Toledo Executive Airport is seven miles southeast of Toledo, in Wood County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. It is an FAA designated reliever to

Toledo Express Airport Toledo Express Airport, officially Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport , is a civil-military airport in Swanton and Monclova townships west of Toledo in western Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It opened in 1954-55 as a replacement to t ...

(TOL), Toledo's primary airport. Toledo Executive Airport was renamed from Metcalf Field in 2010.Call it Toledo Executive Airport

History

The airport began as a grand dream on June 22, 1927 with the establishment of The Toledo Airport Committee. A site was chosen and funds were quickly raised, and on June 3, 1928 "The Transcontinental Airport of Toledo, Incorporated." was dedicated to a large crowd. The dream was soon realized, as the airport set records for air mail and became the second largest airport east of the Rocky Mountains.

National Air Transport National Air Transport was a large United States airline; in 1930 it was bought by Boeing. The Air Mail Act of 1934 prohibited airlines and manufacturers from being under the same corporate umbrella, so Boeing split into three smaller companies, ...

had begun service with passenger and air mail flights to Chicago and Cleveland. By 1931 National and three other airlines had merged becoming

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

and Toledo had become a stop on a transcontinental air route extending from San Francisco to New York. The boom period did not last. Inadequate construction began to crumble, driving away business. The Great Depression hit. Ultimately, however, neighboring developments prevented the airport from expanding its runways to meet the needs of increasingly larger commercial aircraft. When the larger Toledo Express Airport was built in 1954, the field became redundant. The field languished for over a decade, used for things such as fireworks displays and drag racing. General Aviation and business jets in the late 1960s and early 1970s brought the field back into use as an airport; private, business and charter flights continue to be the main activities. A brief history of Toledo Executive Airport
/ref>

Timeline

* June 22, 1927 – The Toledo Airport Committee was established, selecting a name of "The Transcontinental Airport of Toledo, Incorporated." * January 25, 1928 – $257,000 was raised in 33 1/2 hours, which is the time it took

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 ...

to fly from

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. Six hundred and twenty shares of stock were sold to 620 Toledo citizens. * March 1928 – 515 acres purchased from local farmers. The site was chosen partly because it was near the route from Chicago to New York. * June 3, 1928 – The airport was dedicated to a crowd of 30,000 to 50,000. ** 14-year-old Nan Beth Jackson, daughter of Mayor William T. Jackson, christened a

plane "Miss Toledo". ** Leo McGinn piloted the first mail plane, a

Curtiss Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

biplane carrying a passenger, sixty pounds of mail, and fifty pounds of express from Cleveland on this day. ** Airmail postage was ten cents to send a letter to any destination, nationwide. * 1928 – A complete weather station was installed. The U.S. Weather Bureau of Toledo operated here until January 12, 1955. * January 16, 1929 – A national record-setting quantity of mail was carried from the airport. * 1929 – A 500,000,000 candlepower field floodlight was installed that "literally lit up the field like daylight" to support night operations. * November 11, 1936 –

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 ...

approved allocating $216,077 in

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

funds for upgrades. The city of Toledo provided $52,000 in matching funds. These funds provided three paved runways. * November 25, 1936 – The City of Toledo purchased the airport and renamed it "The Toledo Municipal Airport". * 1937 – The airport became a Class One port and the second largest airfield east of the Rocky Mountains. * August 23, 1938 – The two-year-old runways proved to be unfit and started to buckle, causing

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

to suspend service, leaving the airport largely unused.Reopening of Airport is Real Achievement for Toledo
/ref> * 1940 – Two concrete runways were built with federal money for $275,000. * June 29, 1941 – The airport reopened. * 1948 – A terminal building with a control tower was built for $175,000 with funds from the federal government and the City of Toledo. * 1954 – Airlines moved to the new

