Bettis: Where Pittsburgh Aviation Took Off

By Brian Butko & Sue Morris

Bettis Field may no longer be a familiar name but it was once the epicenter of Pittsburgh aviation. The story of this 1920s airport captures the exciting, early years of flying, from barnstorming to commercial and passenger flight to Bettis’s role in delivering airmail. A cast of daring, larger-than-life characters, both men and women, made Bettis the place to be.
Come along as we join thousands to greet Charles Lindbergh, witness a pilot crash into a steel mill while trying to cure a passenger’s deafness, watch the National Balloon Races turn to tragedy, and see a nuclear lab take over Bettis—only to have pilots keep landing on its roadways. It’s a fun, fascinating look at the dawn of aviation in Pittsburgh.

BRIAN BUTKO grew up near Bettis and graduated from Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. He is the author of books on Kennywood and Isaly’s, and is Director of Publications at the Heinz History Center.

SUE MORRIS is an award-winning author who writes about regional history as the Historical Dilettante and is a regular contributor to the History Center blog and Western Pennsylvania History magazine.

Published by the Heinz History Center, 2024
ISBN 978-0-936340-32-6
124 pages