This month's spotlight focuses on Cobb County - McCollum Field in Kennesaw, Georgia.
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According to Wikipedia, McCollum Field opened in 1960 with a single 4,000-foot runway. There was a stub taxiway connecting the runway with the ramp area, 60,000 square feet of aprons, and a single administration building. The airport steadily grew over the next 30 years with the greatest developments occurring in the early 1990s.
In 1991, the airport layout plan was first revised. The first full service fixed base operator opened in 1992. A second full service fixed base operator opened a year later. That same year, the Georgia State Patrol Hangar was constructed. The Air Traffic Control Tower was opened in 1995, followed by an Instrument Landing System the next year. Over the course of the decade, there were four major purchases of new land at a total cost of 3.8 million in grants and an unspecified amount in local funds. In addition, 6 new hangars were built.
McCollum Field was first designed as a small field for general aviation. It is designated as a reliever airport for Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. Cobb County is also the primary general aviation airport for the Atlanta suburban population. With an average of 475 takeoffs and landings each day, it is the third most trafficked airport in Georgia.
Cobb County Airport - McCollum Field is a public airport located 21 miles northwest of the central business district of Atlanta, immediately south of the city of Kennesaw in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is also designated as a weather station, although it does not operate between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. (EST/EDT).
The airport is located on nearly 320 acres of land, has one runway which is 6,305 feet long, and is east-west oriented, with headings of 089 and 269. Cobb Place is at the east end, with Cobb Parkway (U.S. 41) and old 41 intersecting McCollum Parkway on the west end. The airfield sits at 1,040 feet above mean sea level somewhat above average terrain for the area.
There are over 350 aircraft based at McCollum, most of them being single-engine. The airport has a control tower.
The airport has 358 aircraft based on it: 251 single engine, 55 multi-engine, 39 jet aircraft and 13 helicopters. 49 percent of operations are single engine and 49 percent are multi-engine. Only 1 percent of operations are air taxi. No major commercial airlines service Cobb County Airport, but there are two charter companies and two major fixed-base operators. Aerial tours are very popular at the airport, as the Appalachian Mountains are less than a 30-minute flight away.
McCollum Field is owned by Cobb County, operated by the County Department of Transportation characterizing it as a municipal airport. It is managed by a full-time, professional airport manager. The airport employs almost 185 people, and had an annual economic impact of more than US$47 million to the local economy in 2002.
Here are some pictures from my recent visit to this airport.
Captain Tedward
About Me
Once the patient drove away, I went to lunch with my father and then flew home late that afternoon. I wanted to get back home to Beaufort before the weather deteriorated.
Here are a few pictures from the day that I took while flying. Once I get the photos back from the other pilot involved in the patient transfer, I'll post those as well.
Captain Tedward
The flight from Gainesville, FL arrives.
Helicopter lifts off while I wait at Greenville Downtown.
My "bird".
Level at 8,000 feet over western South Carolina.
A view of the cloud layer that was just below me on the return.
Captain Tedward's Father. :)
Ever curious what all the commercial air traffic around the world looks like on a map? Check out the video!
http://gizmodo.com/5055160/24-hour-air-traffic-around-the-world-blows-minds-eyeballs
Captain Tedward
This was a surprise dinner flight that was planned for months. My friend and fellow co-worker, Paul, and I conjured up this idea and pulled it off with his wife even having a clue. The flight took place on Saturday, October 4th. Elizabeth didn't realize that she was even flying somewhere until she pulled into the airport. :) Ironically, Elizabeth mentioned to Paul earlier in the day that she wanted to go visit Jekyll Island. Perfect!
We took off at 3:58pm for the 48 minute trip down to Jekyll. The weather was fantastic and we cruised along at 6,000 feet along the coast. After landing, Paul and Elizabeth walked down to Latitude 31 and had a romantic dinner along the intercoastal waterway.
I took the pictures below while I was awaiting their return. As you can see, I was enjoying the sights and sounds of this quaint little airport as I sat and waited. :)
We lifted off around 7:30pm for the return flight home. The sunset was gorgeous and once it got dark, the lights from the city of Savannah were incredible. The return trip was flown at 7,000 feet.
I hope to get some pictures that were taken from Paul and Elizabeth's camera and post them within a few days.
