Jim Hamilton–L.B. Owens Airport , known locally as Owens Field, is a county-owned public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located two nautical miles (3.7 km) south of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of Columbia, in Richland County,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 2008, the airport was renamed in honor of former airport manager Jim Hamilton. It was formerly known as Columbia Owens Downtown Airport.

History

The airport was the main municipal airport serving

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was named Columbia Municipal Airport, and on April 24, 1930, the new airport was dedicated.Osbourne, Richard E (1997), World War II Sites in the United States: A Tour Guide & Directory, In celebration, an airshow with more than 15,000 people attending saw notable aviators like the President of the Curtiss Flying Service, Casey Jones, Bill Winston (the flying instructor of

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

), and Elliot White Springs.

Eastern Air Transport Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

began passenger and airmail service to Owens Field in 1932.

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

began its first scheduled services out of Columbia's new airport in 1934. Just prior to

, some Air Corps operations from the 65th Observation Group flew observation flights from the airport, until

Columbia Army Air Base Columbia Army Air Base was a World War II United States Army Air Forces base. It was primarily used for advanced combat training of B-25 Mitchell medium bomber units and replacement pilots. It was used as a training base in early 1942 for Doo ...

opened in 1941. During the war, it was used by the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in E ...

as a training field for reconnaissance and observation pilots while remaining a commercial airport. It also served as a military airport, serving the needs of Fort Jackson. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

landed at Columbia Airport during a visit to Columbia. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

also used Owens Field as a military airport. In addition, the military officials at the airport controlled a

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Camp at Walterboro, where some 350 POWs were sent who worked on farms and other tasks. After the war, the airport returned to commercial use. After the war, the airport was renamed Owens Field for Columbia Mayor Lawrence B. Owens, who was one of the most ardent supporters of a municipal airport. Owens Field remained the commercial airport for Columbia until airline service was relocated to the larger

Columbia Metropolitan Airport Columbia Metropolitan Airport is the main commercial airport for Columbia and the Midlands region of South Carolina, United States. The airport is located in West Columbia, southwest of Columbia, in Lexington County. It is surrounded by the ...

near Cayce in 1947 when the Air Force released its former World War II base to Lexington County. Since then Owens Downtown Airport has served the

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

community of Columbia and the midlands.

Facilities and aircraft

Jim Hamilton–L.B. Owens Airport covers an area of at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of 194 feet (59 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated 13/31 with an

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

surface measuring 5,011 by 75 feet (1,527 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending 30 April 2019, the airport had 25,000 aircraft operations, an average of 68 per day: 81%

, 15%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

, and 4%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. At that time there were 90 aircraft based at this airport: 84% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, 11% multi-engine, 1% jet,2%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s, and 1% gliders.

References

External links

Jim Hamilton L.B. Owens Airport (CUB)
information from SC Division of Aeronautics
Eagle Aviation
the

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

(FBO)
Map of the airport
from

OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open geographic database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveys, trace from aerial imagery and also import from other freely licensed g ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport Airports in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Richland County, South Carolina Transportation in Richland County, South Carolina Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in South Carolina

History

Facilities and aircraft

See also

References

External links