It's a Wonderful Airport

"Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty-five years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."

-- Jimmy Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey (1950). 

Arm Twisting

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
11 Nov 2010	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - IDI (Indiana, PA) - SDC	3.8	3157.2

"Have you been to the Jimmy Stewart Museum?"

In 2023, I visited the confoundingly named Indiana, Pennsylvania for the first time and enjoyed breakfast at the airport's Riziki Cafe ("Nittany Hoosiers"). When asked about the local museum honoring Indiana's favorite son, beloved actor, pilot, and Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart, I confessed that I had not visited. "You should visit sometime, it's a really good museum." This was a common refrain from everyone I met that day who pegged me as a transient.

I responded with a breezy, "Oh sure, maybe next time." It was an empty promise because the museum was not something that immediately sparked my interest.

Three years later, that august institution was added to the schedule of Williamson Flying Club Activities Committee events (not by me). I remained ambivalent about the Jimmy Stewart Museum, but perhaps a bit more inclined to going.

When more members signed up to attend than we had pilots to fly them, I leaned in a bit more, if for no greater reason than to help out. Plus, it was an excuse to fly.

Next, I received a text from from friend and regular past copilot Alyssa whom I had not seen since August 2025 when she moved out of state. "Hi! Are you doing the fly-out on May 30th?" She would be back in town, was no longer club current to fly one of the airplanes, and looking for a ride.

"I haven't decided, but if I go, a seat is all yours," I promised without really making any kind of commitment.

It was as if the universe was twisting my arm to see this vaunted museum dedicated to the star of It's a Wonderful Life. Maybe I had an angel (second class) looking out for my best interests. Nearly a month passed before I messaged her that I had decided to go. Along the way, I picked up a second passenger, new member and student pilot Chris who soloed the day before our foray to Indiana... er... Pennsylvania... er... Indiana in Pennsylvania.

Easy IFR

Chris, Alyssa, and me in Warrior 481.

Dan and Elizabeth were aboard Dan's RV-8 and made the trip VFR by finding a hole in the ceiling that hovered over New York state, then proceeding southbound at "ludicrous speed". The weather was in a sweet spot for easy IFR, with ceilings high enough to depart Sodus VFR for an airborne clearance pickup, but low enough to merit the extra effort of filing. This was the path Ed and I chose for our flights. After our trip to Michigan together, IFR flying was not new to Alyssa, but it was Chris' first time experiencing IFR in a GA airplane.

We climbed to 6,000 feet and skimmed through the cloud tops in a way that always feels genuinely cinematic, like that opening scene to The Right Stuff. Once over the rolling green no-man's-land that is north central Pennsylvania, the clouds finally began to break up.

En route, we passed over the top of St Marys Airport (KOYM).

After years of club fly-outs flying one of the fastest Cherokees in the fleet (an oxymoron, I know), it felt strange to be left in the proverbial dust by Ed's Cherokee Six and Dan's RV-8. We arrived at Indiana County / Jimmy Stewart Airport (KIDI) last. I wish I could say that the landing was awesome, but that was not the case.

As Chris, Alyssa, and I emerged from Warrior 481, Ed met us at the trailing edge of the wing. "You're not used to be the slowest airplane in the group," he observed.

Ya read my mind, Ed! Stop doing that.

Using Warrior 481 as a tripod, I caught a group photo of soon to be Jimmy Stewart acolytes (minus myself): Ed, Alyssa, Chris, Dan, Jonathan, and Elizabeth.

A pair of T-34 Mentors were also parked on the ramp. These are tandem seat military trainer versions of the Beech Model 35 Bonanza that swapped a conventional cabin for a birdcage canopy. Dan remarked that they arrived in formation while he was landing, their overhead break casting fast moving shadows to race across the runway pavement in front of him.

Ross, the same lineman who first encouraged me to visit the museum in 2023, set us up with the airport van, which was the perfect size to transport our group into town, if somewhat cozily.

Americana

Indiana, PA is picture perfect. As quaint as it is clean, it could almost be a movie set, a perfectly crafted example of a quintessential American town.

