Pine Valley Airport: A Narrative History
We don't know which came first, Donner Air Services or Pine Valley Airport. At the time, around 1941 – 1943, it seems that neither the State of Colorado nor El Paso County kept records of business formation. What we do know is that in just four short years Robert Donner built a premier aviation hub that served Colorado Springs, the surrounding region, and a World War II Civil Air Patrol squadron.
At an altitude of 6,559 feet, on a mesa just east of the area still known as Pine Valley in northern El Paso County, the airfield site was nine miles north of downtown Colorado Springs. Pine Valley Airport conveniently abutted U. S. Highway 85 & 87 to Denver, and was adjacent to and east of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad tracks.
Eventually Robert Donner's airport was purchased by the United States of America, as part of land acquisition for the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). The current USAFA Airfield sits at the Pine Valley Airport location.