McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport
Encyclopedia
McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport is a public use airport
located four nautical miles (7 km) west of the central business district
of Jackson
, a city in Madison County, Tennessee
, United States
. It is owned by the City of Jackson & Madison County. The airport is mostly used for general aviation
. TennesseeSkies
provides scheduled service to the Nashville, Tennessee airport, beginning August 31, 2009.
Southeast Training Center (later the Eastern Flying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. There were also two local axillary airfields for emergency and overflow landings.
The airfield began training flying cadets under contract to Georgia Air Services, Inc. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19
s as the primary trainer. It also had several PT-17 Stearmans assigned.
The facility was inactivated on 16 October 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. It was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945. Eventually it was discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport.
McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport is named in memory of the late Kenneth Douglas McKellar (1869–1957), a U.S. senator from Tennessee; and Major Robert Ray Sipes, an Air Force pilot from Jackson who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1969. Sipes is buried at the Shiloh National Military Park
cemetery.
of 434 feet (132 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt
paved runway
s: 2/20 is 6,006 by 150 feet (1,831 x 46 m) and 11/29 is 3,538 by 100 feet (1,078 x 30 m).
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 25,968 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 76% general aviation
, 14% military
, and 10% air taxi
. At that time there were 48 aircraft based at this airport: 50% single-engine
, 27% multi-engine, 2% jet
, 4% helicopter
and 17% military
.
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) west 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 Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
, a city in Madison County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned by the City of Jackson & Madison County. The airport is mostly used for 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...
. TennesseeSkies
TennesseeSkies
TennesseeSkies is a subsidiary of Pacific Wings founded in 2009. The carrier was offered to fly to the destinations stated below on an essential air service contract. Also travelers can connect to sister carrier Georgia Skies at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport...
provides scheduled service to the Nashville, Tennessee airport, beginning August 31, 2009.
History
The airport is also known as McKellar Field. It opened in 1942 and was assigned to the United States Army Air ForcesUnited 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....
Southeast Training Center (later the Eastern Flying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. There were also two local axillary airfields for emergency and overflow landings.
The airfield began training flying cadets under contract to Georgia Air Services, Inc. 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. It also had several PT-17 Stearmans assigned.
The facility was inactivated on 16 October 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. It was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945. Eventually it was discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport.
McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport is named in memory of the late Kenneth Douglas McKellar (1869–1957), a U.S. senator from Tennessee; and Major Robert Ray Sipes, an Air Force pilot from Jackson who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1969. Sipes is buried at the Shiloh National Military Park
Shiloh National Military Park
Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated town of Shiloh, about nine miles south of Savannah, Tennessee, with an additional area located in the city of Corinth, Mississippi, 23 miles ...
cemetery.
Facilities and aircraft
McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport covers an area of 807 acres (326.6 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 434 feet (132 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: 2/20 is 6,006 by 150 feet (1,831 x 46 m) and 11/29 is 3,538 by 100 feet (1,078 x 30 m).
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 25,968 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 76% 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...
, 14% 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...
, and 10% 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...
. At that time there were 48 aircraft based at this airport: 50% 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...
, 27% multi-engine, 2% jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
, 4% 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...
and 17% military
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
.
Airlines and destinations
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
External links
- McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport, official web site
- Pacific Wings website