Macon Downtown Airport
Encyclopedia
Macon Downtown Airport is a city-owned public-use airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located three nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...

s (3.5 mi
Mile
A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...

, 5.6 km
Kilometre
The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...

) southeast of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Macon
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...

, in Bibb County
Bibb County, Georgia
Bibb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 153,887. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 154,709...

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is also known as Herbert Smart Downtown Airport. The airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. It is developed and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration . Its purposes are:* to identify all the airports in the U.S...

 for 2011–2015, which categorized
FAA airport categories
The United States Federal Aviation Administration has a system for categorizing public-use airports that is primarily based on the level of commercial passenger traffic through each facility. It is used to determine if an airport is eligible for funding through the federal government's Airport...

 it as a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

facility. It has no scheduled commercial airline service.

History

Macon Downtown Airport has its origins beginning in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 as "Camp Wheeler". As early as 1925, Huff Daland Dusters, the precursor of Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...

, based its crop dusting operation at Camp Wheeler. In 1936 the City of Macon purchased 250 acres of airfield for $107,000 to replace its inadequate "Miller Field" to support Eastern Air Transport's passenger and mail service to Macon. Then the Works Project Administration began a $500,000 project that included a hangar, a 24 x 56-ft, administration building, and a concrete apron. The new airport was dedicated on November 11, 1937, and named in honor of the current mayor, Herbert Smart.

With the defense buildup in 1940 the Army reactivated Camp Wheeler, adjacent to Smart Field, in March 1941. The 4th Air Depot Group, set up a tent camp at Herbert Smart Airport from September to December 1941 and took part in the "Carolina Maneuvers." With Warner Robins Field under construction, its prospective commanding officer, Col. Charles Thomas, set up a headquarters under canvas at the Herbert Smart airport in November 1941. On December 6, 1941, the 5th Air Depot Group arrived. Due to the United States' entry into the war, the 4th Air Depot Group shipped out on December 20.

On January 7, 1942, the City of Macon leased the airport's 296 acres to the Army for the duration, the name of the facility being changed to Macon Army Air Base, although the facility was also known as "Smart Field". An additional 95 acres was leased from an individual. The Army then spent approximately $1 million by adding a hangar, barracks for 120 officers and 2,500 men, and additional paving of the airfield among other improvements. In early 1942, a Douglas C-39 (DC-2), a Fairchild C-61, and a PT-18 Stearman were assigned to the airfield. In July, these aircraft moved to the newly opened Robins AAF south of the city.

During the summer of 1942, the 1llth and the 154th Observation Squadrons spent two months at Macon AAF on maneuvers. In October, the training of chemical warfare troops in air operations and chemical depot duties began. The training unit, known as Chemical Company Air Operations, had 3,200 men present in October 1942. In January 1943, an Aeronca L-3C was assigned to the airfield. The base newspaper, "Smart News," kept the men informed of local, national, and war news. in July 1943, Smart reached a high-water mark with 4,119 enlisted men present.

Air Operations companies were equipped and taught to use smoke pots, tear gas, chemical trailers, trucks, blasting caps, and how to fill aircraft spray tanks. The base reportedly received a weekly dosing of tear gas to develop the troop's ability to work with the gas. Smart's chemical warfare troops received small arms training at Camp Wheeler. By the end of 1943, 14 chemical companies had shipped out after having been trained and equipped. The chemical air warfare operations ended on May 16, 1944 when the last unit departed.

For the remainder of the war, training of aviation quartermaster truck companies took place at the airfield. All air operations ended on October 7, 1944 when the airfield was placed on inactive status. The caretaker force numbered one officer and nine men.

Postwar use

Following the war, Delta Air Lines joined Eastern in providing air service at Smart Airport. In 1948, a tornado hit the airport destroying eleven airplanes and a hangar. The airlines then moved to Cochran Field and Smart became a general aviation airport.

During the early 1980s, the City considered closing Smart and turning the property into an industrial park. This proposal was successfully fought by various businesses that used the field with their corporate aircraft. Today, the facility remains as a general aviation airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Macon Downtown Airport covers an area of 401 acres (162.3 ha) at an elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 of 437 feet (133 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s: 10/28 is 4,696 by 100 feet (1,431 x 30 m) and 15/33 is 3,614 by 75 feet (1,102 x 23 m).

For the 12-month period ending March 17, 2009, the airport had 24,600 aircraft operations, an average of 67 per day: 94% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

, 6% air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

, and <1% military
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...

. At that time there were 43 aircraft based at this airport: 74% single-engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...

, 16% multi-engine, and 9% helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

.
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