Syracuse Municipal Airport
Encyclopedia
Syracuse Municipal Airport was an airport
located in Camillus, NY
.
felt that the city needed an airport to enhance its economic future. The city scouted a number of small airports in the area, including Bethka Field (near the intersection of Thompson Rd. and James St. in the city proper) and Nedrow Field in nearby Nedrow, NY
. The city finally decided upon the Amboy Airport and purchased it from Camillus for $50,000. After its official opening in 1927, Mayor Hanna put the airfield under the direction of the City Parks Department.
After being purchased by the city, the airport gained popularity. The first airmail
was delivered in 1929. In the following years before World War II
, the airport featured appearances by many world famous pilots including Charles Lindbergh
and his Spirit of St. Louis
airplane in 1927, Will Rogers
and Wiley Post
in 1931, General
Jimmy Doolittle
in 1932, Amelia Earhart
in 1936, Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan
in 1938; as well as celebrities Kate Smith
and Lowell Thomas
.
After the war, the city took over operations of the Mattydale Bomber Base, converting it to a commercial airfield in 1948. The smaller Municipal Airport couldn't compete with the larger and more centrally located Syracuse Hancock International Airport
and closed in 1949. After its closure, most of the land the airport was located on was acquired by Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation and transformed into chemical waste beds by 1951.
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 in Camillus, NY
Camillus (town), New York
Camillus is a town in Onondaga County, New York, U.S. The population was 24,167 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Roman military leader Marcus Furius Camillus by a clerk interested in the classics....
.
Origins
The first plane landed at the site of the airport in 1912 and was flown by Harry Atwood, establishing a long distance flight record from Chicago, Il to Camillus. The airport expanded over the next few years and by 1925 became known as the Amboy Airport.Municipal Airport
By 1926, Syracuse Mayor Charles HannaCharles Hanna
Charles George Hanna was a politician from the United States. He was the forty-first mayor of Syracuse, New York and largely responsible for bringing air travel to the Syracuse Area. He acquired an airfield in Camillus, NY and renamed it Syracuse Municipal Airport in 1927...
felt that the city needed an airport to enhance its economic future. The city scouted a number of small airports in the area, including Bethka Field (near the intersection of Thompson Rd. and James St. in the city proper) and Nedrow Field in nearby Nedrow, NY
Nedrow, New York
Nedrow is a hamlet located in the Town of Onondaga in Onondaga County, New York. The population was 2,265 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Nedrow is located at , on US Route 11, south of Syracuse, New York...
. The city finally decided upon the Amboy Airport and purchased it from Camillus for $50,000. After its official opening in 1927, Mayor Hanna put the airfield under the direction of the City Parks Department.
After being purchased by the city, the airport gained popularity. The first airmail
Airmail
Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...
was delivered in 1929. In the following years before 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...
, the airport featured appearances by many world famous pilots including Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
and his Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
airplane in 1927, Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
and Wiley Post
Wiley Post
Wiley Hardeman Post was a famed American aviator, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's...
in 1931, General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Jimmy Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
in 1932, Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1936, Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan
Douglas Corrigan
Douglas Corrigan was an American aviator born in Galveston, Texas. He was nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight from Long Beach, California, to New York, he flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, to Ireland, though his flight plan was filed to return to Long...
in 1938; as well as celebrities Kate Smith
Kate Smith
Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American Popular singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s.Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia...
and Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous...
.
World War II
After the war broke out, local flight instructors were pressed into military service and the airport turned into a flight training center.. Shortly thereafter, the demands of the military quickly outgrew the capabilities of the current airport and the Office of the Chief of the Army Air Force allocated funds and authorized the construction of the Mattydale Bomber Base. However, the Municipal Airport still played a vital role in the war effort, serving as a training facility for civilians moving supplies and equipment and pilots patrolling the east coast for German ships and U-boats.Closure
Syracuse Hancock International Airport
Syracuse Hancock International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located northeast of Syracuse, in Onondaga County, New York, off of Interstate 81 near Mattydale, New York. The main terminal complex is located at the eastern end of Colonel Eileen Collins Boulevard.-History:In 1927...
and closed in 1949. After its closure, most of the land the airport was located on was acquired by Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation and transformed into chemical waste beds by 1951.