Venango Regional Airport

Venango Regional Airport, also known as Chess Lamberton Field, is a public airport in western Pennsylvania, 2mi southwest of Franklin and about 10mi southwest of Oil City. Both cities are in Venango County, which operates the airport. The airport has limited airline service, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 681 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2008, 1,583 enplanements in 2009, and 1,380 in 2010. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility (the commercial service category requires at least 2,500 enplanements per year).HistoryAviation in Franklin area originated in 1929 when two local businessmen, Wayne W. Bleakley and Joseph McElhinney, Jr. became interested in aviation and went on to construct the first airport in what was then Sugarcreek Township. The airport was supported by local businessmen who formed a corporation some time later, under their stewardship the airport continued in existence until its abandonment in 1938. Thereafter, local aviators flew from the Splane Memorial Airport in Oil City from 1941 until 1950.