The Jimmy Stewart Museum occupies the top floor of the public library building.

Forget the Oscars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Bendix Trophy. True recognition of a noteworthy life comes by way of being the subject of one of these historical markers. Well...that and having an entire museum focused on you.

Evidently, the public library has a pilot section!

It's a nice thought, but the moon does not seem particularly happy about it.

On Jimmy Stewart

Long story short, our time at the museum was well spent and I was happy that the Activities Committee and my friends twisted my arm enough to persuade me to go. Stewart was an inspiring and interesting individual.

This is a reading museum. Stewart's life is described through artifacts, photographs, and many written stories. Roughly half of the museum is dedicated to Stewart's film career. The other half describes his military service and personal life, from small town beginnings to Oscar winner and decorated B-24 Liberator pilot to earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom under President Reagan.

A Super Simplex 35 mm film projector, introduced in 1928.

Stewart was the first Hollywood leading man to enlist in the military for World War II. Initially rejected because he was underweight, stories vary on how he was ultimately accepted for service, which suggested that maybe he had a little surreptitious help.

Already a private pilot, Stewart joined the United States Army Air Corps (forerunner to the United States Air Force) and rose from private to colonel in four short years. Stewart served as a military flight instructor before transferring to the European theater and flying twenty missions over Germany as pilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross during that time. Post war, he remained active with the Air Force Reserve and retired in 1968 at the rank of brigadier general.

Several halls were adorned with posters and other items from Stewarts 80 films.

In 1949, Joe De Bona flew modified P-51C Thunderbird co-owned with Stewart from Van Nuys, CA to Cleveland, OH to win the Bendix Trophy. A photo from Life magazine showed the two men standing before the Mustang with a pile of parts at their feet that were removed for the sake of speed. Stewart's Bendix trophy was sent back to Indiana, PA for display in his father's hardware store window, right next to his Oscar for The Philadelphia Story.

After the war, Stewart doubted his ability to act again after all that he had seen and experienced. His return to Hollywood was the starring role in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. Despite its wide recognition as a classic, the film received only middling interest when it was released. Nonetheless, an understanding of Stewart's struggles during filming adds a new layer of depth to his portrayal of George Bailey.

Harvey got his own corner. What? Can't you see him?

There is much more to learn in the Jimmy Stewart Museum and I won't spoil it all here. With time and an airplane to get there, it is worth a visit. The museum clearly has a relationship with the Stewart biopic set for release in November 2026 that is simply called Jimmy. Previews and behind the scenes footage for the upcoming film underpinned by what I learned at the museum that day have certainly whet my appetite for it. The movie describes the period of Stewart's life between winning the Best Actor Oscar for the 1940 film The Philadelphia Story through his experiences as a WWII bomber pilot to the making of It's a Wonderful Life.

Riziki Cafe

We piled back into the van, cringing at the noises made by each application of the brakes. Fortunately, the van managed to grind -- literally -- to a stop whenever commanded.

A long lost Cessna 310 once belonging to Jimmy Stewart has been located, restored, and now serves as both a profoundly relevant gate guardian for the airport and as a highly unusual weathervane.

Jimmy Stewart display at the Indiana County / Jimmy Stewart Airport.

The Riziki Cafe was hopping at lunchtime and everyone in our group enjoyed their sandwiches. Featuring good food paired with friendly service, our Riziki Cafe experience matched my impressions from three years prior and I was pleased to see the business thriving.

Dan's RV-8 parked just outside the airport terminal.

Homeward Bound

Hemlock Lake, one of the smaller Finger Lakes south of Rochester.

There may have been up to a 30 knot headwind on the way home and we may have been flying beneath the clouds and there may have been a bump or two. But it was an undeniably beautiful day to fly and I relished hand flying my airplane in the company of friends, both old and new. Thanks to the folks of Indiana, PA for their hospitality and their eagerness to share stories of the life of their most renowned citizen. Thanks also to my unseen guardian angel for directing me there. I hope that bell rings for you soon!