Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Western Virginia
© 2002, © 2007 by Paul Freeman. Revised 11/18/07.
Bristol Airport (revised 11/18/07) - Clinchfield Airport (revised 11/16/07) - Clover Airport (revised 6/27/06)
Coeburn Airport (added 11/16/07) - (Original) Lee County Airport / Pennington Gap Airport (revised 6/3/07)
Pulaski Intermediate Field 33B / Loving Field (revised 6/27/06) - Richlands Municipal (revised 11/18/07)
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Coeburn Airport (5VA7), Coeburn, VA
36.94 North / 82.5 West (Southwest of Richmond, VA)
Coeburn Airport, as depicted on the 1966 USGS topo map.
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
The date of construction of this small airport has not been determined,
or much else about its history.
The earliest depiction which has been located of Coeburn Airport was on the 1966 USGS topo map.
The 1991 USGS topo map depicted Coeburn Airport as having a single unpaved east/west unpaved runway.
In the 1998 USGS aerial photo, the airport appeared abandoned, with no sign of any current aviation usage.
A circa 2005 aerial photo showed that Coeburn Airport appeared to have a paved runway, which remained intact.
A single building sat just southeast of the runway.
As of 2007 Coeburn Airport was no longer listed with the FAA as an active airfield.
The site of Coeburn Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Route 813 & Route 658.
Thanks to Steve Matda for pointing out this airfield.
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Clinchfield Airport, Clinchfield, VA
36.95 North / 82.19 West (Southwest of Richmond, VA)
Clinchfield Airport, as depicted on the 1972 USGS topo map.
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
According to Steve Matda, the Clinchfield Airport “was constructed in the 1950s time frame
by Clinchfield Coal Company on the site of its Moss #3 Preparation Plant,
which at the time was the world's largest coal preparation facility.
Also nearby was Clinchfield's Central Shop, Central Laboratory, Company Store,
and Moss #2 Mine as well as the Appalachian Power Company's Clinch River Generating Plant.
It was paved.”
According to Steve Matda, “I asked my dad (Frank Matda) about it (he worked for Clinchfield for 38 years).
He said that small twin-engine planes used it regularly.”
Frank Matda recalled, “It was built when AEP built the Clinch River Powerplant for primarily for their own use shortly before 1956.
It was built on Clinchfield Coal Company property, located just below the Moss #3 Preparation Plant.
The lower end runway stopped just short of the concrete bridge that crossed over the railroad & creek.
I thought that I was going to hit a plane that was taking off as it just cleared the bridge, on my way home one day.
I believe Clinchfield also used the strip occasionally."
According to Frank Matda, the Clinchfield Airport was abandoned sometime around 1962.
Frank Matda recalled, “There were rumors that the FAA stopped them from using it.
After it was abandoned, Clinchfield used it as a storage facility.
I have spent many many man-hours driving up & down its entire length looking for material & supplies."
The earliest depiction which has been located of the Clinchfield Airport was on the 1972 USGS topo map.
The 1989 USGS topo map labeled the field as “Landing field (abandoned)”.
It depicted Clinchfield Airport as having a single 3,100' northeast/southwest paved runway,
with the buildings of the “Moss #3 Preparation Plant” on the northeast side of the field.
In the 1998 USGS aerial photo, the southwestern half of the runway pavement remained intact,
but the northeastern half of the strip had been covered by coal.
A circa 2005 aerial photo showed the field remaining in the same condition as depicted in 1998,
with the southwestern half of the runway pavement still remaining intact.
Steve Matda reported of the Clinchfield Airport in 2007, “It hasn't been used that I know of in at least 30 years.
The north end is now covered by a coal stockpile.”
According to Frank Matda, “At the present time I don't know if it is still used or reclaimed."
The site of the Clinchfield Airport is located northeast of the intersection of Route 615 & Route 616.
Thanks to Steve Matda for pointing out this airfield.
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(Original) Lee County Airport / Pennington Gap Airport, Pennington Gap, VA
36.75 North / 83.04 West (Southwest of Richmond, VA)
The original Lee County Airport, as depicted on the March 1966 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
The original Lee County Airport was located just southwest of Pennington Gap.
