Living In TheAdirondacks

Steve Short’s view from a lifetime in the sky

Lake Placid’s airport manager retiring

By Lauren Yates

Steve Short has been the Lake Placid airport manager for nearly 48 years, and as he readied for retirement this year, he said he has a lot of things on his bucket

list.

One: hang out with the kids more often. Short has a son, a daughter and two grandkids living in Bellingham, Washington, who want him to live there. Short said he’ll go visit for a few months a year, but he’s staying here for the time being. Two: Go skiing out West more often. Luckily, the kids are out there. Three: See more countries. He’s seen around 34 already, but there are more calling his name. Four: Go golfing, maybe join a golf club. Short has always liked to golf, but he never found the time. Five, and maybe the most important one: Live more life in the Adirondacks instead of flying over all the action. “I love Lake Placid, but in the summertime I’m looking down at everybody having a lot of fun,” Short said. “I want to spend more time hiking the mountains and using the water.” Short has stayed busy since 1974, when his mom called him on a June day and said his dad had suffered an aneurysm and needed help with the flying business in Lake Placid. Short was working for Kodak at the time toward an airline career, but he dropped his work and flew 13 hours in Lake Placid that first day. His dad lived three more years after that, but Short never left Lake Placid or the Adirondack Flying Service. “I took a leave of absence from Kodak,” Short said. “I’m still on a leave of absence.” Short grew up around planes. He was raised in Marion, New York, by a father who had a bug for flying. His father bought his first plane when Short was a year old. He became wellrespected at his local airport, flying around 400 hours a year — hours airline pilots usually log — just for fun. Short’s family spent a few weeks on Lake Eaton near Long Lake every year, and on visits, Short’s dad would stop by the Long Lake seaplane base and the airport at Tupper Lake. Eventually, Short’s father met Al Furnia, a contractor who decided he wanted to run the Lake Placid airport in 1968. Furnia is responsible for the birth of the Adirondack Flying Service, and Short’s father joined Furnia in the business. Then Furnia got cancer. Short’s father took over the business, but it was just a few years later when he suffered his subarachnoid hemorrhage and Short took his place. Short said he’ll probably keep hanging around the airport after he retires, too. He’s 75 now, and he said it’s uncertain whether he’ll be able to keep flying commercial Part 135 flights or if he’ll be limited to just scenic Part 91 flights and aerial surveys. For now, he’s chartering flights when he can and preparing to get started on that bucket list.