Captain Tedward
This month's airport spotlight features Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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I had the recent opportunity to fly down there to attend a Miami Dolphins' game and the airport/facilities are great! It was the first time in close to 20 years that I have flown into that airport. Here is some info on the airport that I have found off the City of Fort Lauderdale website:
Early Airfield Development
Constructed in 1941 as an auxiliary landing field to train Naval Aviators during World War II, the Airport was named West Prospect Field. The Federal Government deeded the property to the City of Fort Lauderdale in 1947 to be used as a public airport and the airport was unofficially named “Fort Lauderdale Municipal Airport,” but pilots called it “Prospect Field.” In 1959, the City of Fort Lauderdale’s City Commission Resolution # 7336 changed the airport’s name to “Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.” “Industrial Airpark” was added to the name in 1966.
Activities at the airport have always reflected the prevailing conditions in the local area. When it became a public airport, it was in a remote part of Fort Lauderdale, with little or no development nearby. During those early years, the runways were used more for drag racing than for aircraft takeoffs and landings.
To help bring economic development into the area and create job opportunities, the City established the Airport Industrial Board and sold Airport land to companies like Allied Signal Bendix and Harris Computer Corporation. Funds from these land sales were used for airfield improvements such as taxiway construction, lighting systems, and guidance signs. The first building on the Airport, a flight school maintenance hangar constructed in 1959, is still in use today.
Over the following decades and as business development boomed in Fort Lauderdale, that first hangar grew to over 450 hangars housing more than 700 aircraft, including about 115 jets and 37 helicopters.
Today, six full service Fixed Base Operators, or FBOs, provide fueling, maintenance, and other services to these aircraft doing business here and bringing people to the area. Related business, such as charter companies, interior refurbishing companies, flight schools, and avionics shops, also successfully established themselves at Executive Airport.
Fueled by the phenomenal economic activity in South Florida, total aircraft operations grew significantly over the decades. Today, the airport handles nearly 200,000 annual takeoffs and landings, making it one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country, based on the number of aircraft operations.
Industrial Airpark Development
Business has blossomed in the airport's 200 acre Industrial Airpark. This growth direction resulted from the efforts of the City and the Airport Industrial Board, renamed the Aviation Advisory Board. Their efforts developed Executive Airport as a business and executive facility and minimized its role as a sport and recreational airport.
In 1974, as economic development began to unfold in Fort Lauderdale and real estate development boomed, the City decided to stop the practice of selling airport land and instituted a lease-only policy, thereby ensuring a continuing revenue stream for the airport Enterprise Fund.
Today over 125 individual businesses call the Industrial Airpark home, including Elite Panel Products, Telematics, Marriott Hotels, Citicorp Latino, Walgreens, Dry Clean USA, Lucent Technologies, and General Electric.
These non-aviation businesses occupy more than 1.3 million square feet of office and warehouse space and make the Executive Airport Industrial Airpark the 16th largest in the tri-county area. In recognition of Executive Airport's economic importance in the community, it was made a Division of the Community and Economic Development Department of the City in the mid-1980s.
Community Facilities at the Airport
In addition to promoting economic development, Executive Airport also became home to a number of diverse community-based activities. The U.S. Army Reserve Center's 841st Engineering Battalion is located on the field. The Center is named for Sandy Nininger, a Fort Lauderdale native and the first recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor during W.W.II.
The City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department has a substation and a hangar at the airport. The Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) maintains its special operations, such as the aviation unit, marine patrol, bomb squad, and canine units, here.
The airport also contains two fire stations. The on-airport one is dedicated to aircraft rescue and operates a state-of-the-art 1500-gallon pump and roll vehicle that can also fight structural fires in the Uptown area. The other is located in the Industrial Airpark and is used to fight building fires.
Buehler Aviation Research, part of a nationally recognized foundation, restores aircraft for the Smithsonian Institution. The group restored the Howard Hughes Grumman Goose currently on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and recently constructed a replica of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra. Also, Florida Atlantic University and Barry University offer educational programs from facilities located on the property.
Environmental Program
The airport is also home to two of Florida's rare species. Gopher Tortoises are primarily located in a secluded area on the north side of the airport. The area is made up of rare native plants and serves as a shelter and nesting ground for these rare creatures.
The other species is the Burrowing Owl, which has nests scattered throughout the airfield. PVC pipes shaped like "Ts" mark their nests so that they are visible to the Airport's maintenance crews and also serve as a place for the owls to perch during the breeding season.
A recent statewide population survey of the Florida Burrowing Owl conducted by the University of Central Florida and the Audubon Society counted 79 resident burrowing owls and 49 active burrows at the airport.
In an effort to minimize disruption to the owls, Executive Airport schedules its construction projects so as not to interfere with the owls' breeding or nesting seasons.
Thanks for reading!
Captain Tedward