It was evidently eastablished at some point between 1964-66,
as it was not yet depicted on the April 1964 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction which has been located of the Lee County Airport
was on the March 1966 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Lee County as having a 2,400' unpaved runway.
The Lee County Airport was evidently improved with a paved runway at some point within the next year,
as that is how it was described in the 1967 AOPA Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
Lee County was still described as a public-use airfield in the 1986 Flight Guide (according to Chris Kennedy).
The 1991 USGS topo map depicted the airfield as having a single northeast/southwest paved runway,
with a small parking ramp with several small buildings on the northwest side.
It was labeled simply as “Landing Field”.
A replacement Lee County Airport (with a longer runway)
was constructed several miles to the southwest in Jonesville, and opened in 2002.
The original airport did not immediately close, though,
and evidently stayed open for some period of time as a private airfield.
The December 2003 Cincinnati Sectional Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted the field as “Pennington Gap”, a private airfield.
It was described as having a single 2,200' east/west paved runway.
The Pennington Gap Airport evidently closed at some point between 2003-2005,
as a circa 2005 aerial photo showed the runway as being marked with 3 closed-runway “X” symbols.
However, the field was still completely intact, with the runway, ramp, and hangars all remaining at the site.
The original Lee County Airport is located at the western terminus of Route 1122.
Thanks to Kyle Rodgers for pointing out this airfield.
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36.8 North / 78.77 West (Southwest of Richmond, VA)
A 1936 aerial view looking northeast at the single runway of Clover Airport.
The Clover Airport was established in 1936,
according to the book "Virginia Airports" by Vera Rollo & Norman Crabill (published by the VAHS).
It was also reportedly known as “W.W. Edmonson's Airport”,
and served as a “private-commercial field”.
According to Shirley Sadler Bowen, “I am the great-neice of J.B. & Woodrow Edmondson & my father is Frank Sadler.
We have an old article that states that this airport was the 1st licensed airport in the state of Virginia.
A plane named 'Little Butch' was flown there a long time ago
and is now in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.”
The earliest depiction of Clover Airport which has been located was a 1936 aerial view,
which depicted the field as having a single unpaved northwest/southeast runway.
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
listed a “Halifax” private airfield, 3 miles west of Clover, bordered by U. S. Highway 360 on the south.
The field was said to have a single 1,800' sod north-northwest/south-southeast runway.
The field was said to have a hangar, and to offer service during the daytime.
A November 1938 aerial photo in the book "Virginia Airports" (published by the VAHS)
depicted Clover Airport as having 2 sod runways:
2,020' north/south & 1,175' northwest/southeast.
The field was said to be owned by J.B. & S.S. Edmonson,
and the lesee & manager was listed as L.R Petus.
The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Clover Airport
was on the May 1941 14M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described the Clover Airport as being located 3 miles southwest of Clover,
and listed the field as having a 2,000' unpaved runway.
Nothing was depicted at the site of the Clover Airport on the 1953 USGS topo map.
The July 1961 Winston-Salem Sectional (courtesy of Harold Schaffer)
depicted Clover as a public-use airport with a single 2,500' unlighted turf runway.
The field was said to offer fuel & major repairs.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described the Clover Airport
as having 2 turf runways: 2,500' Runway 13/31 & 1,700' Runway 4/22.
The operator was listed as Frank Sadler (the nephew of Clover Airport founder Woodrow Edmondson).
The 1965 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Clover Airport as having a single 2,500' unpaved Runway 15/33.
A single small building was depicted on the east side of the runway,
and a cluster of small buildings was depicted on the southeast side as well.
The manager was listed as Frank Sadler.
Harold Schaffer recalled of the Clover Airport, “I do remember during the late 1960s
during my travels up U. S. 360 that the field was open & operating.”
According to the book "Virginia Airports" (published by the VAHS),
Clover Airport operated as a “private-commercial field” until 1968.
However, Clover was still depicted as an active airfield on the April 1969 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Clover as a public-use airport having a 2,500' unpaved runway.
Clover Airport evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1969-70,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the February 1970 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
In 1970 a license was applied for to operate Clover as a private field (according to the book "Virginia Airports"),
but this license was canceled in 1972.
It was “used for aircraft storage” in 1974, but reported as not active in 1975.
