“Zen Pilot” Robert DeLaurentis keeps soaring.

The owner of Oak Harbor’s DeLaurentis Airport — formerly known as the A.J. Eisenberg Airport — was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum last Saturday for his many accomplishments in aviation.

DeLaurentis, a North Whidbey resident, dreamed of becoming a pilot ever since he was a little boy, but couldn’t afford to until he turned 43. Over a decade later, his pilot resume boasts various records, which include longest distance flown in a twin or single-engine turboprop, first and fastest polar circumnavigation of the planet in a twin or single-engine turboprop, first testing for atmospheric plastic microfibers over the poles and across the planet and first testing of a wafer-scale spacecraft prototype for NASA.

The seasoned pilot has had some scary experiences. During his solo circumnavigation of the globe along the equator, he was forced to land when fuel began leaking into the cabin at 14,000 feet, giving him chemical burns. DeLaurentis was able to survive that high-risk situation by finding his inner calm, an undertaking that inspired his memoir “Zen Pilot.” Two weeks before he flew over the Drake Passage — located between Cape Horn in South America and Antarctica’s South Shetland Islands — over 30 people had died in a plane crash. This was terrifying news to DeLaurentis, who unlike the victims was traveling solo on a plane that had two engines instead of four and had no experience flying over the poles.

Even after experiencing various mechanical failures and difficult weather conditions, DeLaurentis is determined to use his skills and take risks in the name of peace and science.

While flying over the poles, he collected plastic particles in the air which would stick to tape on the plane’s surface for the Scripps Institute of Oceanography; it was discovered that there are more plastic microfibers in the poles than there are on the equator. He also flew from one pole to the other to connect the only two peaceful places on Earth as part of a peace mission, which availed him the nickname “Peace Pilot.”

“There’s a point where the mission becomes bigger than you,” he said.

DeLaurentis is a Gulf War veteran who served as a surface warfare officer and retired from the Navy reserves as a lieutenant commander. He moved to Whidbey Island from San Diego because he was longing for some quiet but also wanted to live near a military community.

He quickly fell in love with the island and decided to do something to give back to the community. On July 20, after a competition with the Port of Coupeville, he purchased the A.J. Eisenberg Airport, which he said had been “unloved” for 20 years.

“This island is my home, and I want it to be nice, I want us to be proud of the airport,” he said. “I want it to function as it was intended.”

In the country, he said, there are 14,000 private airports that are closed to the public.

“We’re trying to create a blueprint so that those private owners will open up their airports to the public,” he said.

The airport, located on Monroe Landing Road, has seen great changes since July 20. Delaurentis said they have replaced and reinsulated the roofs on all buildings, replaced hangar doors, removed two 10,000-gallon fuel tanks, cleared 10 acres near the runway, removed junk vehicles, planes and 80 yards of garbage and more. He is waiting to get permission to have mobile fuel tanks, and has planned a geotest, a wetland study and a study to widen the runway.

Though the airport has been improving, DeLaurentis acknowledged it’s not 100% safe in its current state. For this reason, he only allows experienced pilots to use the narrow and cracked runway after they notify him in advance.

The main hangar, he said, could be rented to host large events — including weddings. DeLaurentis is also planning to have some flying introductory courses to inspire children to fly, which would likely kick off in spring 2024.

DeLaurentis estimated he will put $3 million into the airport this year and that it will cost him and his foundation $350,000 a year to operate it.