Dan's Papers - July 6, 2007 - Who's Here - Bart Spadaro

The sun is high and it's 83 degrees on the shores of Atlantic Avenue Beach in Amagansett. It's only half past noon and I have already counted five aerial banners, including the following advertisements. Captain Morgan's: Do you have a little Captain in you?, USSKYADS.com: Get Noticed!, Heineken Light:Don't Cha'?, Miller Lite: Take Me To Your Cooler, Corona Extra: [an image of a long neck Corona bottle on the beach] and just a few minutes ago a funny ad of Steve Carell from Evan Almighty sandwiched between two giraffes. The best banner that I have ever laid my eyes on spelled out the words, "WILL YOU MARRY ME" -- the couple got engaged near Indian Wells Beach, west of Atlantic Avenue. This was just one of the many success stories that Bart Spadaro, of Spadaro Airport in East Moriches, has helped make real due to his aerial banner and advertising business, which has become so much of a staple in the Hamptons that beachgoers keep their eyes peeled on the sky.

Bart Spadaro was arguably one of the first men to get involved in the aerial banner business on the East End, flying his first advertising campaign in 1962. Spadaro, who is now 77, got his pilot's license in 1947 at the young age of 17. Spadaro felt that in the flying business, aerial banner advertising was a great way for him to enjoy his passion for the open skies while at the same time, "a wonderful way to make money and help pay the taxes."

His first banner was commissioned by Dick Henry, Spadaro's old friend who was running for Southampton Town Supervisor in 1962. Henry had a restaurant in Westhampton Beach but wanted to get more people to vote him into office and felt optimistic about the success of banner towing. Soon after this relationship blossomed, Spadaro saw the sign in Emma Troller's front yard that read, "For Sale: Chicken Farm, 24 acres." Spadaro knew that this was his chance. He bought Henry's equipment and the 24-acre property in East Moriches, located at 91 Montauk Highway. Therein, Spadaro created an empire where he now hosts Bart's Auto and Aviation Shop on the property of Spadaro Airport.

The son of Italian immigrants, Spadaro was born in Bay Shore in 1929, two years after Charles Lindbergh flew from Long Island to Paris in 33 hours and 30 minutes, the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. One of his earliest memories was of his father pointing at the sky saying, "Guarda! Aeroplano!" So in 1959, as an ex-Air Force aviation mechanic, a husband and father, Spadaro did not hesitate in purchasing Emma Troller's chicken farm for $1,000 an acre, plus $6,000 for Troller's two-story house. He then cleared a 100-foot-wide drive down his property, creating a 1,800-foot-long dirt runway.

Licensed by the State Department of Transportation, Spadaro's was designated as a "reliever airport" by the FAA in 1994 to help handle the overflow of small-aircraft traffic from MacArthur Airport in Islip. Spadaro's has received almost $1.2 million in grants from the FAA over the past ten years for safety improvements and other various projects.

When I asked Spadaro what changes he had seen in the past 47 years, he remarked that "The beaches have gotten a lot more crowded and the parking lots are full. You can always tell by looking at the parking lots."

Spadaro will fly and tow wherever and whatever the client requests. He flies from East Moriches to the Shinnecock Canal to Montauk and sometimes westward, to Coney Island and Manhattan. He charges by the hour and typically the airplane, which he flies at 500 feet along the beach, covers about 60 miles in an hour. Spadaro is mostly busy during the weekends and summer holidays, when there are plenty of people on the beach to view his larger-than-life billboards. However, if the forecast calls for rain, Spadaro will not fly because the banner becomes heavy, wet and too dangerous.

Some of Bart's more memorable moments in the air include the day he learned that kites were sometimes not so kind. Kites often have extremely long strings that can reach heights upwards of 400-600 feet and one day a kite string cut Spadaro's banner, causing him to lose the advertisement over the Shinnecock Canal. He learned from this incident and installed a kite catcher -- 75 feet of thin cable with lead sinkers on each side -- designed to pick up a kite or string before it ever hits the banner. Spadaro has also seen whales (which he at first thought were submarines) and has even helped save a few boaters in distress. One time, a boat was overturned and he called in to the tower at Westhampton airport, directing them to alert the Coast Guard. Some days later, a man came knocking on Spadaro's front door looking for Bart, who had helped save his life. Spadaro's watchful eye also looks out for any pollution or gas spills.

The Spadaro Airport is home to people who are interested in skydiving, learning to fly or performing airplane maintenance. Spadaro has been called "Mr. Civil Aviation" by some and honored by the Long Island General Aviation Recognition Council for his career supporting general aviation fliers.

So if you have ever wondered about who it was that towed those advertisement banners across the Hamptons beaches all summer, Spadaro is not only one of them, but one of the first. He has flown billboards by so many companies he can hardly recall them all. They include The New Yorker, Budweiser, Captain Morgan, Absolut Vodka and MetLife Insurance (Snoopy!) Some of the more personal ones include, "Happy Graduation, Mike!" or "Happy Birthday, Sam" and even the controversial headline, "Go Home, Hillary" when the out-of-stater ran for Senate back in 2000, becoming the first First Lady elected to public office and the first woman Senator from New York.

Spadaro is always looking for a few good men and women interested in learning how to fly and those that want to work and gain some fantastic flying experience. Spadaro remarked that he'll, "keep on towing and flying over the most beautiful land in the country for as long as I can." We'll keep our heads up. Spadaro Airport is located at 91 Montauk Highway, East Moriches. Call (631) 878-1125.