The 1989 USGS topo map still depicted a single northwest/southeast unpaved runway at Clover,
labeled simply as “Landing Strip”,
along with a single small building on the east side of the runway.
As seen in the 1994 USGS aerial photo,
the outlines of the northwest/southeast runway at Clover was still recognizable,
even though the majority of it had been overgrown.
What appears to be the remaining hangar is on the east side of the runway.
Harold Schaffer reported in 2005, “I came by the old site yesterday on U.S. 360.
The place is, of course, all grown up & the trees down the old turf runway are very tall now.
The old pole with the skeleton of the windsock is still in place if one looks very carefully for it.
The old hangar building is still there also.”
The site of Clover Airport is located northwest of the intersection of Route 360 & Piney Creek Road.
Thanks to Harold Schaffer for pointing out this airfield.
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Pulaski Intermediate Field / Loving Field (PSK), Pulaski, VA
37.09 North / 80.78 West (Southwest of Richmond, VA)
An August 1936 aerial view of Loving Field.
The date of construction of this small airfield has not been determined.
It may have been established at some point between 1935-36,
as it was not yet depicted at all on the 1935 Winston-Salem Airway Chart.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located was an August 1936 aerial photo.
It depicted the field as having 2 grass runways,
but did not appear to depict any buildings at the field.
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Pulaski as the Department of Commerce's Intermediate Field #33A,
along the Nashville-Washington Airway.
Intermediate Fields were established for the emergency use of commercial aircraft flying between major cities.
It described the field as consisting of 2 runways in a cross shape:
2,750' east/west & 2,300' north/south.
It was still described as the Department of Commerce's Intermediate Field #33A
in The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
At some point within the next year, the field's designation was evidently slightly changed, to Intermediate Field 33B,
as that is how it was depicted on the August 1942 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Within the next 2 years the field's designation was changed once again, to Intermediate Field 35A,
as that is how it was depicted on the April 1944 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described Pulaski as the Department of Commerce's Intermediate Field #35A along the Nashville-Washington Airway.
It described the field as having a 2,800' unpaved runway.
The Haire Publishing Company's 1945 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
once again listed the Pulaski airfield as the "CAA Intermediate Field Site #33B" (which may have been erroneous).
It was described as a "class 1" airfield, owned by the City & operated by the CAA (Civilian Aeronautics Administration).
The field was said to have 2 sod runways in an "X" shape:
2,650' northeast/southwest & 2,300' north-northeast/south-southwest.
The manager was listed as M. Lawley.
At some point between 1945-48 the field gained a new name, Loving Field,
as that is how it was labeled on the October 1948 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was also labeled as Site 35A,
and was described as having a 2,800' unpaved runway.
An operating license for Loving Field was applied for on 1/11/49,
according to the book "Virginia Airports" (published by the VAHS).
The license was granted on 8/23/49 to Porter Ham, as a commercial, turf field.
Carl Bryant recalled of Loving Field, “I had my 1st plane ride there in the 1950s.”
A 1960 approach plate (courtesy of Lester Hollans) depicted Loving Field
as having 2 unpaved runways: 2,800' Runway 7/25 & 2,300' Runway 1/19.
A tower was depicted right at the very end of Runway 25,
which must have made operations from that runway somewhat interesting.
A beacon & 2 small buildings were depicted just southeast of the runway intersection.
It also indicated that Loving Field served as the FAA's Site #35A,
along the Nashville-Washington Airway.
According to the book "Virginia Airports" (published by the VAHS),
the operating license for Loving Field was canceled on 11/21/60, at the Town of Pulaski's request.
Loving Field was closed by 1960, as it was no longer listed in the 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (according to Chris Kennedy).
It was eventually replaced by the much larger New River Valley in nearby Dublin,
which was dedicated in 1962.
Carl Bryant recalled, “In the early 1960s the county built a brand new hard-surfaced airport in Dublin
to promote economic growth & Piedmont Airlines was soon flying Martin 404s into Pulaski County.
When the lights were finally turned out at Loving Field
the complex was quickly overtaken by wildlife & local urchins like myself.
It was a special treat to have our own airport to play with.
I grew up playing on its 2 abandoned airstrips in the 1960s, only a mile or so from my house.”
