Drew Steketee was president of BE A PILOT, senior vp-communications for AOPA and executive director of the Partnership for Improved Air Travel. He also headed PR and media relations for Beech, GAMA and the Airport Operators Council International.
In rural southern New Jersey, GA seems to be going one way and high-end sports car racing another. Interestingly, they both do it at the airport.
The old Millville Army Air Field is some 40 miles west of Atlantic City. There, things mirror the long-troubled local economy. Big, beautiful World War II runways are underutilized. Famed jet engine over-hauler Airwork is long gone.
But now, there’s N.J. Motorsports Park (NJMP). It’s a winner! Depressed Millville was never known for swells driving Porches — until now. We arrived one October weekend to count some 20 high-end sports cars circulating downtown, many with race numbers on their doors. New hotels and restaurants have followed.
NJMP occupies 700 acres of the airport’s substantial footprint south and east of its runways. Racers of any legal age can drive two road courses, the 2.25-mile, 14-turn “Thunderbolt” and 1.9-mile “Lightning,” plus a 1.1-mile karting track. There are excellent paddock facilities, a driver’s club and restaurant, plus trackside townhouse “Villas” rentable as “VIP Suites.” A hotel and more amenities are planned, including a future ATV track and NASCAR-style Tri-Oval off airport property.
Millville was a World War II gunnery training base for P-47 ground attack operations, the ultimate best use of Republic Aviation’s powerful but heavy “Thunderbolt.” While the little Millville Army Air Force Museum there recalls how P-47 drivers practiced their strafing on old lighthouses in nearby Delaware Bay, it’s race cars making the noise at KMIV today. Pilots chuckle over the irony; airport neighbors now complain about racing engines, not airplanes.
NJMP has grown fast, although locals say things have slowed recently. Yet sports car owners come from all over to enjoy their steeds, which are otherwise hemmed in by urban speed limits and congested roads in the Northeast. They gladly pay a $2,400 annual membership fee to enjoy the full potential of their cars.
Aside from the airport’s annual air show, N.J. Motorsports Park is “what’s happening” at KMIV. A fancy new FBO for the business jet crowd folded recently, although Boeing will do helicopter rework there. The Millville Flight Service Station left (pre-consolidation) after the air conditioning equipment fell though its ancient roof. For now, the Delaware River Basin Authority solicits local and non-aviation businesses to occupy base facilities while they lease open airport land for activities where outside money is still flowing – namely, motorsports.
The barrier between today’s GA and this active, well-healed motorsports crowd may be more than the fence separating KMIV’s quiet runways from NJMP’s busy and colorful race courses. I hope at least a few of those Porsche drivers fly to the track.
Story and Photos © Drew Steketee 2010 All Rights Reserved
I doubt those Porsche drivers will fly to the track. However, 40 minutes from Atlantic City and the ocean, an airfield and a race track. Sounds like a rising real estate market. For those who don’t like the summer heat of the southern states, Millville sounds like a summer mecca for the affluent.
I knew those old northern air bases would come in handy.
Hey, Big D:
Ahhh, yes. Millville. I remember it well. Glad to see you’re keeping track of it.
Hey, I sent a request to you via your “[email protected]” address but I see it hasn’t been delivered yet. Is that still a good address?
Kevin (Middle-Sized K)
Interesting article with positive notes! Millvillians would appreciate some good news about their small community.
One NBA star recently flew in.
The airport is also one of Millville’s best kept secrets.
………and just to clear the record….no one ever complained about the airport noise as they have about the noise now eminating from the track.
Many residents somewhat near the track are moving out of town. Stuck are the residents in the 55+ community just south of the track. They were hoping the community would be their last move.
If too many move the only residents Millville will have are those renting because their loved ones are in the nearby prison, the prostitutes, and gang members.
So racing enthusiasts may have a little bit of heaven at the track but the town has not seen many positive changes with the arrival of this new neighbor.