Question: I’m curious about the frequent takeoffs and landings on the grass airstrip next to Mitchell Field. I’ve seen identical red planes departing in different directions, repeated training-style flights in the fall and seasonal flight increases in the summer. Who owns the strip, and who is flying there?
Karin Blake, Harpswell Neck
Answer: The private airstrip next to George J. Mitchell Field in Harpswell is called Farr Field and carries the Federal Aviation Administration location identifier ME33. It was first registered with the FAA in 1975.
Farr Field is owned by Harpswell residents Andre and Lydia Cocquyt, who bought it in the late 2000s to save it from development. They continue to maintain the airstrip and allow “anyone who asks nicely” to use it, Andre Cocquyt said in an interview.
J. Lloyd Thompson, a former civilian employee at the Brunswick Naval Air Station, built the airstrip in the 1970s to fly his own plane. The land was owned at the time by his partner in the endeavor, Beverly Farr, which is how Farr Field got its name.
Andre Cocquyt said that even after selling the airfield, Thompson insisted on continuing to mow the grass until he was 90 years old.
The airfield’s grass runway is 100 feet wide and 1,900 feet long, about the length of five football fields. According to Andre Cocquyt, it is used by a variety of small aircraft operators for training, aviation club activities, family vacations and more.
“It’s quite frequently used for people that have family in the area that come in,” he said, including a pilot who flew in recently from Orono. “They took the whole day to take family members out for rides from here.”
As the airfield’s owners, the Cocquyts receive about 10 calls a week in the summer from pilots seeking permission to use the facility. In the offseason, use of the airfield is much more sporadic, Andre Cocquyt said.
Farr Field has come in handy in a few emergencies. For example, in May 2014, a privately flown Van’s RV-4 ran out of fuel near Portland. The pilot made a forced landing at the airstrip, damaging the aircraft but causing no injuries.
“The strip has been a welcome last resort for a few planes that crash-landed here,” Andre Cocquyt said. “So far, (there have been) no fatalities involved, and the strip being here saved their lives.”
J. Craig Anderson, Reporter, Harpswell Anchor
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