The 1966 USGS topo map still depicted a “beacon” at the site of Loving Field,
but not any other airport features.
The 1982 USGS topo map no longer depicted any airport features at the site of Loving Field.
As seen in the 1999 USGS aerial photo,
the outlines of the 2 former runways at Loving Field are still quite recognizable,
even though several baseball diamonds have been built over the center of the former airfield.
There are a few small buildings just southeast of the runway intersection which could possibly date from the site's days as an airfield.
As of 2004, the site of the former Loving Field is in use as the Loving Sports Complex,
which consists of 162 acres, 30 of which have been redeveloped into baseball/softball fields).
Some 90 acres are leased to a local farmer, while the remaining is undeveloped, open space.
As of 2004, it appears as if there still may be some aviation use of Loving Field,
as an ultralight aircraft operator mentions flying from the site.
A 2005 photo by Carl Bryant of airfield buildings which remain standing at the site of Loving Field.
“Actually in pretty good shape considering they've been unoccupied for almost 45 years.”
Carl Bryant reported in 2005, “Loving Field is owned by the town of Pulaski & is currently being used as a sports complex.
A number of softball diamonds have been built onto the north end of the north/south runway
and the east end of the east/west runway.
The southern half of the north/south strip is still open grass & is used by local ultralight enthusiasts.
A road runs along the southern edge of the old airport
and 3 original buildings still stand at the intersection of the 2 runways.
There was once a hangar, large enough for 2 aircraft,
about 50 yards east of the 3 remaining buildings & across the road from the softball field parking lot.
The thing I found most unusual about this airport was the fact that all the buildings were across the road from the grass runways.
Planes in the hangar actually had to be pushed across the road & through the grass parking lot to get to the field!
When the airport closed a local farmer used the hanger to store hay
and perhaps this is why it soon fell apart & had to be scrapped.
The tower depicted on the 1960 approach plate on the southeast end of the north/south runway
is a large farm building, a silo I think.
The tower shown at the west end of the east/west runway is a church.”
The site of Loving Field is located west of the intersection of Alum Spring Road & Loving Field Road,
appropriately enough.
Thanks to Lester Hollans for pointing out this airfield.
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Bristol Airport, Bristol, VA
36.62 North / 82.13 West (Northwest of Charlotte, NC)
Bristol Airport, as depicted on a 1935 Regional Aeronautical Chart.
According to the website of the present-day Tri-Cities Regional Airport,
"Bristol’s airport got its start in 1923, when Charles Harkerader, owner of the Bristol Herald Courier,
and another local businessman opened a landing field 2 miles east of Bristol, Virginia.
Known simply as the Bristol Airport, the field had 2 grass runways & a metal hangar.
The privately owned airport usually had from eight to ten based aircraft at any one time."
"About 1930, the owners of the Bristol Airport started a flying business
in the hopes of generating some commercial activity at the field.
They bought 2 airplanes & hired a pilot, but customers were scarce during the depression.
Charles Harkerader knew that 19-year old Jane Dulaney was interested in flying
and decided that teaching her would stimulate business.
Jane jumped at the chance.
She quickly soloed & earned her license.
Other local people took up flying at the field as well,
but it was 1933 before Bristol was officially designated on the nation's aviation map.
An airline known as the Ludington Line,
which operated passenger service between Washington D.C. & New York City
was exploring the possibility of opening mail routes in the south.
A route from D.C. to Nashville with stops at Kingsport & Knoxville was considered.
By the spring of 1933, Eastern Air Transport purchased the Ludington Line & carried through on the plan.
Eastern made several test flights to Bristol to determine local interest
before adding the city to its mail route known as 'CAM-23'.
The local backing was there, and the Tri-Cities area received its 1st air service through the Bristol Airport."
"In February of 1934 the government canceled all airline mail contracts due to a bidding controversy.
President Roosevelt turned the air mail business over to the Army.
It was a disastrous decision.
Army pilots, unfamiliar with the routes, flew open cockpit planes during one of the worst winters in years.
In the 1st week, plane crashes killed five pilots & six were critically injured.
There was an immediate public outcry & Roosevelt conceded that the idea had been a mistake.
