Westchester County Airport is referred to by the International Air Transport Association as HPN or, more endearingly by its patrons, White Plains Airport. The airport is unique in that it has the feel of a rural or regional airport but is within the New York metro area. Today, the airport bustles with traffic, accommodating commercial airlines, business, and private aviation. The golden age of aviation gave way to a major industry with the employment of modern airports featuring lighted concrete runways and new technologies like radio. In Westchester County, this all began with a seaplane operation at Rye-Cove in the early 1920s, followed by the call for a county airport in 1928, but it did not come to fruition until 1945. World War II generated a need for an airfield at Rye Lake, and by 1945, diminished defense needs permitted the transition from military airfield to county airport.
Kent Patterson grew up in Dobbs Ferry and lives locally. He is a retired Metro North Railroad project manager, transportation enthusiast, historian, artist, photographer, and HPN passenger since 1980. Patterson trawled historical archives to compile images and research for this book while satiating his own curiosities about local aviation.