The first airfield was created at the site north of Amityville by farmer Joseph Zahn, who cut a 1,000 feet (300 m) dirt strip from his apple orchard.

AFS was founded by aircraft mechanic Jack Looney, operations manager Walter Hoffman, and pilot Ed Lyons.

[2] The aviation section of the 42nd Infantry Division (part of the New York Army National Guard) was based at Zahn's Airfield from 1951 (moving from Roosevelt Field) until 1963.

[4] It also hosted a detachment of the Civil Air Patrol; from 1961 to 1970 Ed Lyons was Colonel commanding the CAP's Northeast Region.

[2] Scenes for the 1957 James Stewart movie The Spirit of St. Louis were filmed at Zahn's, taking the place of Roosevelt Field.