New airline bids were called for & by mid-May the airlines returned to flying the mail.
The route Eastern had previously flown through Bristol to Nashville was won by American,
which continued the service flying Stinson 'Model A' Tri-Motors.
It was during this period that a well-known local aviator named Louis Hilbert
established Appalachian Flying Service at the Bristol Airport.
It would become one of the oldest continuously-operated FBOs in Tennessee."
According to the website of the present-day Tri-Cities Regional Airport,
"By the mid-1930s Kingsport & Johnson City were trying to obtain their own air service.
Johnson City’s privately owned airfield was not large enough to be practical.
A grass airstrip in the Lovedale section of Kingsport was also too small & lacked public support for expansion."
The January 1, 1936 Department of Commerce Airway Bulletin
described Bristol as a municipal airport as a commercial field, consisting of an irregularly-shaped sod field.
It was said to have 2 runways: 2,400' northeast/southwest & 1,900 northwest/southeast.
A hangar was said to be marked with “Bristol Airport” on its roof.
The field was said to offer facilities for servicing aircraft, day only.
An August 1936 aerial view looking east at Bristol Airport
depicted the field as consisting of a rectangular grass field.
An aerial photo looking southwest at the Bristol Airport from The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The field was described as having 2 sod runways, with the longest being the 2,400' northeast/southwest strip.
A single hangar depicted in the aerial photo in the directory was said to have "Bristol" marked on the roof.
According to the website of the present-day Tri-Cities Regional Airport,
"The dilemma was eventually solved when all 3 cities cooperated with Sullivan County
to build a regional airport equidistant between them.
When the new airport opened in 1937, the facility in Bristol reverted to private flying until it was abandoned in 1943."
According to Shawn Carver, the site of the Bristol Airport "is located on Old Airport Road near I-81.
I believe it was located on the site of what is now an industrial warehouse area.
The 1st place I ever lived in (until I was 1 year old) is directly behind this site.
I have always been told that the warehouse area is the site of the old Bristol Airport.”
The 1981 USGS topo map also still depicted an "Airway Beacon"
on a hill just to the south of the site of the former airport,
but did not depict any other traces of the former airport.
The 1991 USGS topo map still depicted an "Airway Beacon"
on a hill just to the south of the site of the former airport.
As seen in the 1997 USGS aerial photo of the site of the former airport,
Shawn Carver pointed out that "there appears to be at least one Quonset hut style building
which might just be one of the original airport buildings."
A 2007 photo by Steve Matda looking northwest at the foundation of the Bristol Airport hangar.
Steve reported, “Bonham Road is to the left on the embankment & runs behind the trees & tan warehouse.
A 2007 closeup photo by Steve Matda looking northwest at the foundation of the Bristol Airport hangar,
“showing metal channel in concrete for the hangar door.”
Steve Matda reported in 2007 that the house visible in the 1937 aerial photo (behind the hangar & slightly to the left)
still stands today, at 475 Old Airport Rd.
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Richlands Municipal Airport (7A4), Richlands, VA
37.09 North / 81.83 West (Southwest of Roanoke, VA)
Richlands Airport, as depicted on the 1949 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to the book "Virginia Airports" by Vera Rollo & Norman Crabill (published by the VAHS),
an operating license for Richlands Airport was applied for in 11/14/44 by Hubert Altizer of "Clinch Valley Airways".
The license was granted on 2/5/43 [which doesn't make sense, as it was 'applied for' in 1944],
and was later transferred to John Mullins & George Fitch.
According to an article in a 1992 issue of the Richlands News Press (courtesy of Frank White),
“The Richlands Airport was begun on March 22, 1945, by Herbert Altizer & Grady Dalton
on the Davis-Smith property.”
From 1945-52 the operator & owner was Grady Dalton.
The earliest depiction of Richlands Municipal Airport which has been located
was on the 1949 Winston-Salem Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
USGS topo map 1950.
According to Frank White (who learned to fly, and made his 1st Solo from Richlands Airport in 1976),
the original Richlands Airport "was a grass strip located just across the Clinch River,
to the west of the [current paved runway] airport.
In fact, one could stand on the end of the paved Runway 8,
and almost throw a rock to the east end of the old grass runway,
which is now a subdivision."
