Author: Alex

Over the years a few internet micro celebrities (and some real celebrities) have walked through the the doors and down the jetway onto the tarmac of Monmouth Jet Center, the airport at the heart of central New Jersey. A select few have even begun their successful careers at Monmouth—this post is dedicated to them.

Of course, the most notable celebrity we know of that has flown out of Monmouth has to be the beloved Bruce Springsteen. According to the Airport’s own history and other news articles, Springsteen used the airport’s hangars on multiple occasions for discreet rehearsals with the E-Street band and flew out of the airport several times, taking advantage of its proximity to Colts Neck, Asbury Park, and his hometown of Freehold.

In January of 2024, popular YouTuber steveo1kinevo gained over 550,000 views documenting his new position flying a Daher TBM940, N949BZ, with an all-glass Garmin G3000 flight deck. His video featured Monmouth Jet Center extensively at the start, including some footage of the FBO, himself walking down the jetway to the TBM, and full-service refueling at the airport. Kinevo obtains his IFR clearance from Joint Base Mc Guire Airport nearby, as KBLM isn’t towered and hasn’t been for quite some time.

In July of 2024, a smaller but still popular YouTuber East Coast Aviation captured themselves departing Princeton Airport (39N) and flying into Monmouth for a soft and smooth landing on Runway 32. They note a deer running across the tree line that they spotted on approach, which they highlight would’ve definitely sparked a go-around. East Coast Aviation primarily makes HD plane spotting videos and I highly recommend their channel, as they have many unique views like this Airbus H160 at Trenton-Mercer Airport (KTTN).

Perhaps one of the most interesting content creators is Isaac Cohen, or 1JC Pilot. Cohen is a jack of many trades and over the years has posted all kinds of content on his channel, from racing and biking to boating and flying. The best of Cohen’s aviation content began recently, and the community has begun to take notice, with his most popular video amassing 22,000 views at only 3 weeks old as of writing. Cohen has flown many jets and props before including the TBM 940, Phenom 300E, Citation M2, and as of late a beautiful Citation CJ3+, N39SS, featuring an all-glass Garmin G3000 flight deck. According to recent videos, he also has a Cirrus Vision Jet SF50 on the way—This is the kind of life I dream of.

One of my favorite creators in the central Jersey area is TRL Aviation. TRL began uploading in December of 2023 taking lessons for his PPL out of Old Bridge Airport (3N6) in a Piper Archer II (N8454H) at Pilots Flying School. Since then, TRL has started flying at Elite Flight Experience at 39N, making many videos at KBLM along the way.

Mike Grossman, based out of Monmouth airport, has made waves on YouTube since first uploading to the platform in December of 2005 amassing over 390,000 views. His most popular video was recorded over the Hudson River on January 30th, 2016 at 6:16PM, when a camera mounted to the rear left of his Piper Cherokee (N7185F) captured a shooting star to his 3 o’clock. Despite not having uploaded anything aviation-related since July 17, 2017, Grossman has still produced some excellent content at Monmouth including full footage of a crosswind landing in a Cessna 152 on Runway 32.

In addition to YouTube, Carlee Szarek is an incredibly talented commercially rated single and multi-engine pilot as well as a full-time certified flight instructor with instrument instruction privileges at Elite Flight Experience. Despite working out of Monmouth, Szarek is from California, and many of the videos on her channel feature cross-country flights in her 172H N8091L. Her bubbly personality combined with her positive and effective instruction style make her one of the best CFIs I’ve had the good fortune of encountering.

While not making videos in the cockpit, The Philly Buff has built a robust channel on filming all kinds of travel related content from trains and trucks to planes and helicopters. They’ve filmed some excellent plane spotting at Monmouth, including this video featuring Cessna Citation V N510JN, 172SP N169LP (owned by Eagles View Aviation, one of the two flight schools at the airport), and 441 N14FJ.

An honorable mention certainly worth noting on this list for its production quality is Valerie Morrison, known as Valkyrie427, who published a short vlog at the end of August 2024 detailing their final shift at the airport as a line service technician/ramp agent. After working there for almost 8 years, they claimed it was “time to hang up [their] orange vest”. Featured in the video are numerous incredible jets sitting on the ramp at KBLM, including N428QS, N729HZ, N821JS, and N888MF. They end off the video by marshaling one last jet, N704DA.

I hope to someday join these incredibly talented aviators and content creators that get to do incredible things like jetting off to Florida or cruising down the Jersey Shore to Cape May. Even seeing these beautiful planes on the ramp brings me great joy, and I hope I can continue to both watch and learn.

