Aviation View Magazine | Volume 1, Issue 4

18 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 AT A GLANCE WILLIAMSBURG JAMESTOWN AIRPORT WHAT: A family owned and operated general aviation airport WHERE: A mile from Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia WEBSITE: www.williamsburgjamestownairport.com ESTOWN AIRPORT I t was over five decades ago – 1967– when a young, newly enlisted, Larry Waltrip convinced his parents to use the bulldozers from their construction company to create a runway so he could learn to fly. Before they had permission from the FAA or bordering neighbors, they flattened a strip on 200 acres of clay off Lake Powell Road, and the Williamsburg Jamestown airport was born. Of course, it wasn’t called that then, but what a difference 50+ years of devotion and hard work can make. “This has been a family enterprise right from the beginning,” says Larry Waltrip, who went on to become the owner and President of the airport. “We just had a big celebration with over 1000 visitors from our local community. We had all kinds of static displays, an airplane flour bombing competition and many activities for the kids to do. We cooked over 325 pounds of barbecue and had snow cones, and everyone had a wonderful day – many visiting the airport for the first time. We take immense pride in being the oldest privately-owned publicly-used airport in the State of Virginia that is still being operated and run by the same people that built it.” Amazingly, the Waltrip family wholly owns the airport and opens the facility to all who wish to use it. It is, first and foremost, a general aviation airport for the local folks who wish to fly and hangar their airplanes here. It has a 3204-foot runway and, as Waltrip put it, isn’t like flying into O’Hare, but it still serves a purpose. A family airport that is run for families, the airport has received some grants and loans to maintain the runways and aprons, but the hangars have been constructed at the Waltrip’s expense – and all airport revenue is cycled back into upkeep and development. Over the years, the airport has seen plenty of famous encounters, and a lot of satisfaction for the Waltrips. Every Virginia Governor has landed at the airport, many senators too, as well as Janet Reno, President Clinton, Margaret Thatcher – not to mention the likes of Walter Cronkite, Merv A L E GAC Y O F FAM I LY, F L I GHT, A ND F UN