Pilot Linn Emrich founded skyport

Linn Emrich, a thrill-seeking pilot who operated Issaquah Skyport for 27 years and fought a long but unsuccessful battle to save the airport from development, died Oct. 1.

Mr. Emrich, 71, had cancer.

Mr. Emrich touched many with his passion for flight. While running the Issaquah Skyport, he catered to skydivers and soaring planes, carrying both to launching altitudes in his aircraft. He organized skydiving contests that drew huge summertime crowds.

Mr. Emrich was born in Harvey, Ill., and moved with his family to Mercer Island as a boy. He later moved to Issaquah and graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

He worked for Pacific Northern Airlines and Pan American World Airways as a flight engineer. He was also a co-pilot for Alaska Airlines and served in the U.S. Air Force.

Mr. Emrich lived for adventure, his children say. He loved soaring gliders, hot-air balloons, skydiving, pyrotechnics, scuba diving, riding personal watercraft, sailing and dancing.

The Issaquah Skyport Mr. Emrich made famous was originally a farm. But in 1941, the Navy built a runway to practice landing planes for Pearl Harbor, said Robert Pickering of Issaquah, the land's owner.

"Years after the Navy left, Linn came and introduced himself," Pickering said. "He asked what I was doing with the field. He wanted to know if he could use it for parachuting."

Pickering leased him the land. Mr. Emrich started parachuting and taking up gliders. He did it for 27 years.

"It was so nice back then on summer evenings, sitting there watching the parachuting," said Pickering, who still lives on a piece of the land. "The divers didn't always land in the field. Some would land in the valley, some in trees in my back yard, some in blackberry bushes."

Pickering, 80, fondly recalled spending time with Mr. Emrich at Issaquah Skyport.

His one regret: Mr. Emrich didn't call him the time five naked women leapt out of a plane.

When the area started to develop, the airport closed. A Holiday Inn and Costco now stand in its place, Pickering said. Mr. Emrich moved to Camano Island in 1988, shortly after losing the battle with developers to preserve Issaquah Skyport.

He bought a 108-acre parcel full of wildlife. There, he created an airstrip and continued flying.

Mr. Emrich's Camano Island neighbors grew equally fond of him. Kate Kappel recalls a summer when Mr. Emrich allowed her grandchildren to walk and play on the dike on his property and then picnic while looking at birds.

"It was a wonderful place to walk, and he was very happy to have people on the property, just as long as they weren't hunting," said Howard Shuman, another neighbor. "You could see coyotes, deer, raptors and hawks."

Shuman took one glider flight with Mr. Emrich but preferred watching his neighbor take off on his short runway.

"He liked to do that especially when it was windy," Shuman said. "He looked almost like a helicopter when he took off straight up into the wind currents."

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Camano Chapel, 867 N.W. Camano Drive, Camano Island.

After the service, there will be a fly-in tribute at Mr. Emrich's Camano Island airstrip. Then family and friends will gather for a campfire, potluck, storytelling and parachute jumping.

Mr. Emrich is survived by his son, Thor Emrich of Camano Island; daughter, Shari Madamba of Issaquah; brother, Russell Emrich of Las Vegas; two grandsons; and several nieces and nephews.

Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com..