James Clements Municipal Airport

James Clements Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located three  nautical miles (6  km) south of the central business district of Bay City, in Bay County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a local general aviation facility. It is also a seaplane base with landing areas on the Saginaw River, adjacent to the airport.

The airport was dedicated in 1930 in commemoration of Bay City pilots who gave their lives for their country in military service. The Georgian Revival Administration Building became part of to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and houses a collection of photographs of those pilots.

It is home port for local chapters of the Civil Air Patrol and the Experimental Aircraft Association.Michigan Travel, James Clements Airport.
/ref> Also centered there is the Valley Aero Club (which celebrates Father's Day with an annual fly-in breakfast in early June, and hosts an air show in August).

Wetlands on the airport's edges are home to the cream-colored Eastern Prairie Fringed Orchid, which is a threatened and rare wildflower.

History

In 1912, three pilots built and flew a Wright Flyer No. 15 on the field that eventually became the airport.

The first airport in the Saginaw Valley was opened in 1913 by Lionel DeRemer, and included land that is now part of the James Clemens airport. DeRemer also established a flying school that same year; one of his first students was mechanic Henry Dora. Dora's flying career was interrupted by World War I, but after his return he purchased a surplus Curtiss JN-4 and began barnstorming. He also began advocating for the establishment of a permanent and well-equipped airport for Bay City. His idea found fertile ground, as a number of young Bay City businessmen had also served in World War I and recognized the potential of airplanes in peacetime. The Bay City Chamber of Commerce began to promote the project in 1923, but the idea languished until 1926, when the suggestion was made to dedicate a new airport to the young men from Bay City who had lost their lives in World War I.

The Chamber of Commerce reached out to William L. Clements, a wealthy local industrialist and a regent of the University of Michigan, where he had already funded construction of the William L. Clements Library. Clement's son James had been a naval aviator in World War I, and had died in France of influenza. Clements offered to donate $10,000 for the construction of an airport, asking that it be named for his son. Other local businessmen donated money, including James E. Davidson and O.E. Sovereign. Construction began immediately under the direction of Henry Dora. The landing field and hangar were completed and officially dedicated in 1928, and planes began using the facility. Especially noteworthy was the commencement of airmail flights at the airport. The administration building was completed in 1930, and the city sponsored a dedication ceremony that year.

In the 1930s, the airport was used by the First Pursuit Group from the modern-day Selfridge Air National Guard Base to allow pilots to simulate attack runs over the industrial areas of Flint.

Regular passenger service from the airport began in 1931, and although the first company to offer the service went out of business, air routes were well established by 1935. Henry Dora continued as the airport manager until 1942, living in the administration building and hosting visits from aviators including Eddie Stinson, Clarence Chamberlain, Eddie Rickenbacker

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