ToquiNotes: Recalling a Short-Lived Bridgeport Event and Seeking Information and Photos from the Past
By Jeff Toquinto on October 05, 2024 from ToquiNotes
I am not sure when it started. I am not sure when it ended.
But I do know that the old “Penny a Pound” event at what is today the North Central West Virginia Airport was a pretty big deal. How do I know?
In my earlier years, in the 1970s and perhaps the early 1980s, but definitely in the 1970s, I can remember the kids in our neighborhood talking about taking an airplane ride for a “penny a pound.” Perhaps it was an advertisement in the local newspaper or maybe it was on 
one of the local news channels back in the day when local news might be the only thing that was on television at a particular time.
one of the local news channels back in the day when local news might be the only thing that was on television at a particular time.
Unlike last week’s blog, there is no great mystery – although exact dates and times are elusive and we could use some help there. Much like last week’s blog, there is a real issue finding photographs from the event that took place here in Bridgeport for several years.
For some time, I have wanted to write about Penny a Pound Day at the old Benedum Airport. The concept was simple – you went to the airport, and you were weighed. You then paid a penny for each pound you weighed and got a local airplane ride.
Over the last couple of years, I had put out feelers with multiple people regarding photographs only to strike out. Finally, and this was likely well over a year ago, Bridgeport High School alum and local good guy Al Cox posted one of his many great photos showing him doing an interview in his radio days with the late Angelo Koukoulis at the event.
There were no airplanes in the photo, but Cox’s memory was on point about the event. And, when I checked last week with the son of the legendary Angelo Koukoulis, Chuck, he confirmed the picture was indeed from the event.
Koukoulis also confirmed something else. He said he has photos, thinks he knows where they’re at, but was unable to locate them prior to this blog running.
That said, it was interesting to hear Chuck Koukoulis talk about the event. It was one that he saw some early labor at as a child.
“I think it began as early as the early 1960s. I remember I used to work the Pepsi stand there,” said Koukoulis. “The event was done by the North Central West Virginia Pilots Association where the pilots donated their airplanes and their time.”
Koukoulis remembers something else was donated that made it critical.
“It was ESSO at the time, now Exxon, and they actually donated the fuel for the event, and I remember Pepsi donating the drinks for the event,” said Koukoulis. “There is essentially no chance any fuel provider would do that today, but you might find a company willing to donate drinks.”
Koukoulis said he remembers the event through its limited time period saw thousands of people take flight. He said it was perhaps the best marketing took to get youngsters interested in flying, even though the event was for young and old alike.
“You couldn’t find a better way to get kids to think about flying. I know a gentleman named Randy Scott who took his first flight there and ended up working for (the Koukoulis’ family’s independent airline) AeroMech, did corporate flying with Mylan, and ended up flying a Global Express all over the world. I am certain there were others like him.
“I know a lot of those kids ended up being mechanics in the aviation industry and even aeronautical engineers,” he continued. “Those flights gave a lot of people the bug to get into the industry.”
Koukoulis said he thinks the event was a weekend event, usually a Saturday. Although he was not sure of its duration, he said he did not believe it made it a decade.
“I am pretty sure it was started by the Pilot’s Association, and I think the purpose was for fundraising for whatever charity they decided to fundraise for,” he said. “I’m not certain about that, but I feel like that was what they did with the money. It didn’t last long, but it was popular; thousands went through there for that event.”
Koukoulis said his late father Angelo was a member of the Pilot’s Association. He said he knew his father was involved heavily with it, but has no idea if it was his idea, someone else’s, or a collective creation.
So, why did it end?
“The FAA decided the pilots were doing sightseeing and you would have to be commercially rated. Eventually, ESSO started requiring that too,” he said. “Most of the pilots were private pilots, hobby guys, so they weren’t commercial rated and just not enough pilots to keep it afloat.”
Koukoulis, who still runs KCI Aviation and, like his father Angelo, is a member of the West Virgina Aviation Hall of Fame, would like to see an event of that magnitude happen again. So, will it happen again, or could it happen again?
“Not even worth the conversation. Today, the insurance alone would break your back, and you’d still need commercial flyers in an era where those numbers are way down,” he said. “Add to that the fuel prices where no fuel company would donate the fuel needed and you have hurdles almost certainly to high to clear. It’s just the way it is anymore.”
The good news, however, is that Koukoulis said there are actual groups that still have an event he said the Young Eagles in the area is a group that has free rides – typically for those between 8 and 17 (which leaves us old folks out) – to get kids interested in aviation.
“It’s part of the Civil Air Patrol and Experimental Aircraft Association to the best of my knowledge; I believe the actional name is the Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles program,” said Koukoulis. “They are out of Fairmont. No one gets charged, so that changes the flight rules.”
Koukoulis said he believes the group operates each year out of local airports. He said he knew Fairmont was a location as well as Buckhannon in the past. Koukoulis recommended contacting local airports to inquire about when, and where, the events take place.
“It’s good to know there is still an option even though it’s not like it was,” said Koukoulis. “They used to fly old Piper Tri-Pacer, a fabric covered airplane with tricycle landing gear, or they would be flying in the Cessna 172. Most were four-seaters with a pilot and three passengers.
“It was a lot of fun,” he continued. “If I can’t find the photos, I imagine someone out there has some.”
Perhaps, perhaps not. We thought the same about the old replica airplane hanging upside down in Bridgeport McDonald’s. That said, there are still plenty of memories – just like the airplanes – flying around. We would love for you to share them in the comment section below.
Editor’s Note: Photo, courtesy of Al Cox, show Cox, far right, interviewing Angelo Koukoulis. Also shown, from left, is Peggy Kester of AeroMech and Pilot Paul Brown. Bottom photo shows Chuck Koukoulis, right, at a National Business Aviation Association conference in Orland inside an airplane - an Embraer Bizjet. Bottom image courtesy of KCI Aviation.
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