Majors Airport
Encyclopedia
Majors Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport
located four nautical miles (7 km) southeast of the central business district
of Greenville
, a city in Hunt County
, Texas
, United States
.
Originally named Majors Field, is mostly used for general aviation, but is also home to an L-3 Communications
facility that is used to modify aircraft.
, began operations on June 26, 1942, as a training center for the United States Army Air Forces
. Lt Majors was killed in the 1942 Battle of the Philippines in January 1942. Greenville was chosen as a site for the USAAF
basic flight-training center due to the efforts of the influential politician Sam Rayburn
, the base was formally dedicated and named on 5 January 1943.
Majors Army Airfield was assigned initially to the Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Command), the airport was at one point the home to approximately 5,000 pilots, support personnel, and civilian employees. Majors also was a major training base for Women Airforce Service Pilots
(WASP)s. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19
s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned.
In addition to training United States Army pilots, the airfield was the training site for Escuadrón 201
of the Mexican Air Force
. The training center was reassigned to Second Air Force
on 30 November 1944 as a group training center, primary for the assignment of replacement personnel to combat squadrons in Overseas theaters.
Majors AAF was inactivated on 18 July 1945 after the defeat of Germany
; the city of Greenville then took ownership of the property, then leased the site to TEMCO (later L-3 Communications).
of 535 feet (163 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 17/35 with an asphalt
surface measuring 8,030 by 150 feet (2,448 x 46 m).
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2007, the airport had 35,640 aircraft operations, an average of 97 per day: 92% general aviation
and 8% military
. At that time there were 39 aircraft based at this airport: 90% single-engine
and 10% multi-engine.
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 four nautical miles (7 km) 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 Greenville
Greenville, Texas
Greenville is the county seat, and the largest city, of Hunt County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557....
, a city in Hunt County
Hunt County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 76,596 people, 28,742 households, and 20,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 32,490 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Originally named Majors Field, is mostly used for general aviation, but is also home to an L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is a company that supplies command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space, and navigation products. Its customers include...
facility that is used to modify aircraft.
History
Majors Airport, named for Lieutenant Truett Majors, the first Hunt County native to perish in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, began operations on June 26, 1942, as a training center for the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. Lt Majors was killed in the 1942 Battle of the Philippines in January 1942. Greenville was chosen as a site for the USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
basic flight-training center due to the efforts of the influential politician Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
, the base was formally dedicated and named on 5 January 1943.
Majors Army Airfield was assigned initially to the Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Command), the airport was at one point the home to approximately 5,000 pilots, support personnel, and civilian employees. Majors also was a major training base for Women Airforce Service Pilots
Women Airforce Service Pilots
The Women Airforce Service Pilots and its predecessor groups the Women's Flying Training Detachment and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron were pioneering organizations of civilian female pilots employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the United States Army Air Forces...
(WASP)s. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19
Fairchild PT-19
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II . London: Bounty Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7537-1461-4....
s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned.
In addition to training United States Army pilots, the airfield was the training site for Escuadrón 201
Escuadrón 201
El Escuadrón 201 was a Mexican fighter squadron, part of the Fuerza Aérea Expedicionaria Mexicana that aided the Allied war effort during World War II...
of the Mexican Air Force
Mexican Air Force
The Mexican Air Force is the aviation branch of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat . Since 2008, its commander is Gen...
. The training center was reassigned to Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
on 30 November 1944 as a group training center, primary for the assignment of replacement personnel to combat squadrons in Overseas theaters.
Majors AAF was inactivated on 18 July 1945 after the defeat of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
; the city of Greenville then took ownership of the property, then leased the site to TEMCO (later L-3 Communications).
Facilities and aircraft
Majors Airport covers an area of 1525 acres (617.1 ha) at an elevationElevation
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 535 feet (163 m) above mean sea level. It has one 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...
designated 17/35 with an 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...
surface measuring 8,030 by 150 feet (2,448 x 46 m).
For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2007, the airport had 35,640 aircraft operations, an average of 97 per day: 92% 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...
and 8% 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 39 aircraft based at this airport: 90% 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...
and 10% multi-engine.
Other sources
- Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
- Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
- Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub, ISBN 1575100517