Sep. 12—Have you ever driven past the same building day after day and wondered what it looks like inside?
Have you ever only seen a space from the street and wondered what lies within?
Maybe the location is closed to the public, or maybe you've just never had a reason to go in.
Now you don't have to.
The Sentinel's Inside Look series aims to take readers into the curious places Cumberland County has to offer from the comfort of their living rooms.
Join us every other week for a video and photo gallery of new, or sometimes very old, local places that are just waiting to be explored.
Capital City Airport
Technically speaking, the Capital City Airport is located in Northern York County.
However, considering the entity is just a hair over the county line and dons a New Cumberland address, it offers a place for this series to land.
Capital City Airport is one of four local airports that fall under the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority, along with Harrisburg International Airport, Franklin County Regional Airport and Gettysburg Regional Airport.
Originally known as the Harrisburg State Airport, Capital City Airport was constructed in constructed in 1930 by the Harrisburg Area Chamber of Commerce and ownership transitioned to the state in 1934, according to the facility's website.
Authority spokesperson Scott Miller said it was the original Central Pennsylvania Airport.
In 1969, Harrisburg's Air Force Base was decommissioned and the site transformed into Harrisburg International Airport, taking on commercial services, according to Harrisburg International Airport's website.
The authority was established in the late 1990s and assumed ownership of both the Capital City Airport and Harrisburg International Airport.
Capital City Airport functions as a complementary facility to Harrisburg, Miller said. While Harrisburg offers commercial and cargo services, Capital City Airport accommodates corporate and general aviation, such as private planes, charter services and flight schools.
"All the activity that takes place here would not fit in Harrisburg because we're too landlocked over there," Miller said.
Of the four airports in the authority, he said Capital City Airport is smaller than Harrisburg's facility but bigger than those in Adams and Franklin counties.
About 150 planes are based in the facility, though that number tends to fluctuate, and Capital City Airport sees about 30,000 takeoffs and landings per year, Miller said.
He described the authority as a "glorified landlord" of the space, which consists of just under 500 acres.
"We're a landowner that rents space to private companies to do the business of transporting people and things and items from New Cumberland to wherever they need to go around the world," Miller said.
The authority is responsible for the mowing, snow removal and maintenance of the facility and its two runways, but rents out hangers and other land and buildings to other businesses.
Deputy Director of Maintenance Jamie Sides said the airport houses several maintenance facilities, two flight schools and a number of other companies.
Capital City Airport also includes hanger space for the Pennsylvania State Police, hosts military operations from Fort Indiantown Gap and contains a medical evacuation facility.
"If somebody needs a heart in Pittsburgh and they have one here, they'll bring it out here to the airport, and they immediately launch that aircraft and fly it to Pittsburgh to save somebody's life," Sides said.
Miller said the airport doesn't operate off tax funds, so people only pay for operations when they use its services. In addition to aviation offerings, the airport also offers jobs and brings people into the surrounding community.
According to 2020 data in a 2022 Pennsylvania Aviation Economic Impact Study, Capital City Airport had 321 employees.
Sides sees a variety people fly into the airport to explore the local community on a daily basis, including celebrities looking to avoid paparazzi.
"We're happy to say hello," he said. "And when we find people like that, they're just like everybody else."
Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. You can contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at: @byMaddieSei
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