Fairfax Airport
Encyclopedia
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...
in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
from 1921 until it closed in 1985. It is most famously associated with the construction of most of the B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bombers.
The airport was directly across the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
from Kansas City Downtown Airport
Kansas City Downtown Airport
Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport , also known as Kansas City Downtown Airport, is a public airport located in Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri, United States. This airport is publicly owned by City of Kansas City.-History:...
and served as an air strip for plane manufacturers and repairs in the city's Fairfax district, as well as postal delivery. Passenger service in the area was handled by its Missouri sister (although Braniff briefly used it). Its IATA designation was KCK.
The airport was used by Harry Truman when he flew back to Missouri during his Presidency.
It started as a small strip in 1921 for an American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
air meet. E.J. Sweeney opened a flying school there in 1925, and it was called Sweeney Airport. In 1928 the Wood Brothers Corporation acquired the airport and renamed it Fairfax. In 1931 it was the home of the American-Eagle Lincoln Aircraft company
American Eagle Aircraft Corporation
The American Eagle Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company which existed briefly in Kansas, but which was a victim of the Great Depression, after building some 500 light airplanes, many of which were the Model A-129, a design attributed to noted aviation...
producing the American Eaglet
American Eagle Eaglet 31
The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s.The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s....
series of aircraft. In 1941 the city of Kansas City, Kansas, purchased the airport for $600,000 from the Kansas City Industrial Land Company (a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad which had trains that ran along its edge) . It was to be used by North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
to build 6,608 of the country's B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
bombers during World War II
World 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...
-- 2/3 of all B-25's built during war. The B-25 plant was acquired by General Motors for the production of Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs after World War II. For a short time General Motors also produced license built Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
F-84F Thunderstreak
The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American-built swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version....
s in this facility.
TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
acquired the former North American Aviation Modification Center, also located on the field, after the war to operate an overhaul base for its planes. TWA later moved its overhaul base to the Kansas City Overhaul Base
Kansas City Overhaul Base
The Kansas City Overhaul Base is a manufacturing and maintenance plant adjacent to Kansas City International Airport.The plant at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s employed more than 6,000 people who worked on repairing the entire fleet of Trans World Airlines and it was Kansas City's biggest...
at Mid-Continent Airport, which was to become Kansas City International Airport
Kansas City International Airport
Kansas City International Airport , originally named Mid-Continent International Airport, is a public airport located 15 miles northwest of the central business district of Kansas City, in Platte County, Missouri, United States. In 2008, 10,469,892 passengers used the airport...
.
Air mail coming to Kansas City in the 1920s was postmarked Kansas City, Kansas, because it was flown into the airport and then trucked to Missouri. In 1950 Mid-Continent Airlines
Mid-Continent Airlines
Mid-Continent Airlines operated in the central United States through the 1930s until merging with Braniff Airlines in 1952.The company was founded in 1928 in Sioux City, Iowa as Hanford's Tri-State Airlines by Arthur Hanford, Jr., who offered charter service and scheduled flights from Sioux City to...
got a lucrative contract to deliver airmail
Airmail
Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...
on the North Central Route #106. It operated out of Fairfax. Following the 1951 flood, the airline and mail were moved to the new Kansas City airport in Platte County, Missouri
Platte County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
which was named for its postal mailing address of Mid-Continent. Although the airline was to be acquired by Braniff, the new airport was to keep its Mid-Continent name and today still keeps its IATA designation of MCI.
The eastern boundary of the airport resided along the Missouri River which is also the current state line. The Kansas/Missouri state line was originally defined by the river in this location. However, the river changed course in an 1880 flood, leaving much of the land occupied by the future Fairfax Airport as an island in the river which neither state could claim. Locals nicknamed it "Goose Island." The area was later formally declared part of Kansas by the United States Supreme Court, and the location of the state line became fixed, regardless of any future changes in the course of the river.
The airport was actually larger area-wise and had longer (and more) runways than the Kansas City downtown airport. Its runway configuration included 4 runways for most of its years of operation. The longest runway 17/35 was 7,301 feet when it closed. The new General Motors Fairfax Assembly plant was built near the center of the old runway complex. The ends of most of the runways, as well as many of the taxiways are still visible.
The airport formally closed on April 1, 1985 in preparation for construction of the new General Motors plant.
The final flight at Fairfax Airport was made by Hugh A. "Holly" Hollinger. As the rubber tires of Hollinger's Cessna 402 lifted off the concrete runway at 11:59:59pm, the airport formally closed its runways behind him and on April 1, 1985 the land was added to the Fairfax District industrial area. The B-25 plant is now part of the General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Fairfax Assembly
Fairfax Assembly
Fairfax Assembly is a General Motors automobile factory at 3201 Fairfax Trafficway, Kansas City, Kansas. The present plant was opened in 1987 and currently produces the Chevrolet Malibu and the Buick LaCrosse. , the local Kansas City council is attempting to entice GM to produce a new mid-size...
plant.
History
During 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...
, the facility was known as Fairfax Army Airfield and was used as a 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....
Air Technical Service Command as a delivery and checkout facility for the B-25 Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
s being produced at the North American
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
manufacturing plant.
See also
- Kansas World War II Army AirfieldsKansas World War II Army AirfieldsDuring World War II, Kansas was a major United States Army Air Force training center for pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Kansas was a favored because it has excellent, year-round flying conditions...