Scholes International Airport at Galveston Terminal 2012

Scholes International Airport at Galveston is three miles southwest of

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Gal ...

, in

Galveston County, Texas Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

, United States. The

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015

categorized Categorization is the ability and activity of recognizing shared features or similarities between the elements of the experience of the world (such as objects, events, or ideas), organizing and classifying experience by associating them to a ...

it as a ''

reliever airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever a ...

''. The airport provides charter service and has no scheduled flights; the runways can accommodate airplanes as large as the Boeing 767-200.

Overview

Operated and maintained by the City of Galveston, GLS is a general aviation airport. It has seen several airlines; from the 1930s until 1953-54 Braniff flew to Houston International (later named William P. Hobby Airport). Trans-Texas Airways "TTa", the forerunner to Texas International Airlines, arrived in the 1950s; until 1972 TTa Convair 600s flew nonstop to both Houston and Beaumont/Port Arthur and direct to Dallas and Austin. Later Galveston was served by Houston Metro Airlines De Havilland of Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH), some stopping at Clear Lake City (CLC airport) near the NASA Johnson Space Center. A commuter airline, Texas Airlines, also served the airport in the mid-1980s with Piper Navajos to Houston Intercontinental Airport. The airport's Master Plan considers the potential return of airline service as well as the trend of corporate aircraft and oil industry helicopter activity. In preparation for increased corporate activity, the plan considers the extension of the primary runway (18/36) from 6000 X . to . It can now accommodate aircraft as large as a

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

. GLS has air traffic control 12 hours a day (0600-1800), with direct clearance delivery service to Houston TRACON after the tower is closed. The Class D surface area changes to Class E and airport is uncontrolled. Airport lighting includes HIRL, MIRL, MALSR, REIL's and PAPI's as well as lighted taxiway and runway signage. It has an "A" ARFF Index. The airport offers a terminal, a 24-hour fixed-base operator, 24-hour weather services, a U.S. Customs agent on call, and state-of-the-art navigational aids with precision approaches providing all-weather capabilities. It is a fairly popular fueling stop for transient military aircraft due to a Military Operations Area in the Gulf of Mexico, and it is the destination for air ambulances transferring patients to the Shriner's Burn Hospital for Children. Of the 220+ aircraft based at GLS, 50+ are helicopters belonging to Bristow, Era, PHI and other oil industry vendors. The

Lone Star Flight Museum The Lone Star Flight Museum, located in Houston, Texas, is an aerospace museum that displays more than 24 historically significant aircraft, and many artifacts related to the history of flight. The museum's collection is rare because most of ...

was at the airport from 1985 until 2017. GLS ATIS Freq: 119.275, Phone Number: (409) 740-9248 ASOS

History

In the early 1920s the present Galveston airport location began to be used for aircraft operations, by Bob Scholes and Fen Waters, among others), who were some of the earliest aircraft operators in Texas (both of whom were flying before the issuance of pilot licenses. Soon after, the City of Galveston ordered them to cease providing rides and aerobatic demonstrations, in their Hisso-Suiza converted, former OX-5 powered Standard for which they were using East Beach as a runway surface. Fen Waters was offered the use of what is the present airport property, by a friend whose family operated a cattle ranch and watermelon farm. The Galveston Municipal Airport name dates back to 1931. For a time it was named Corrigan Airport in 1938 for Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, a Galveston native. During World War II, it was re-designated a United States Army Air Corps base and named "Galveston Army Air Field", United States Army Corps of Engineers, using funds made available by Congress through the Civil Aeronautics Authority, constructed three -long, hard-surface runways at the airport to accommodate army aircraft. In January 1943, Galveston Army Air Field was officially activated had the 46th Bombardment Group flying the

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...

in the anti-submarine role in the Gulf of Mexico until replaced by the 10th Antisubmarine Squadron, flying RM-37

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in ...

s. The Field was primarily used for replacement crew gunnery training by the 407th Fighter-Bomber Group, with targets being towed to the gunnery range at nearby Oyster Bay. The installation cost $7 million and at its peak had some 2,500 personnel assigned. It was deactivated on November 15, 1945, with ownership reverting to the City of Galveston. The existing terminal was completed in 1949 and renamed Scholes Field in honor of Airport Manager and aviation pioneer, Robert "Bob" Scholes. As late as 1948, it was an active seaplane base per Sectional Aeronautical chart SA SAC O-5. The airport has in the past offered airline services to

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Texas International Airlines Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTa), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. ...

