Tucked along the runway in North Hampton, New Hampshire, the Airfield Cafe is more than a place to eat — it’s a story of family, perseverance, and community that spans generations.

In this Old Fly Guy Network episode, we sit down with Scott Aversano and his children Ashley and Tyler to explore how the Airfield Cafe, first opened in 1996, became a cornerstone of the local aviation community. Scott shares the pivotal role played by his father, “Pappa Joe,” whose leap of faith into the airport restaurant business helped get everything started. After a previous family venture was impacted by an economic downturn, an unexpected opportunity — and encouragement from the airport community — led Pappa Joe to take over a small breakfast-and-lunch café at the airfield, planting the seeds for what would become a beloved institution.

Through hard work and consistency, the family transformed the café from a modest 36-seat diner into a thriving operation employing nearly 70 people, all while staying true to its roots. The Airfield Cafe became a place where pilots, airport neighbors, and local families naturally came together — a bridge between aviation and community life.

Scott also reflects on one of the greatest rewards of the journey: working side-by-side with his children. Ashley and Tyler grew up in the café, learning responsibility early and developing a shared passion for the business. Today, Ashley brings her business education and leadership vision, while Tyler’s engineering mindset fuels creative ideas like a conveyor-belt display for model airplanes. For Scott, watching his children grow — both personally and professionally — while helping shape the café’s future is as meaningful as the business success itself.

This episode is a heartfelt look at legacy, family pride, innovation, and the unique role airport cafés play in keeping aviation culture alive. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most important things at an airfield aren’t just the airplanes — but the people who gather around the table.

✈️☕ Visit the Airfield Cafe, meet the family, and experience a place where generations and aviation stories continue to take flight.

The Full AIRFIELD CAFE Episode! https://youtu.be/KPNgvbGxGQA

In this episode of the Old Fly Guy Podcast, we flip the script and explore aviation from a side most pilots and aviation fans rarely get to see — the people who shape the skies from the ground. Wade sits down with Ralph Tamburro, a highly respected aviation professional with 31+ years at the FAA and more than a decade with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It’s not just an interview — it’s a rare, insider-level conversation with someone who has worked at the very heart of the world’s most complex airspace.

Ralph’s experience spans traffic management, operational oversight, safety, and modernization initiatives that directly affect how millions of passengers travel each year. Very few people in aviation have had a front-row seat to both sides of the system — the FAA and a major airport authority — and even fewer are willing to talk openly about what really happens behind the scenes.

In this episode, listeners get unprecedented access to:

How the FAA and the Port Authority collaborate, negotiate, and occasionally wrestle over safety and efficiency
Why managing New York’s layered, high-density airspace is unlike anywhere else in the world
What actually goes into preventing delays, coordinating construction, and keeping airport traffic flowing
The slow march of technology in ATC — and what needs to change
The human side of air traffic control, including decision-making, communication, and family legacies in the career

Ralph shares candid stories and explains the complexities of air traffic management with clarity only a true insider can provide. His perspective is unique, unfiltered, and incredibly valuable for anyone who flies, works in aviation, or simply wants to understand how the national airspace system really works.

In the fourth episode of the Old Fly Guy Network’s SR-71 Blackbird series, we go behind the curtain to explore the operational heart of the SR-71 program — the teams who turned intelligence requests into successful Mach 3 missions.
While pilots and RSOs (Reconnaissance Systems Officers) carried out daring flights, every sortie began weeks earlier in the hands of a dedicated operations and intelligence planning team. This episode features insights from intelligence officers, planners, pilots, and RSOs who reveal how missions were crafted — from target selection to route design, fuel and refueling coordination, sensor timing, and international clearances.
They share how the SR-71’s speed and altitude demanded extraordinary precision in planning — where a single miscalculation could mean a missed target or diplomatic incident. The conversation unveils the quiet coordination between the Air Force, CIA, and national intelligence agencies that made the Blackbird not only a marvel of engineering but also a masterpiece of operational art.
This episode brings the series full circle — from design and maintenance to flight and mission planning — showing that the Blackbird’s success wasn’t just about speed; it was about teamwork, foresight, and flawless execution.
✈️ 5 Key Takeaways for the Viewer
Mission Planning was the Real Launch Point – how SR-71 flights began on the ground with months of coordination.
Precision Intelligence Integration – how military and government intelligence agencies worked together to define mission targets.
Pilots & RSOs in the Loop Early – how flight crews influenced mission design long before takeoff.
Operational Art Under Pressure – how planners accounted for fuel, enemy radar, and even geopolitical boundaries.
The Human Factor – the professionalism and coordination that made each mission a success in a tense Cold War environment.