Aviation View | Volume 1, Issue 2

147 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 MEACHAM INTERNAT IONAL A I RPORT The airport was purchased by the City of Fort Worth in 1925, and the name was changed from the Fort Worth Municipal Airport to the Meacham Field in 1927 to honor former mayor Henry C. Meacham. This was the main airport in Fort Worth back then and saw over 50 weekly commercial flights. However, 33 of them flew directly to Dallas. It was in 1953 that the major carriers moved to Amon Carter Field which would later become the Greater Southwest International Airport, and Meacham began focusing on corporate aircraft, commuter flights, and student pilot training. Seven regional airlines have come and gone since 1953, including Tejas Airlines, Metro Airlines, Fort Worth Airlines, Exec Express Airlines, Lone Star Airlines, Mesa Airlines, and most recently, Skybus Airlines. “The airport was positioned well in the city from the very beginning,” says Barth. “It sits within a mile of the historic stockyards and a ten-minute drive of downtown Fort Worth. It makes it the perfect hub for folks flying in and out, and especially for those conducting business who can get to their meetings and back with no worries at all. The lion’s share of the traffic here would be considered business flights, but there is a lot of variety as well. We have Bell Helicopter based here, as well as Epic Helicopters. There are several maintenance places like Broadies Aircraft, or Field Tech which focuses on avionics. There are even two museums on the field: The Fort Worth Aviation Museum and the Vintage Flying Museum. There are many more businesses here as well, including our two first class FBOs –American Aero and Texas Jet. The airport itself does not have a business park, but the city has several which we receive an economic benefit.” Over 300 planes are based at Meacham International Airport, making use of its two