Fatboyz Aviation Newsletter
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FatBoyz Aviation Newsletter February 2003 Welcome to our 2nd issue! This month you will find an interesting article about our hometown airport, several many exciting trip reports from the FatBoyz and other local pilots, and technical information from nearby maintenance facilities. A special thanks to everyone for their contribution! Visit the FatBoyz web archives for updated weekend flying schedules for those $100 hamburgers, links to flight planning and weather sites, information for local Spotlight aviation resources (flight schools, CFI, AME, DE, I.A. DKX – FatBoyz HomeTown Airport A/P, insurance) and information pertinent to our local Thad Phillips, PP-ASEL aviation community. http://www.geocities.com/fatboyzaviation The Knoxville Downtown Island Airport (DKX) has a long and distinguished history in Knoxville. Although there are a few gaps in the archives, many early photos, books and references are available for curious history buffs at the UT Library and from I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE various knowledgeable people in the area. 1 Spotlight DKX – FatBoyz Hometown, Thad Phillips PP-ASEL Activities and land use during the early 1860’s was very different compared to today. The island was 3 Dreaded Northeast Corridor II Buz Witherington CFII owned by John Williams and known as William’s 6 Trip Report, OPN Thomaston, GA Thad Phillips PP-ASEL Island. The rich farmland was perfect for raising corn and functioned as a working farm for many years. At 8 Trip Report, JZI Charleston, SC Gary Hall CFII the same time, the adjacent ‘mainland’ was owned by Colonel Thomas L. Spence. The street connecting 9 Trip Report, 0A9 Elizabethton, TN Buddy Farmer PP-ASEL the mainland community with the island was named Spence Place in honor of the Colonel and is still the 10 Trip Report, What an Adventure! Daryl Moore CFI only dry access to the airport. 11 Trip Report, Visiting the Capital, Linda Meese PP-ASEL Around 1875 Perez Dickenson relocated from Massachusetts, purchased the island and 12 Trip Report, BWG Bowling Green, KY Thad Phillips PP-ASEL surrounding mainland. The island was renamed Dickenson’s Island and continued it’s agricultural 13 Trip Report, New Lee Co Airport, Buddy Farmer PP-ASEL role. The adjacent community became known as Island Home and was used as Mr. Dickenson’s 14 Trip Report, Great Midwest via Skyhawk, Mark Collins CP-ASEL summer cottage, guest residence and social gathering place. 17 Trip Report, DCU Decatur, AL Thad Phillips PP-ASEL 18 I was unable to locate any information about the Aircraft Maintenance, Oleo Struts, John Probst I.A. A/P island between 1899 and 1930 to indicate the land was used for anything other than farming during this 18 Aircraft Maintenance, Radial Engines, Ron Tallent I.A. A/P period. 19 Aviation WX Primer, Decoding Metars Thad Phillips PP-ASEL DKX – FatBoyz Hometown Airport Continued on page 2 © 2003 FatBoyz Aviation All Rights Reserved February 2003 Edition Page 1 of 20 DKX – FatBoyz Hometown Airport Continued from page 1 Then, in early 1930 Tom Kesterson opened the Island to the Army Air Force. Soon after WWII ended, the Airport on Dickenson’s Island. He constructed a 4000 WTS program was canceled and the island was feet turf runway, a small building in which to conduct primarily used for farming operations. The grass strip business, and suitable bridge to accommodate his remained intact and another flight school operated by customers. Kesterson operated an air charter Philip Fisher and Don Best provided flight training to business on the island until 1934. returning veterans under the GI Bill. PostMaster General Walter Brown spearheaded Campbell’s Aero Service took over Island Airport congress to amend the Kelly Act, to become known as operations around 1946 and began providing FBO the McNary-Watres Act, which established a structure services. Robert Campbell was responsible for the for coordinated nationwide airmail service. This act day-to-day operations for almost twenty years. I established the Transcontinental Airway between Los assume it was during this period of time that the Angeles and New York. On September 16, 1930 PMG runway was paved and the improvements started, but Brown awarded American Airways (predecessor of have been unable to verify this. American Airlines) the southern transcontinental airmail contract. American Airways brought Stearman The City of Knoxville purchased the airport in 1963 for aircraft to the island in 1934 when it began operating a use as a reliever airport to TYS and renamed it mail route with daily flights between Nashville, Knoxville Downtown Island Airport. Knoxville’s Island Airport, Washington DC, and New York. The operation was soon expanded to include Southern Beechcraft became the second FBO to express freight, mail and passenger service using operate the island in 1966, then the operation was Stinson Tri-Motor aircraft with two daily flights from