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    Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation
    Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation
    Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation
    Ebook167 pages44 minutes

    Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation

    By Nicholas Keller and W. Kent Carper

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    About this ebook

    The intriguing history of aviation in Charleston, West Virginia, deserves to fly out of anonymity. Wertz Field opened in Institute in 1930, allowing for the introduction of the first commercial passenger service in 1933. In 1942, the construction of a rubber plant next to the field blocked flight approaches, resulting in its closure. Recognizing the urgent need for air service to the community, industrious West Virginians literally moved mountains to build Kanawha Airport on flat land created by leveling three mountains north of the state's capital, Charleston. Opening in November 1947, Kanawha Airport offered the community convenient air service and became home to the West Virginia Air National Guard. This book covers the history of aviation in the Charleston area, from the first airplane flight in 1912 to the current Yeager Airport, which links the region to the world economy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMay 15, 2017
    ISBN9781439660744
    Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation
    Author

    Nicholas Keller

    A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Nicholas Keller serves as the assistant airport director of Yeager Airport. Keller received a master of science degree in aviation management from Purdue University and lives with his wife, Allison, in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. Most of the photographs in this book have never been published and were obtained from Yeager Airport, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, and Charleston Newspapers archives.

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      Book preview

      Yeager Airport and Charleston Aviation - Nicholas Keller

      INTRODUCTION

      Charleston’s first glimpse of aviation occurred June 25-27, 1912, when three aviators held a meet at a South Charleston ball field. Just days afterward, the first seaplane was flown in West Virginia on the Kanawha River from Wilson’s Island to Blaine Island. In the 1920s, a small airfield existed in Kanawha City near the present-day intersection of MacCorkle Avenue and Thirty-Fifth Street. Recognizing the need for airmail and commercial passenger service, the City of Charleston commissioned the building of Wertz Field in Institute, West Virginia. Opening in 1930, Wertz Field became the first public airport in the Kanawha Valley, which led to the first commercial passenger service in October 1933 on American Airlines. Wertz Field became host to trainees from the West Virginia State College Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1939. This program was integrated in 1940, which helped pave the way for later civil rights advances. Approximately 30 of the African American trainees would later become Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. In the late 1930s, it became clear that newer and larger aircraft, such as the DC-3, would make Wertz Field inadequate.

      A search for a new airport site was held, and ground was broken for the Kanawha Airport in 1944. During construction, over nine million cubic yards of dirt and rock were moved using over two million pounds of explosives. Opening in November 1947, the Kanawha Airport was conveniently situated north of downtown Charleston, West Virginia, and provided ample space for aircraft operations. Also in 1947, the 167th Fighter Squadron of the West Virginia Air National Guard was formed at Kanawha Airport. Expanding over the years to keep up with advances in air travel, the airport was renamed Yeager Airport in 1985 in honor of Brig. Gen. Charles Chuck Yeager. Today, Yeager Airport meets the needs of the region by providing convenient and cost-effective transportation options to the traveling public.

      One

      EARLY AVIATION

      AND SEAPLANES

      Charleston saw its first airplane flight on June 25, 1912, during an aviation meet that was heavily promoted in the press. Local department stores featured aviation sales, and one store displayed one of the aircraft that would later fly. During the third day of the meet, former Charleston resident Paul Peck flew around the dome of the West Virginia capitol, which was then located on Capitol Street in downtown Charleston. In the 1920s, an airfield was established in Kanawha City near the Thirty-Fifth Street and MacCorkle Avenue intersection. Most notably, United States Army Air Service bombers operated at the airfield for potential use against protesting coal miners during the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921.

      In the 1930s, seaplanes became popular and bases were established on the Kanawha River in Charleston, Institute, Montgomery, and South Charleston. The first seaplane was owned by O.R. Shorty Hayes, who stored it on the Elk River in a hangar behind Morgan Lumber Company, near the present-day location of Pennsylvania Avenue and Lee Street. The most popular seaplane base was the Kanawha Flying Club, operated by Glenn Clark at the downtown Charleston levee for much of its existence.

      This advertisement in the Charleston Gazette promotes an aviation meet to be held on June 25-27, 1912, with Oscar Brindley, Eugene Heth, and Paul Peck from the Berger Aviation Company. Four biplanes and one monoplane were brought to the ball field in South Charleston. The meet marked the first time in West Virginia history that three pilots and aircraft flew on the same day in the same location. Each pilot was scheduled to fly two flights each day of the meet.

      June 25, 1912, marked the first time in history that an airplane flew over the Kanawha Valley. The first flight was piloted by Oscar Brindley, who took off at 2:45 p.m. and stayed airborne for 10 minutes. The second flight was by Eugene Heth, who stayed airborne for seven minutes in a Wright biplane. The third flight was by Paul Peck, who flew his Columbia biplane at speeds of 70 miles per hour at an altitude of 1,200

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