Lincoln Park Airport

I worked at LP from 1975-1980. Ed always called me "junior". I hated it then but over the years it was fitting. Ed was pretty old then, but he did not lack anything. He was sharp as a tack and if he missed anything Jule would let him know so.

I guess I went to work for him after he had repossed the airport from the Eastern group. I was for the most part an aircraft fueler after school and on weekends, but I wound up doing so much more. Moving planes, cutting grass, cleaning the office and assisting the mechanic when needed. And hung up a lot of what I know now are to be historical pictures in the office.

Ed always asked, every pay day, "do you want half in pay and half in flight time"? I kick my self in the butt today. I could have been trained to fly by the same guy that helped Amelia Earhart fly the Atlantic, wow Ed! And that also would have included instruction by Tony Farrell.

But I at the time liked fast cars and the girls that came with it. I think I kept Ed and the other guys happy with all the teenage girls that showed up to watch me work. But Ed would always come out, "junior we need to get doc's plane out" or something. Meaning she had to go.

Ed loved the airport and always wanted it looking its best. He also gave a lot back, never missing the chance to buy me a lunch at the Pequannock sandwich shop. He kept me stuffed with salt tabs in the summer also. And when the day was slow I would go up to his house and mow the lawn.

Jules and Ed had a nice, cozy log cabin up in the hills. The road getting there was windy and tight. If you think flying in a plane with Ed was fun, you needed to ride in a car on the way to his house. The tree limbs would fly in the open window and slap you in the face if you let it. He was a daredevil in my book.

The first flight I had in an airplane was in his J-3 Cub. I never knew you could look over your shoulder at the runway on final approach. That's how Ed did it all the time! And just prior to the wheel hitting the ground he would snap the tail around and bam you were rolling down the runway.

He came out of the office one day to see me propping an aircraft. I guess I was lucky that the plane fired up and I wasn't injured. But Ed made sure that I got some instruction before doing it again. The first instruction was a lot of ear chewing. But that's how he was, you didn't do it unless you were going to do it right.

We had one guy, Bernie. He owned a Mooney, and every time he flew it was "swift". He was German and the plane was fast. Ed would wait for him to come in for a landing and then the chase was on. Bernie would taxi way to fast for Ed's liking and he would let him know it. Better yet almost every landing Bernie would ding his prop after porposing down the runway, Ed would stop him and say he couldn't fly till it was fixed.

We had only one crash during the time I worked there. The radio shops owner had a bell 47 helicopter, that crashed just short of me while I was cutting the grass. He took off and pulled up too soon causing the clutch to go. He attempted a auto rotation but hit tail first, which caused the chopper to spin and land on its side.

Ed and Jules have since gone and I miss those hot New Jersey days at the airport. I'm glad to see that they have gone down in the history of aviation in NJ, and that they left us with so much. May LP airport continue to prosper.

I was hired to work as a flight instructor in April 1972 by Ed Gorski, minutes after we met.

I had graduated from Embry-Riddle and headed to NJ to pursue my aviation career. No jobs were available at all, except a FEW instructor jobs! Ed Gorski was somewhat gruff, but a real nice person. I had 3 other offers for FI positions, and I ended up taking a job at Linden Airport, NJ for a lot less money ($3/hour) than Ed offered ($15/hour), however, more students and more opportunities at LDJ. I stayed at LDJ for 16 months and moved on to a Cessna 421B job at North Philadelphia, which lasted for about 18 months.

Long Story Short, I ended up getting hired at Lincoln Park in early 1975 by a group of individuals as a Flight Instructor. An Eastern Airlines Crowd of pilots, who hired a puppet manager to follow their directives, hired me. Ed had sold the Captain Jack Faes/George Kershaw, Eastern groupof pilots, the airport, in good faith, and they concentrated their collections of Pitts Aircraft throughout 1975. What a racket these guys had. Maybe I was envious, as I was trying to break into a business that had no opportunities available at the time. This crowd took advantage of everything that they could get their hands on.

I left the job in August 1975 as I had seen enough, and one of the Eastern bunch (Jack Faes) needed a job for his son, who had lost his job at Wien Airlines in Alaska, so I was the junior flight instuctor and had to leave.

What a difference from this BUNCH to Ed Gorski. Well, the Captain Jack Faes and Eastern Airlines' crowd eventually overstayed their agreement with Ed, with the hangars filled with their Pitts Special toys. They never paid their local taxes ($75,000) to Lincoln Park Township while they managed the airport, and good old Ed Gorski was contacted for a default of the real estate taxes due. I guess Ed Gorski had to throw the puppet manager Bill out on his ass, and then the Faes Eastern crowd. Then Ed took possession of his beloved airport, and I assume ran it himself for many more years.

