“Our winter haven is St. Pete and our home base is Albert Whitted. We usually fly our Cirus SR22 down for the winter for the convenience of flying back to Michigan when needed and enjoying day trips around Florida.

“Albert Whitted Airport (AWA) holds a special place in my aviation life. After not flying for 25 years, I stopped by the flight school and began flying again and have now tripled my flight time to 3,000 hours.

While AWA is such a magical place to fly and I enjoy every minute, my focus is on providing an environment where the younger generation can learn to fly and graduate to a career in aviation.”

Thank you for sharing with us!

“Being an Army airplane and helicopter pilot, Albert Whitted was my first experience with General Aviation. This led to an opportunity to enjoy flying with friends and family. On one particular occasion, I was able to take my son and grandfather flying. This was my first flight with both, and my grandfather was a fellow Army Aviator and Eastern Airlines Captain.” – Chris D.

It’s no secret that here at Friends of Albert Whitted Airport (FAWA), there’s a lot of love for AWA. Our love for Albert Whitted Airport comes from recognizing it as an important place for medical, education, business, tourism, and historical reasons, plus a whole lot more.

St. Pete hometown boy, Chris Dubois talks to us about his love for the Albert Whitted Airport as a boy, a pilot, and an instructor!

Alicia works at Brick Street Farms and was nice enough to share her story with us on why she loves Albert Whitted Airport! We love hearing how much the airport means to the people of St. Pete. 

Thanks for sharing your story with us Chris! We love hearing all the stories of how loved Albert Whitted Airport is to St. Pete. 

Anthony and Ben share their stories with us! Albert Whitted Airport is loved throughout St. Pete.

Watch the video below:

Howard Johnson, who works for Sheltair Aviation, shared his story with us!

As a second-generation worker at Albert Whitted Airport, Howard grew up around the planes and the A.W.A. family. “I can’t imagine ever wanting to work anywhere else! This place is home.”

Jack Tunstill has spent 35 years as a flight instructor teaching future pilots.

“Once you take off and you’re in the air as a pilot..it’s hard to describe. I make a living here and I’ve been fighting for this airport for over 30 years. The near 100-year-old airport is critical to the entire Tampa Bay area as a relief site for smaller planes to come to instead of the bigger commercial ones. It’s not home to a bunch of playboys, it’s important to the city of St. Petersburg and it’s training future pilots!”