New Tappahannock Airport is Operational

By Frank Delano, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

Sep. 17–Without fanfare, Kenneth W. Chatham II, 24, of Montross made a little aviation history in a single-engine airplane Sept. 14.

With his father as co-pilot in their Cessna Skylane, Chatham took off from the old Tappahannock Municipal Airport late that afternoon, banked over the Rappahannock River and headed south over the town.

A few minutes and five miles later, Chatham made the first official landing on the 4,300-foot-long runway of the new Tappahannock-Essex County Airport.

Earlier that week, the Federal Aviation Administration had conducted its final checks of the $13 million facility and certified its opening at 7 p.m.

Chatham’s landing occurred at 7:15 p.m. “It was awesome,” he said.

For Lin Wadsworth, the opening of the new airport was the culmination of 20 years of work. Wadsworth, a pilot and retired radio-station executive and owner, led the long, expensive effort to build the new airport.

The U.S. Army built the old airstrip for coastal defense in World War II. The Army later sold it to the town for $10,000. As time went on, a factory was built on one end of the runway, shortening it to just 2,900 feet.

The factory, a water tank, adjacent schools and other hazards nearby eventually made the old airport unacceptable to the FAA. The new field will accommodate single- and twin-engine planes and small jets weighing up to 12,500 pounds with wingspans of up to 79 feet.

Wadsworth has served as chairman of the Tappahannock-Essex County Airport Authority since its formation in 1988. In 1999, after years of planning and grant applications, the authority paid $1 million to buy 477 acres of farm and timber lands near U.S. 360 three miles south of town.

In 1999, the projected cost of the airport was $6.4 million. Wadsworth expected it to open in 2003 and federal and state governments to pay 98 percent.

Construction finally started in 2005 with the clearing and grading of 140 acres of forest. Now, according to the Virginia Department of Aviation, the project cost has reached $12.6 million. The FAA has contributed $8.7 million (70 percent) and Virginia $2.4 million (19 percent).

Tappahannock and Essex County will pay the remaining $1.5 million. Part of that amount will pay for 24 new airplane hangars nearing completion. Twenty-two of them have been leased, Wadsworth said.

The new airport also features a 4,000-square-foot terminal building, a self-service fuel station, and an airport weather-station accessible by radio or telephone.

In October, Wadsworth said the FAA will publish Global Positioning System approaches that will allow pilots to use their on-board GPS systems to find the airport in almost any weather. “I think it’s a wonderful airport,” said Wadsworth. “It’s much, much safer than the old airport and it’s going to be such a jewel for the whole Northern Neck area. It may not be the cause of getting new industry to locate here, but it puts us in their eye.”

“It’s an honor to be the manager of this beautiful, new facility,” said Charles W. Bowman, the airport’s new general manager. “They don’t build many new general aviation airports anymore.”

Wadsworth and Bowman are now supervising finishing touches. Furniture for a new 4,000-square-foot terminal building will arrive next week. The fuel station will open soon.

If operations warrant, the runway may be expanded to 5,400 feet and new hangars and taxiways may be built.

Pilot Chatham and his dad didn’t tarry at the airport after their first landing.

The old airport will eventually become a site for new businesses, said Tappahannock Town Manager G.C. Belfield Jr.

For now, operations at the old airport are restricted to daytime flights for pilots like the Chathams who base their planes there.

Chatham said that soon after their historic first landing at the new airport, they “flew back to the old field and landed just before the sun went down.”

http://www.tappahannockessexair port.com

SITE: Just west of the U.S. 360/U.S. 17 intersection at Brays Fork.

USE: Accommodates single- and twin-engine planes and small jets up to 12,500 pounds with wingspans of up to 79 feet.

COST: $12.6 million. The FAA contributed $8.7 million, Virginia $2.4 million and Tappahannock and Essex $1.5 million.

FEATURES: 4,300-foot runway, 4,000-square-foot terminal building, 24 hangars, self-service fuel station, weather station accessible by radio or telephone.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

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