God bless Ed Gorski, he was a straight forward honest guy, not like the low lives that had infiltrated Lincoln Park from 1975-1977. I wish Ed was still around. With respect to Eastern Airlines Captain Jack Faes, he kicked me in the ass in August 1975, and then further attempted to trash my aviation career with unfounded bad references, however, I managed a successful career in corporate aviation as a manager/chief pilot from 1979-1998, operating several Falcon 50s, Gulfstream III/IV, Lear 55, Citation VII for over twenty (20) years, all based in New Jersey. I am now a B747-400 Captain for the last ten (10) years.

I'll never forget my conversations with Ed Gorski. A straight an honest man, who always treated me with respect and kindness. I am delighted that Ed took his airport back from that bunch of Eastern Airlines pilots who had abused their stay and stacked the hangars with their toys, and abused the employees!

Wherever you are Ed, I will always remember you fondly. And as far as that Eastern Airline Bunch, they got their due, eventually, in more ways than one!

I was hired to work as a flight instructor in April 1972 by Ed Gorski, minutes after we met. I had graduated from Embry-Riddle and headed to NJ to pursue my aviation career. Ed Gorski was somewhat gruff, but a real nice person. I had 3 other offers for FI positions, and I ended up taking a job at Linden Airport, NJ for alot less money than Ed offered, however, more students and more opportunities at LDJ. I stayed at LDJ for 16 months and moved on to a Cessna 421B job at North Philadelphia, which lasted for about 18 months.

Long Story Short, I ended up getting hired at Lincoln Park in early 1975 by a group of individuals as a FI. An Eastern Airlines Crowd of pilots, managed by a pupet manager who followed their directives, hired me. Ed had sold the Captain Jack Faes/George Kershaw, Eastern group, the airport, in good faith, and they concentrated their collections of Pitts Aircraft throughout 1975. What a racket these guys had. Maybe I was envious, as I was trying to break into a business that had no opportuinites available, but this crowd took advantage of everything that they could get their hands on. I left the job in August 1975 as I had seen enough, and one of the Eastern bunch needed a job for his son, who had lost his job at Wein , so I was the junior guy and had to leave. What a difference from this BUNCH to Ed Gorski. Well, the Jack Faes (Larry Faes) Eastern Airlines' crowd eventually overstayed their agreement, with the hangars filled with their toys. They never paid their local taxes to Lincoln Park, and good old ed Gorski was contacted. I guess had to throw the manager out on his ass, and then the Faes crowd. Then Ed took posession of his beloved airport. God bless Ed Gorski, he was a straight forward honest guy, not like the low lives that had infiltrated Lincol Park from 1975-1977. I wish Ed was still around. With respect to Captain Jack Faes kick in my ass in August 1975, and then his attempt to trash my career with bad references, I managed a sucessful career in corporate aviation as a manager/chief pilot operating a Falcon 50, Gulfstream III/IV, Lear 55, Citation VII for over twenty (20) years, all based in New Jersey. I am now a B747-400 Captain for the last ten (10) years.

I'll never forget my conversations with Ed Gorski. A straight an honest man, who always treated me with respect and kindness. I am delighted that Ed took his airport back from that bunch of Eastern Airlines pilots who had abused their stay and stacked the hangars with their toys, and abused the employees!

hi and i must know you because bill fedishen is my father please contact me iam james darwin fedishen my email is hime_661@hotmail.com id love chat about my father

Remember riding my bike to LP Airport in 1946. Too young to drive, I had a wad of money earned during the week as an auto mechanic (yes I was doing engine overhauls at that age and being paid the magnificent sum of something like $20.00 a week during summer vacation ).

My thought was to take a ride. When I asked the pilot signing off someone's log book how old you had to be to take lessons I was rocked to my ACE Sneakers when he said "no age limit". "You mean I could take a lesson?" the answer yes, brought the next logical question, "How much?" Think it was something like $14.00 an hour, maybe a half hour, that's what I wound up buying anyway.

"Hold on though" says the FI, "you can't just hop in and start flying" "You have to know all about aeroplanes"

"Oh, I do!" (I spent my nights and weekends building balsa models)

"OK" he smiled "Go over to that yellow plane over there (a J-3) and I'll be over to see what you know"

I passed the test so my first ride in an airplane was my first lesson in piloting.

When we landed he told me I needed a logbook available from the front office. That was when I met Mr. Gorski a fine looking older man whose friendly smile never let you forget that flying was important and serious.

There was another young pilot back than a year or two older who also soloed on his 16th birthday. His name was Breeziano or something like that we all called him Breezy. We became kind of friends but kind of competitors too. He certainly built better models than me, but I think I had the edge on Stick and Rudder.

It would be wonderful if the Gorskis were still alive they were the best of an age before the `white knuckles' took over.