subsequently leased to Stevens Aviation is 1968. Knoxville to Washington DC. As passenger-count and Stevens continued the operation for several more freight payloads continued to increase, American years until the lease was assumed by Piedmont began using the larger DC-2 and DC-3 aircraft and Hawthorn Aviation, the current FBO provider. initiated regularly scheduled flight service. Since then, the airport has continuously evolved to become a very active general and commercial aviation The increased activity prompted the City of Knoxville to DKX – FatBoyz Hometown Airport Continued on page 3 consider making the island the ‘official’ city airport. After reviewing the site, the Civil Aeronautics Board informed the city an alternate location would be required to build an airport facility that could be expanded to accommodate larger aircraft, maintenance, and increasing passenger activities. Instead of purchasing the island, the Mayor and a committee set about searching for a suitable, expandable location. TYS was born in Blount County in 1935. Island Airport continued to prosper while in private hands. In 1941 Ferris Thomas started a flight training school, purchased the building, and assumed a lease on the runway from J. Machamer who previously operated a flight school at the airport. Thomas operated Knox-Flight, Inc. until 1942 when the operation was sold to Elmer Wood and another name change ensued, Knoxville Flying Service. H.F. Wattenbarger then purchased the island in 1943 and returned it to a farming operation. He preserved the grass strip and building, but corn again dominated the approximately 150 acres. That same year, Harry Playford leased the airport from Wattenbarger to begin the War Training Service (WTS) program. Several hundred Army cadets were housed on the nearby UT campus and received primary flight training on the island in J-3 Cubs before continuing on © 2003 FatBoyz Aviation All Rights Reserved February 2003 Edition Page 2 of 20 DKX – FatBoyz Hometown Airport Continued from page 2 community where approximately 150 aircraft and several organizations are based, such as Group I of the Tennessee Wing Civil Air Patrol, Stan Brock’s Remote Area Medical, Knoxville Flyers, and Smokey Mountain Soaring Club. The field has a new full service maintenance facility, Technical Aviation Services. Knoxville Flight Training Center has continued the long established regimen of training many new pilots over the past several years. The island also hosts several events during the year, such as EAA Young Eagles, FAA Safety Seminars, and various fly-ins. Since the airport is only minutes from the UT stadium, downtown hotels, and dining establishments, the average aircraft population increases 50-100 aircraft Buz and his lovely wife Mary during at-home football game weekends. In fact, the control tower, which is usually closed, is re-opened before, during, and after the game to handle the The Dreaded Northeast increased air traffic. It is not unusual to be in the Corridor – Episode II pattern with a Lear, King / Queen, several single and multi-engine airplanes, and gliders. And be sure to Buz Witherington, CFII watch out for the Budweiser and Goodyear blimps which usually accompany the network broadcasters Route: Teterboro Five Departure, DIR Patterson NDB, when the UT home games are broadcast on TV. DIR Solberg VOR, Victor 30, LANNA INT, DIR East Texas VOR, Victor 39, Martinsburg VOR, Victor 143, Roanoke VOR, DIR TYS I do not claim to be a historian, archivist, or a good researcher for that matter. I just had an interest in We had a wonderful winter weekend in NYC with clear learning about the history of DKX and started asking skies and cold temperatures. We could have wished questions, searching the web, and visited the library on for moderating winds, but we were bundled well and a rainy Sunday afternoon. I assume the assembled full of Christmas spirit. The visit to the aircraft carrier information is fairly accurate, but stand ready to be USS Intrepid was fascinating, but the winds across the corrected at any time. If you have additional deck turned us into ice people in minutes. She was information to share about the airport and its rich mounted in the Hudson River around 46th street and history, please forward to the FatBoyz Webmaster at was full of exhibits and displays as well as mounted [email protected]. 4 aircraft. Relevant links: Ground zero was a silent shrine with hundreds of TWCAP http://tnwg.cap.gov/tn128/organization.htm people milling about reading the memorials. There RAM http://www.ramusa.org was much less crying than a year ago, but the faces SMSC http://www.smokysoaring.org had the same appearance of resolve. KTFC http://www.knoxflight.com Piedmont Hawthorn http://www.flypiedmont.com/dkx When we tried to depart TEB the previous year, 2001, my inexperience kept me in the tie down area of the Technical Aviation FBO for a solid hour while we waited for our instrument http://www.technicalaviation.com clearance back to Knoxville.