NEW SMYRNA BEACH – Beginning as a half-mile grass strip in the middle of citrus groves north of town, the airport in New Smyrna Beach exploded in importance and development during World War II. It has inched forward during recent decades to withstand the ravages of age, neglect, and compression of its boundaries. When the first Wright Flyer was wrecked beyond repair in 1903 at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright returned to Ohio without fanfare. News-papers around the country had given scant notice to their four successful flights. The Wright brothers did not, even with their imaginations and skills, foresee the rapid growth and improvements in aviation that would follow.
FORWARD THINKING military minds around the world recognized the potential of the airplane as a weapon, and by the time of World War II, it became the most important piece of equipment on earth. When the United States joined the war, the massive efforts required for airplane design and production became legendary.
During the early 1940s, New Smyrna Beach City Engineer Robert S. Fee was asked to prepare an evaluation of the small grass strip airport in regard to national defense. He found all the necessary elements were in place for the airport to become an integral part of the national defense system.
On January 11, 1943, new Smyrna Beach Mayor W.E. Swoope and Commissioners C. E. Griffin and J.T. Courtney resolved to accept development of the field by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The planning and development had actually begun the prior year. Squadron 13 from the naval Air Station in Jacksonville already had been using the area for training purposesand, during the construction at the airport used the nearby golf course. In fact, the municipal golf course was closed to the public by Mayor Swoope on Nov. 25, 1942 in order to avoid what the Navy termed “a serious hazard to both the public and navy personnel.” Although no record could be found regarding the reopening of the golf course, it is assumed to have occurred when the airport development was completed. The Navy developed the airport, maintained it and used it extensively to train pilots for war. There was little or no private use of the facility at that time. It is unclear how many pilots were trained in New Smyrna Beach, but it is said to have been a substantial number. The importance of such training in winning the war effort cannot be overstated.
Following the war, the congress passed the surplus property act of 1944, and on April 10, 1947, deeded the airport in New Smyrna beach to the city. Thus, the “New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport” came into existence and the vastly improved field became an asset of the city. The Quitclaim Deed of that date listed the boundaries of the property conveyed to the city, a total of 771.29 acres, and the responsibility of the new owner relating to the airport. The grass strip in the citrus groves had become four 5,000 foot runways with a complete taxiway system, and was viewed as a tremendous asset with unlimited potential by the city leaders.
MANAGEMENT OF the facility was then the responsibility of the city, which was required to abide by a long list of rules and regulations regarding the airport’s use, maintenance, and management. These assurances were accepted by New Smyrna Beach in return for the federal government’s “gift” of this developed property. Most of the property on which the airport sits is perched on a bed of coquina rock, said by some to be more than a foot thick. City engineer Fee said in a 1940s study that this was a “perfect foundation” for an airport since it provided a very sturdy base while still being porous enough to permit excellent drainage. The durability of the coquina base became obvious during the decades following the Navy’s construction of the runways and taxiways. Two of the four runways have required little or no maintenance during their 50 years, and remain in satisfactory condition today. The airport’s most-used runway – runway 11-29, which takes advantage of the prevailing easterly winds much of the year – was resurfaced in 1978. A second runway was “rehabilitated” with new asphalt in 1990.
During the 1950s and ‘60s, very little effort was required by the city to maintain its airport. With its solid foundation and strong Navy construction, it was virtually indestructible, surviving storms, hurricanes, and at times, neglect.
IN 1959, the city secured a “Deed of Release” from the Federal Government on four parcels of land. This “excess airport property”, totaling 436 acres was released to the city for “non-airport” uses, and was no longer subject to the original regulations controlling the land’s development. The next few years saw various city departments plan and develop the land. The city levied portions of the property for its recreation complex and built baseball fields and the softball stadium.
The Utilities Commission, as well as the city’s transit system and Fire department, all use pieces of airport property for their operations. The New Smyrna Beach Police Department headquarters sit on a prime site located in the southeast corner of the airport. Large sections of the released airport land were sold by New Smyrna Beach to various developers and businesses. Today, operations including Higginbotham, Chevrolet, Angell and Phelps Candy, Coronado Laboratories, K& S Wood-working, and numerous other businesses operate on this original airport land. In addition, Volusia County runs the area’s mosquito control operation from airport property, and to more efficiently manage its finances and resources.
With expanded earning capacity, the airport has become self sufficient the past three years, and is projected to actually show a profit in its operation each year in the future.
THE MUNICIPAL Airport is just one of the 18,000 airports in the United States. While the facility west of U.S. 1 doesn’t appear to be a major operation, some residents understand the impact of its 771 acres on the city’s growth and development over the past 50 years. The airport facility is said to generate a positive economic impact in excess of $20 million annually. The hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars generated by the businesses on airport land have not yet been tallied accurately.
Wilbur and Orville Wright launched the world into a new age. The technology and necessities of war drove development of aviation to a torrid pace. Peacetime allowed cities like New Smyrna Beach the opportunity to acquire lands that would propel them forward forever.
AND THE REST IS HISTORY.