. * Fall 1954 – Toledo city council voted to abandon the field. * Unknown Dates – The site was used for fireworks displays after being abandoned. * February 1955 – The H. H. Buggie Company bought 47.1 acres of land and buildings in the Southwest corner of the airport, leaving the field with no buildings or hangars. The hangars were torn down, with the exception of the Curtiss hangar. * 1960s – The field was used for automotive drag racing between aircraft landings. It was first known as "Vettesville", then "Greater Toledo Dragway".For a Decade Motor Heads Were Drag Racing at Metcalf
/ref> * November 28, 1966 – Executive Aviation signed a fifteen-year lease and invested $250,000 in a new main hangar, 20 T-hangars, and a fuel facility. * October 22, 1967 – The airport reopened. * March 1970 – Astro Aviation took over operations at the airport. * December 23, 1974 – Crow Executive Air, Inc. was established at the field.Ohio Secretary of State
/ref> * February 12, 1975 – The airport was put under the control of the Toledo–Lucas County Port Authority. * August 28, 1977 – Renamed "Metcalf Field" after Tommy Metcalf, Toledo's second commissioner of aviation.Process Begins for Renaming Metcalf Field
* April 18, 2007 – A

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

landed at the airport to be decommissioned and provided to

Owens Community College Owens Community College (OCC) is a public community college with campuses in Toledo and Findlay, Ohio. Owens was founded in 1965 in Toledo and chartered in 1967. The Findlay campus opened in 1983. Owens Community College is named after Micha ...

for ground-based training.FedEx Delivers Gift Plane to Owens
/ref> * May 11, 2010 – Name changed to "Toledo Executive Airport"Call It Toledo Executive Airport
/ref> * June 5, 2010 – An

EF4 The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia. The Enhanced Fujita scale repla ...

tornado passed along the south edge of the airport. Neighboring Lake High School and other structures were severely affected.June 5, 2010 Tornado Touchdown: Wood & Ottawa Counties

Early Nearby Airports

* 215-acre airfield on Stickney Avenue, just north of Toledo. * Franklin Airport – 5035 Monroe Street in Toledo. It was closed on September 15, 1952. * National Airport – 165-acre airfield located at Telegraph and Alexis road in Toledo. It was sold in the early 1960s.

Notable Visitors

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

– Unknown date *

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

– Unknown date *

Charles A. 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 ...

– About 1929 *

Wiley Post Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was a famed American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop one ...

and

Harold Gatty Harold Charles Gatty (5 January 1903 – 30 August 1957) was an Australian navigator and aviation pioneer. Charles Lindbergh called Gatty the "Prince of Navigators."Gywnn-Jones, Terry, ''Harold Gatty, Aviation Navigation Expert'', Aviation Histo ...

– July 28, 1931 *

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

– September 7, 1931 *

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

– About 1933 *

Douglas Corrigan Douglas Corrigan (January 22, 1907 – December 9, 1995) was an American aviator, nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight in July from Long Beach, California, to New York City, he then flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brook ...

– August 19, 1938 *

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

– October 15, 1953

Facilities

Toledo Executive Airport covers 450 acres (180 ha) and has two

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 ...

runways: 4/22 is 3,799 x 75 ft (1,158.2 x 22.9 m) and 14/32 is 5,829 x 100 ft (1,777 x 30.5 m). Air America Aviation Services, provides fixed-base operations. Blue Horizons Flying Club operates from the field; EAA Chapter 582 is on the field. Air America Aerial Ads, LLC is stationed and operates from the field;

Operations

In the year ending May 18, 2009 the airport had 90,600 aircraft operations, average 248 per day: 64% general aviation, 22% air taxi, 14% transient general aviation, and <1% military.

Aircraft

As of May 2009, 51 aircraft are based at the airport: 34 single-engine, 16 multi-engine, 1 jet and 0 helicopters.

Accidents and incidents

*On 1 July 2011, at 7:30 p.m. after takeoff from TDZ, an ultralight Couvillion S-17, N433GC, lost power. Upon returning to the ground, it collided with a fence at a construction site. It also struck a pile of gravel before coming to rest in a barn. There were no injuries reported.Injuries Possible When Ultralight Crashes at Toledo Executive Airport

References

External links

Toledo–Lucas County Port Authority: Aviation Services
* {{toledo Airports in Ohio Transportation in Toledo, Ohio Works Progress Administration in Toledo, Ohio