|
Fox has been both a pilot and flight instructor for
many years. He shared some background of the Logan County Airport
and the Heritage In Flight Museum.
Logan County Airport
The Logan County Airport was started in 1947 after people in the
county decided they needed an airport. Fox said the county passed an
airport authority taxing district to get enough money to pay for an
airport.
Because the taxing district was under a sunset clause, Fox said when
the county got enough money to get an airport, the taxing district
went away. For all these years, Fox said the airport has not had
local tax money. Crops, fuel sales and hangar rent provide financial
support for the airport and federal grants [which the airport
matches] help with major projects.
On the West side of Lincoln where Walmart is now, Fox
said there used to be another airfield. It was owned by the Bock
family.
The Logan County Airport runway is 4000 feet. Though many runways
are 5000 feet, Fox said a tall spire [on the nearby chapel] keeps
them from being able to have a runway that big.
In answer to a question about grass runways, Fox said they are a lot
less expensive.
Someone else had a question about the acreage at the airport.
Logan County Airport manager Gene Rohlfs said altogether there are
about 300 acres.
Businesses located at the Logan County Airport included the Heritage
in Flight Museum, Logan County Air Frame and Engine, Chuck
Holzwarth’s Flying [Aerial Application] Service and an aircraft
broker who buys and sells airplanes.
A few years ago, the skydiving club from Minier closed because their
airport was too much to take care of. Fox said the Illinois Valley
Parachute Club then started using space at the airport for
skydiving.
Several interesting artifacts are found in the hangar
and on the airport grounds near the Heritage In Flight Museum. Fox
said these include a World War II search light, a Huey helicopter
used in the Vietnam War, an F4 Phantom from Chanute Air Force Base,
a T33 training version of the first Air Force jet and a C45 World
War II plane.
An A7 behind one building was on its way to the bone orchard in
Arizona, where Fox said old airplanes are stored. It was in 1991
during the war in Kuwait and on the way to Arizona, the pilots got a
call asking them to turn around because the plane was needed in the
war. This plane was the first one used in Baghdad during the Iraq
War. Fox said it was flown by Patrick Driscoll of Chicago, who went
on to have a great career.
[to top of second column] |
Heritage In Flight Museum
The Heritage In Flight Museum began in 1980 in Springfield. Fox said
the major plan there was to rebuild a World War II B25 Bomber. They
worked hard on the rebuilding and had a lot of members and
enthusiasm. Unfortunately, before the group was done building it,
Fox said they ran out of money. The group decided they needed to
find a new location.
Around that time, Fox said the Logan County Airport was preparing to
build a new administration building and the old building was going
to be torn down. When members of the Heritage In Flight group found
out about it, they asked about moving everything from their museum
to the airport. Fox said the Logan County Board approved it and said
Heritage In Flight would have to pay the County one dollar per year.
The building that houses the Heritage In Flight Museum was
originally a barracks at Camp Ellis, a World War II training base
near Ipava, Illinois designed to teach engineering. Fox said the
18,000 acre Camp Ellis had training areas, a shooting range and a
hospital. One unusual feature was that it served as a German POW
camp. Fox said there were some German POW Camps scattered through
the U.S.
After the war, Camp Ellis was closed, and the buildings were given
away. Fox said in the late 1940s, the barracks was relocated to the
Logan County Airport. These buildings were not designed to last, but
this one is somehow still standing. The building has had new siding
put on it and Fox said termites have been “kicked out” of it.
Behind the building is a tall structure, which Fox
said is a green and white light that comes on at night identifying
the area as an airport. The tower was originally built in the 1930s
as a lighted airway and was in a field near Atlanta.
One of the many initial problems with airmail is that
they could only fly during the day. Fox said there was no electronic
navigation at night, so the pilots could not see towns in the
distance. When it got late in the day, Fox said they would take the
mail off the plane and put the mail on trains, which was
inefficient.
As airmail routes expanded from New York to Chicago,
Fox said pilots needed a way to fly at night. Someone then came up
with the lighted airway system. Towers like the one at the Logan
County Airport can be found every 20 miles around the U.S. allowing
for nighttime navigation.
[Angela Reiners]
 |
