Pearson Field's history dates back to the early 1900s and is named for local resident First Lieutenant Alexander Pearson Jr. of the United States Army. ; 1905 : Lincoln Beachey pilots his Baldwin airship from the grounds of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition on the shores of Guild's Lake in Portland, Oregon, to Vancouver Barracks in the first aerial crossing of the Columbia River. This flight also set an endurance record for flight at the time. Carrying a letter from Theodore Hardee, an official of the fair, to the commandant of the Vancouver Barracks, General Constant Williams, the flight is also the recognized as the first time an airship is used to deliver a letter. ; 1911 : First airplane lands at Pearson Field. ; 1912 : A homebuilt aircraft built onsite becomes the first aircraft departure. ; 1923–1941 : Pearson Field is home to the US Army Air Service. ; 1923 : Commander Lt. Oakley G. Kelly makes the first non-stop transcontinental flight. ; 1924 : Pearson Field is a stopover point on the army's first round-the-world flight. ; 1925 : Pearson Field is named after Lt. Alexander Pearson by order of Major General John L. Hines. On 16 September 1925, during the inauguration of Pearson Field, in front of 20,000 spectators and against 53 competitor pilots, Edith Foltz won the dead-stick landing competition. ; 1937 : Soviet aviator Valery Chkalov lands at the end of the first non-stop transpolar flight. ; 1975 : Chkalov monument dedicated ; 1994 : City of Vancouver and National Park Service enter into agreement governing the future of Pearson Field. ; 2005 : Pearson Field celebrates its 100-year anniversary. ; 2012 : Pearson Field receives AIAA historic aerospace site designation. ; 2015 : AIAA monument placed. ; 2016 : Former State Representative John McKibbin, along with Irene Mustain, depart from the field; their plane crashes in the Columbia River.
Facilities and aircraft
Pearson Field covers an area of which contains one runway designated 8/26 with a asphalt pavement. For the 12-month period ending May 31, 2006, the airport had 52,200 aircraft operations, an average of 143 per day: 97% general aviation, 2% military and 1% air taxi. At that time there were 175 aircraft based at this airport: 97% single-engine and 3% multi-engine. The airfield has a 150 T-hangars and tiedown facilities, with capacity for 175 light aircraft. Located at the airport are the Pearson Air Museum and Aero Maintenance Flight Center, a full service FBO, maintenance station, avionics station, and part 61 and part 141 approved flight school, and the Pearson Field Education Center. Located nearby are the Grand Central Retail Center, Jantzen Beach SuperCenter and the Portland International Raceway.
Economic impact
The state of Washington provides economic impact studies of airports within the state. In the 2001 report, Pearson Field contributed about 600 jobs to the area. Salaries drawn in relation to business at Pearson total about US$11 million. The total economic activity related to Pearson totals about US$38 million. There was an updated report in 2012.
