Flabob Through The Years
For nearly 100 years, Flabob Airport has connected people through aviation. While honoring its rich history of antique aircraft and grassroots flying, it has also become a place where young people explore engineering, aviation, and innovation through hands-on experiences that prepare them for the future.
Era I: 1917-1937
After the closure of March Field in 1923, Riverside’s aviation spirit lived on through a rough new civilian airfield west of the Santa Ana River. Led by barnstormer Roman Warren, the airport quickly became a center for daring flights, flight instruction, and the growing excitement surrounding early aviation.
Era II:1938-1999
After a devastating flood destroyed the original Riverside Airport in 1938, pilots relocated downstream to what would become Flabob Airport, where Flavio Madariaga and Bob Bogen built a thriving aviation community by hand. Over the following decades, Flabob became a nationally recognized center for homebuilt aircraft, aerobatics, and aviation innovation, attracting legendary builders, pilots, and pioneers.
Era III: 2000-Present
In 2000, Tom Wathen saved Flabob Airport from redevelopment and transformed it into a center for aviation education, preservation, and hands-on learning through the Tom Wathen Center. Today, Flabob continues to inspire future pilots, mechanics, engineers, and aviation enthusiasts through youth programs, schools, restoration projects, and a thriving community built around the spirit of flight.
Flabob's History
An extensive account of the events and people that shaped Flabob's character through the years.
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