A undated (circa 1950s?) aerial view from an article in a 1992 issue of the Richlands News Press,
looking west-northwest at the original unpaved Richlands runway (courtesy of Frank White).
In the words of Frank Grose, "The old airport (west of the river) was still in operation in 1961 or 1962.
I got my 1st airplane ride from there in a Cherokee 140,
from some fellow by the name of Shultz, who had dreams of starting an FBO there.
My 2nd ride was also from that field in Grady Dalton's Super Cub
with Fleet Underwood (a Hellcat pilot in the Pacific during WW2).
He let me do most of the flying.
That was the 1st time I'd touched the controls of an airplane,
but I recall it like it was yesterday.
We took off west, and made a tear-drop turn back toward the airfield.
Fleet gave me the controls as we approached the airport.
It felt good!
My inner voice said to me, 'This is what you HAVE to do.'
That was the moment I became a pilot.
By the time I started taking lessons in the early summer of 1963,
the new airport had been opened.
And it was still 'new' that summer.
Later, Bob Mullens got Bill Haymaker to come to be the instructor.
I flew with him a couple of times in a Cessna 150 in 1964."
Richlands Municipal Airport was listed in the 1968 VA Airport Directory as Richlands Flying Service,
with a single 1,900' sod Runway 9/27.
According to Chris Kennedy, the 1971 Flight guide described Richlands Airport as having an 1,800' unpaved runway.
The 1978 USGS topo map depicted Richlands Municipal Airport as having a single paved runway,
which had evidently replaced the grass runway at some point between 1971-78.
A 1981 aerial photo by Frank White looking east at Richlands Municipal Airport, while the airport was still open.
A 1981 aerial photo by Frank White looking south at Richlands Municipal Airport,
showing the bridge (center-left of photo) which carried the runway over the Clinch River.
A 1981 closeup by Frank White of the ramp at Richlands Municipal Airport.
Frank sent in several pictures of Richlands taken in 1981.
He recalled, "That's been over 22 years ago.
The place has sure changed; the fellows (you know, airport bums) who once were as familiar as my own family,
are now either dead or live somewhere else,
and looking at this picture, I can still smell the fresh-cut grass as if it were this morning sometime."
A 1981 photo by Frank White of floodwaters over the runway at Richlands Municipal Airport.
"Here's what typically happened on the runway after a couple days of rain! Yikes!
…the results of the wondrous idea of building an airport OVER a flood prone river,
in a flood prone river basin."
The paved runway extended further to the east, being carried by a bridge across the Clinch River.
However, even that was apparently not enough to handle the water,
as Frank White recalled "whenever it rained a lot, the airport would have to close because of flooding."
By the time of the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury),
the airfield consisted of a single 3,427' asphalt Runway 8/26.
Frank White added, "An interesting story surrounds the old airport.
In the early sixties, a banker in Richlands [Grady Dalton] organized a Civil Air Patrol detachment,
and was able to acquire a Super Cub, under some kind of state grant, for use with the CAP.
When the airport moved across the river, the CAP detachment dissolved,
and the banker stored the Cub in a small makeshift hangar
(which was actually someone's garage at the edge of the airport property).
Well, Virginia never came & picked up the airplane, and there it sat for years & years.
I remember going over to that old building,
crawling up & looking through the little window on the side of the building to see the dust covered Cub,
rotting away inside."
"No one in the State was aware of the airplane during the years it sat in that little building
because the paperwork had obviously fell through the cracks,
so theoretically, it didn't belong to anyone from the time the CAP disbanded until Mr. Dalton passed away."
Around 1987, after the Banker died,
the record of it finally came to light & the State came & reclaimed the airplane."
Mike Hoover reported that he landed at Richlands in 1989,
and that there was an FBO & fuel.
According to Frank White, Richlands Municipal Airport officially closed on 6/2/92,
after having been replaced by the new Tazewell County Airport,
a few miles to the southeast.
As of the 1998 USGS aerial photo,
the airfield still consisted of a 3,400' paved runway (with closed "X" markings),
and a small ramp which appeared to be used for storage.
Richlands Municipal Airport is located on the south side of Route 460,
one mile west of the town of Richlands.
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