–Alex

Monmouth Executive Airport (originally known as Allaire Airport) has been a fixture of New Jersey’s aviation landscape since 1938, and is where my first flight lessons began in 2022. Built by Ed Brown, a self-taught aviator and Navy pilot, the airport began as a modest airfield carved out with a repurposed World War I tank borrowed from a local American Legion post. Over the decades, it evolved into a hub for private aviation, offering services ranging from skydiving and air taxis to hosting celebrities like Bruce Springsteen, who famously rehearsed with the E-Street Band in its hangars.

Under Brown’s stewardship, the airport became a community landmark. However, after Brown’s death in 2006, the property faced uncertainty. His estate sold the airport in 2013 to Wall Herald Corporation, a consortium led by investor Alan Antaki, who “transformed” it into the modern Monmouth Executive Airport (also called Monmouth Jet Center). Antaki paid off $2.8 million in delinquent taxes, upgrading infrastructure (including extending its runway to surpass LaGuardia Airport’s length), and tripling its business operations.

By 2024, the airport had become a bustling hub for private jets and helicopter services, generating nearly $900,000 annually in property taxes for Wall Township. Yet, its success story is now overshadowed by a contentious legal battle with Monmouth County.

The airport’s current struggles center on Monmouth County’s efforts to acquire it through eminent domain—a move Antaki and his legal team argue is driven by greed and political ambition rather than public need.

In 2021, Netflix announced plans to develop a $1 billion film production studio at Fort Monmouth, an abandoned Army base 12 miles north of the airport.The project, backed by $387 million in state tax incentives, promises economic revitalization for the county. Antaki alleges that county officials, including Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone (also a board member of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority), began targeting his airport shortly after Netflix’s commitment, aiming to capitalize on the area’s rising value: celebrities of course need somewhere close by to park their $60 million jets. Critics argue that the county seeks to control the airport’s 746 acres to align with broader redevelopment plans, though officials deny this.

County officials claim their interest stems from safety concerns and a desire to “preserve” the airport as a public asset. Arnone has cited “disturbing reports” about the facility’s condition, noting its neglected runways and infrastructure. Now, Arnone has a bit of a point here—As much as I’ve come to love KBLM, it’s clear that Wall Herald Corporation only cares about the 1% of the 1% flying in and out of the place. In 2023, the county hired Merchant Aviation, an international consulting firm, to assess the airport’s safety—a process Antaki calls a “PR trip” due to its limited scope (e.g., a rushed 2 a.m. inspection).

Antaki argues that the airport holds annual state certifications, no safety violations, and has never received FAA funding, exempting it from federal oversight. He accuses the county of fabricating issues to justify a takeover, noting Arnone’s public admission that owning an airport is a “pet peeve” and a status symbol for Monmouth. This is true, Arnone did quite literally say that it was a pet peeve of his that the county didn’t have its own airport, similarly to Ocean County’s Robert J. Miller Airpark or Lakewood Township’s N12.

Antaki’s legal filings reveal a pattern of alleged political obstruction:

• In 2018, Wall Township officials delayed a $4.5 million state grant for runway repairs, leading to its expiration.
• The county’s Office of Emergency Management reportedly blocked federal disaster-receiving site designation for the airport in 2019, limiting access to grants.
• State legislation (sponsored by Republicans linked to the county) enabled counties to manage airports as public utilities, easing condemnation efforts.

If seized, the airport’s value under eminent domain would hinge on its “highest and most valuable use”—potentially development, not aviation—which could burden taxpayers with hundreds of millions in acquisition and operational costs.

Eminent domain cases typically require a clear public benefit, such as infrastructure projects. New Jersey courts have broadened the definition of “public use,” but Antaki’s attorneys argue the county’s motive—to operate the airport as a business—stretches this principle.

I believe that there are a few things at play here: Arnone and the Monmouth County Commissioners clearly want their own airport, both to operate it as a business in conjunction with the new Netflix studio, and to fix up the eyesore on Route 34. Government seizure of private property and government overstepping like this angers me like nothing else, but Arnone isn’t completely wrong in his claims about the airport—since Antaki bought it, the facilities haven’t improved and nature has reclaimed most of the Northwest side. Rather than drive on an actual road to get to the T-Hangars on said side, one has to drive across Runway 3/21 and on a decent stretch of taxiway because so many of the access roads have been condemned. Something certainly needs to be done about the airport, but Antaki has made it abundantly clear that he won’t improve conditions unless pressure is applied. Will the airport stay with Antaki? Will the county be successful in its eminent domain case? Will it turn into Section 8 housing, or McMansions like Colts Neck Airport? Or perhaps most likely, will it continue as a jetport for the elite as general aviation becomes exponentially more expensive and inaccessible to the majority?

Learn more about Antaki’s efforts to maintain control of Monmouth Executive Airport here.