Braden Airpark Offers Up Flight Lessons

A plane taxis on the runway of the Braden Airpark in Forks Township.

For most of us, the prospect of flying in an airplane can be exciting and exhilarating. For Vern Moyer, president of Moyer Aviation Inc. on 3800 Sullivan Trail for the past 30 years, it's just a part of life.

"It's really rewarding to see people so excited about flying," Moyer said. "To us, it's just an everyday thing."

For the second-straight year, Moyer is running "Aerocamp," an aviation camp where teenagers spend a week learning about airplanes -- from flight to navigation -- before getting a chance to earn their wings. On this morning, the pupils are gathered around two planes checking out the engines and getting ready to head into the clouds.

Moyer is a veteran of the friendly skies. He learned to fly as a teenager, joined the US Air Force as a mechanic and got his private and commercial flying licenses. After leaving the Air Force, he became a crop duster and managed an airport in Pottstown. Then he got interested in operating an airport.

Moyer ran the Montgomeryville Airport for a decade and then owned an airport in Mount Pocono before making a bid for Braden.
Moyer Aviation has 65 planes -- seven of which the company operates -- at the airport, where it employs 20 people.

The company offers flight training, handles aircraft sales and does airplane maintenance. (For more information, visit www.moyeraviation.com). For $99, you can take an introductory flight lesson. Moyer Aviation usually gives a lesson or two each day.

"Flying is scary for people because they have different expectations," Moyer said. "Some people want it scary and exciting. But it's not a daredevil operation. If it's scary, we're not doing our job."

Moyer, like someone's grandfather, has a calming effect. And that translates to inside the planes, too.

"When we explain what's happening to people, like how turbulence is normal, people start to understand," he said. "It's just a little bump, air currents, just like a boat going over a wave. We're in the ocean of air," Moyer said.