Oak Harbor flight club aims to make flying more accessible

A former sea captain is trying to open the cockpit door a little wider for North Whidbey. Mark Saia, who is working toward his pilot’s license, started the Oak Harbor Flight Club at DeLaurentis International Airport, where the nonprofit has access to two planes and plans a grand opening July 11.

The pitch is simple and local. Saia said flying can feel too expensive and too far away for many island residents, especially after the Navy flight club disappeared and the nearest alternatives are on the South End or the mainland. By basing the club in Oak Harbor, he is trying to create a lower-barrier path into aviation for people who might not otherwise pursue it through traditional training or private ownership.

That access piece matters in a town shaped by aviation and military life. Oak Harbor had 24,622 residents in the 2020 Census, and Island County had 86,857, a scale that makes one more affordable option noticeable in a small market. Saia also said he hopes the club will interest young people in flying, giving the project an educational purpose as well as a recreational one.

The club is also landing inside a broader effort to revive the airfield itself. DeLaurentis International Airport, at 1140 N Monroe Landing Rd, is privately owned but open to the public, and the airport says it supports community use, Life Flight Network and general aviation. The field was formerly known as A.J. Eisenberg Airport and was renamed in 2024 after owner Robert DeLaurentis bought and began renovating it in July 2023.

Island County also approved a permit in 2024 to widen the runway from 25 feet to 60 feet. At the time, the runway was rated in poor condition by the state, and the expansion underscored how much of the airport’s future depends on improving infrastructure as much as attracting pilots.

Whidbey’s aviation history gives the new club some context. According to AOPA, the airfield began as Seamount Field in the 1960s, became Wes Lupien Airport in 1965, hosted Harbor Airlines from 1971 through 2001 and served Kenmore Air until 2008. Cascade Aviation, meanwhile, says it was created in 2013 to give Navy pilots a general aviation outlet after the Whidbey Island Navy Flying Club closed, then grew into a large flying club and flight school in northwest Washington.

Against that backdrop, the Oak Harbor Flight Club looks like more than a hobby group. It is a local attempt to restore a pathway into aviation, at a public-use airport with military roots, in a community that has long treated flying as part of daily life.