing
Classroom Ground Instruction
Harvey Field also hosts an extremely active homebuilt aircraft community, and is home to Chapter 84 of the Experimental Aircraft Association. One of Chapter 84’s members, Arnold Ebneter, made aviation history on July 25, 2010, when he flew 2,328 miles nonstop to set a world distance record in the E-1, an airplane he designed and built. Mr. Ebneter was an instructor at Harvey Field for more than forty years; he also gave 1,000 FAA check rides during two decades as a Designated Pilot Examiner. His fifty-year pursuit of the aviation record, including the E-1’s first flight in 2005 and other scenes from Harvey Field, is chronicled in a book, The Propeller under the Bed: A Personal History of Homebuilt Aircraft.
Looking to the future, the 20-year Airport Master Plan underway seeks to identify the needs of current and future users of the airport, and to address FAA runway safety and design standards. The Master Plan process sets the foundation for the future and ensures that orderly expansion and development of the airport occurs in a manner reflective of community values and goals.
Even with improvements and modern aviation accoutrements now available at Harvey Field, the airport has stayed true to its early aviation roots. On any given day, one might expect a scarf-and-goggle-clad barnstormer to taxi up to the fuel pump in an open-cockpit biplane, cut the engine, and stride into the Buzz Inn for an old-fashioned cup of coffee.
Dreams begin at an airport.
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