Facilities

Scholes International Airport covers 966

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

s (391 ha) at an elevation of 6 feet (2 m). It has two runways: 14/32 is 6,000 by 150 feet (1,829 x 46 m)

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 ...

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

; 18/36 is 6,001 by 150 feet (1,829 x 46 m) concrete. In the year ending June 3, 2011 the airport had 61,087 aircraft operations, average 167 per day: 55%

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) ...

, 44%

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 service ...

and 1% military. In August 2017, 109 aircraft were based at the airport: 75 single-engine, 15 multi-engine, 2 jet, 14

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 attribut ...

, 1 glider and 2

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

Regular traffic

Light general aviation aircraft, and the occasional transient business jets can be seen at GLS. The most frequent traffic is that of the helicopters that support the offshore oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico. These large Part 135 helicopter operators include: * Bristow U.S. LLC flying Sikorsky S-92s, Sikorsky S-76s, Agusta Westland AW 139s, Eurocopter EC 135s, Bell 407s and Bell 206L-4s. Bristow US is part of

Bristow Group Bristow Helicopters Limited is a British civil helicopter operator originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, which is currently a part of the U.S.-based Bristow Group (, S&P 600 component) which in turn has its corporate headquarters in ...

which is one of the largest commercial helicopter operators in the world. * ERA flying Agusta A-119s, Eurocopter EC-135s, Sikorsky S-61s; * PHI (Petroleum Helicopters Inc.) flying Bell JetRangers, Messerschmidt BO-105s, Eurocopter EC-135s, Sikorsky S-76s.

Lone Star Flight Museum

The Lone Star Flight Museum, which was located at Scholes from 1985 until 2017, maintains a fleet of air worthy warbirds including: Vega

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

Bomber,

Douglas SBD Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/ ...

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bom ...

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

, General Motors (Eastern Aircraft)

TBM Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval av ...

Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second ...

Grumman F8F Bearcat The Grumman F8F Bearcat is an American single-engine carrier-based fighter aircraft introduced in late World War II. It served during the mid-20th century in the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the air forces of other ...

, General Motors FM-2 Wildcat,

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 ...

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

North American AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

Beech AT-11 Kansan The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November ...

Cessna AT-17 Bobcat The Cessna AT-17 Bobcat or Cessna Crane is a twin-engine advanced trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engine trainers and larger multi-engine combat aircraft. Th ...

Stinson L-5 The Stinson L-5 Sentinel is a World War II-era liaison aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Ground Forces, U.S. Marine Corps and the British Royal Air Force. It was produced by the Stinson Division of the Vultee Airc ...

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

Sky Train, and Stearman PT-17. The Lone Star Flight Museum moved to nearby Ellington Airport in September 2017.

References

External links

Scholes International Airport
official webpage
Galveston Aviation Services
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 instructio ...

(FBO)
Lone Star Flight Museum
* at

Texas DOT The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway syst ...

Airport Directory
Aerial image as of January 1995
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to pro ...

'' * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholes International Airport At Galveston 1931 establishments in Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Airports established in 1931

Galveston Army Air Field Scholes International Airport at Galveston is three miles southwest of Galveston, in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a '' reliever airport''. The airport ...

Airports in Texas Buildings and structures in Galveston, Texas Tourist attractions in Galveston, Texas Transportation in Galveston County, Texas Transportation in Galveston, Texas