Donn Castonguay
From watching a radar screen the better part of his work day, to watching out the windscreen of his 1949 Piper PA-16 Clipper, RAF Supporter Donn Castonguay is very happy to have made the transition to his place in the GA world. He and his wife Suzanne enjoy leisurely flights over the green rolling hills, colonial architecture, and covered bridges of the Northeast from their home in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
RAF Liaison Drew Lyons — then of Connecticut — got the couple engaged in work parties at Mt. Tobe (Waterbury airfield), one of the few remaining public turf airfields in Connecticut. Suzanne and Donn recognized and appreciate the RAF mission to preserve this and other idyllic airfields against development pressure and willingly pitch in to help.
Donn’s career was a New York Center controller located at Long Island MacArthur Airport. He might have been the voice on your radio when you asked for flight following, or transitioned into or out of his busy New York airspace.
Donn retired in 2018, trading busy Long Island for Connecticut’s quiet corner. His wife Suzanne, also retired from her career as an architectural consultant specializing in “curtain wall” construction — the high-rise glass and metal wall designed to move independently from the floors.
They met in college at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, both pursuing architecture, then Donn discovered a new interest in aviation. He got his private pilot license in 2010 and wanted his tailwheel endorsement, which Berkshire Aviation in Great Barrington, Massachusetts provided in their Cubs.
Flying with the Civil Air Patrol Oxford, Conn. Squadron, Donn tows gliders during CAP’s summer ten-day Academies and enjoys his role helping teens solo in those ten days. “There’s nothing like soloing an airplane to make someone feel that they can do anything,” he says. Many cadets advance to the Air Force Academy.
Piper’s first Clipper rolled out of the Lock Haven factory in 1949, priced just under $3,000. Donn found this one in March of 2018. The plane is perfectly suitable for Donn, Suzanne and camping gear. They flew it to AirVenture in 2021, enjoying the Piper Short Wing gathering along the way. They have flown to Sun N’ Fun, and to an Antique Airplane Association fly-in in Blakesburg, Iowa. To get a dose of high speed flying, Donn attended several Reno Air Races with a friend.
Castonguays have two grown sons. One is employed in a New York area school for autistic children. The other settled in Maine after discovering his passion for boats aboard a windjammer out of Penobscot Bay. He is engaged in digital design for boat builders.
Today, Donn flies photo missions for the state with his CAP squadron, and serves as a lifeguard at the local YMCA. He enjoys motorcycle touring, and tinkering with their 1993 Volkswagen “Weekender” camper van. He and Suzanne enjoy a half-day flight to a favorite camping airfield, like Plumb Island, north of Boston where they take a car to the beach, or Parlin in New Hampshire where the RAF made improvements, and you can bicycle to a nice dinner in Newport.
In contrast to the West with its higher elevations, density altitude and convective turbulence, Donn points out, “You don’t need a 180 here in the Northeast to enjoy beautiful flying over forested areas with welcoming small towns here and there.” In fact, at 100 mph, one can really enjoy sightseeing New England.
Submitted on January 10, 2025
By Carmine Mowbray
Donn is the kind of guy that fits in perfectly with the RAF. My first encounter with him was over the radio when he gave me helpful guidance on a rainy entrance to Oshkosh. I didn’t get to thank him until a year or two later when I ran into him at the Antique Aircraft Association fly-in at Blakesburg, Iowa. (Connecticut to Iowa is a good long way in a Clipper). Good guy, good pilot: our kind of people.