North Carolina - Buncombe County Airports




North Carolina - Buncombe County Airports

Airport Name	At / Near Town	Type	FAA LID	Year Opened	Year Closed	Comments
1) Asheville Airpark	Asheville	Defunct	-	c.1948	c.1981	Started out as Emma Airport, renamed to Josephson Airport, then quickly renamed to Asheville Airpark. The October 1948 Charlotte Sectional Chart depicted Asheville Airpark as a commercial or municipal airport. The 1968 Fight Guide depicted the Asheville Airpark as having a single 1,660' unpaved Runway 14/32, with an inset 800' paved portion. A total of 3 buildings were depicted on the northeast side of the runway. The site of Asheville Airpark was located at the eastern terminus of Airpark Road, appropriately enough.
2) Asheville Regional Airport	Asheville	Primary	AVL	1961	-	Per AirNav - activated 1/1961. The current airport opened in 1961, replacing the previous airport at Cane Creek, which was the Asheville-Hendersonville Airport (below). Owned and operated by the Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority.
3) Baird Bottom Landing Strip	Asheville	Defunct	-	1911	1923	According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, on April 19, 1911, Lincoln Beachey ceremoniously flew into Asheville to show off his famous aerial stunts over Baird Bottom for the citizens of Asheville. This flight was one of his pioneering flights over the mountains of Western North Carolina. That day, although for a brief moment in aviation history, Baird Bottom was Asheville's first unofficial airport. Baird Bottom Landing Strip closed around 1923 during construction of Beaver Lake. The site of Baird Bottom Landing Strip was located south of the intersection of Merrimon Avenue and Marlborough Road.
4) Carrier Field	Asheville	Defunct	-	c.1947	c.1948	Quickly renamed to Owen Field, see below.
5) Emma Airport	Emma	Defunct	-	c.1928	1946	aka Emma Air Park. Emma Air Park was a 14 acre tract of land located a half mile west of Emma. On 1/24/28, Harry Brooks, Henry Ford’s test pilot, attempted to fly from Ford Field in Dearborn, MI to Miami, FL. This first long distance attempt in the Ford Flivver landed short in a forced landing at Emma Air Park in Asheville. Brooks did set a non-stop distance record in his small, single seat, 36 horsepower plane. The Detroit craft flew 790 miles on 20 gallons of gas. 1946, renamed to Josephson Airport - see below.
6) Josephson Airport	Emma	Defunct	-	1946	c.1948	Was Emma Airport, see above. The April 1946 Charlotte Sectional Chart depicted Josephson Airport as an auxiliary airfield. Joe Josephson (an enterprising gumball machine supplier) leased the property from Attorney Ellis Jones for 99 years. c.1948, renamed to Asheville Airpark, see above.
7) Owen Field	Asheville	Defunct	-	1948	c.1962	Was Carrier Field, see above. This small airport was located directly along the north bank of the French Broad River, and was evidently established at some point between 1946-48. The August 1954 USAF Sectional Chart shows it having a 3,000' unpaved runway. The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Owen Field as having a single 3,000' turf Runway 9/27, and listed the operator as Dr. J. E. Owen. Owen Field apparently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1961-63. The site of Owen Field was located south of the intersection of Amboy Road and Short Michigan Avenue.
8) Six Oaks Airport	Asheville	Private	NC67	2006	-	Per AirNav - activated 6/2006. Owned and operated by Peter Fontaine.