Leesburg Executive Airport
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Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO/JYO), an FAA-designated General Aviation reliever airport for Dulles International, is located 3 miles south of the town of Leesburg, Virginia. Home to over 200 aircraft, JYO services a five-county, two state area, providing business and corporate aviation services, flight instruction, and personal aviation support.
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[edit] "The Old Cow Pasture"
Leesburg Executive Airport was built in 1963 to replace a grass field on the eastern edge of the town. The original grass field occupied 100 acres of a 224 acre plot owned by radio and TV personality Arthur Godfrey.
Arthur Godfrey learned to fly in the 1930s while doing radio in the Washington, DC area. Godfrey used his pervasive fame in the 1950s to advocate for his middle class audience to consider vacationing in Hawaii and Miami Beach, formerly enclaves for the wealthy. He made a TV movie in 1953 taking the controls of an Eastern Airlines Constellation airliner, flying to Miami, showing how safe airline travel had become.
His continued unpaid shilling for Eastern Airlines earned him the undying gratitude of good friend Eddie Rickenbacker, the WWI flying ace who was the President of the airline. He was such a good friend of the airline that Rickenbacker took a retiring DC-3, fitted it out with an executive interior and DC-4 engines, and presented it to Godfrey, who then used it to commute to the studios in New York City from his huge northwestern Leesburg, Virginia farm every Sunday night.
The new DC-3 was so powerful (and noisy) the Town of Leesburg ended up moving their airport. The original Leesburg airport, which Godfrey owned and referred to affectionately as 'The Old Cow Pasture' on Godfrey's show, was less than a mile from the center of town, and residents had come to expect rattling windows and crashing dishes every Sunday evening and Friday afternoon.
In 1960, having his eye on a jet for personal transport, Godfrey proposed building a new airport by selling the old field, and donating a portion of the sale to a local group.
[edit] Origins Of Leesburg Executive
In 1960, that group of local pilots, led by George Hammerley and Stanley Caulkins, applied to the FAA for matching funds, using some $200,000 donated by Godfrey from the sale of his 'Old Cow Pasture'. Originally named Godfrey Field (since Godfrey funded the majority of the airport) it is now known as Leesburg Executive Airport at Godfrey Field.
Hangars built south end (1965), piston shop, small building for FBO. The original runway was 3,500 feet by 50 feet, and the dedication in 1963 featured several local dignitaries, along with Godfrey.
For the next 20 years, Godfrey Field would remain a small country airport.
[edit] Growth Of The Field
(under construction)
The greatest period of growth for the field began with the advent of Janelle Aviation, which took over management of the airport as the primary fixed base operator (FBO) in the early 1980s. Jim Haynes, teamed with Dr. Don Robb of Av-Ed, became the driver for construction of large commercial hangars for American Beechcraft, and then 48 additional 'T-Hangars'.......... (under revision).
Given the Town's lack of interest in the airport, Haynes sometimes had to resort to unique methods to push the airport forward. With the small size of the Town, leadership was unwilling to fund additional hangars, so the 48 hangars were built by Janelle aviation as on land leased from the Town. This lease, and others, would come back to play a prominent role in airport politics after the turn of the century.
In 1986, the FAA consolidated its 308 Flight Service Stations into 61 'automated' stations (to be known as "AFSS"). As part of this consolidation, the FAA intended to move the Leesburg station from its current location in the Washington ARTCC on Market Street to the Manassas Airport. Haynes, a politically well-connected local activist, discovered that the FAA was considering this move and demanded an opportunity for Godfrey Field to compete for the station. When he met resistance, he enlisted the aid of Congressman Frank Wolf, who remains a staunch supporter of the airport to this day.
Even with luke-warm support from current Town leadership, Haynes was able to write a successful proposal to convince the FAA to lease space from the Town (and put the AFSS there), convince the Town to provide sufficient utilities on site, and convince the Town to build a modern terminal building. That building, completed in _______, provided the first professional looking space that the airport had ever had. In addition, the FAA became a long-standing tenant and provides on-site weather briefings to pilots.
During this period, Haynes was also able to work with the Town to gain grants to widen, lengthen, and improve the runway. Extended to 4,500 feet, with additional ramp space, Leesburg grew from the small county airport of 1963 to a busy general aviation reliever hosting over 100 aircraft, including turboprops and jets.
At the end of the 80's, however, economic hard times nationwide and reduced federal budgets in Washington combined to make Janelle Aviation a losing proposition. By 1992, a combination of poor management, late rent payments and Haynes' abrasive personality had driven Janelle's relationship with customers and the Town to new lows. Janelle was evicted in early 1993 for non-payment of over $ 32,000 in fees, and the Town took over full time management of the airport.
It took over five years for the airport to begin recovery, which began with lengthening the runway (again) to 5,500 feet, allowing KJYO to service ever-more sophisticated corporate jets. The installation of Piedmont-Hawthorne as the primary FBO, the continued operation of Av-Ed as the primary flight school, and installation of a localizer approach and automated weather observation equipment brought KJYO into the modern age.
[edit] Modern day
The Town of Leesburg still operates the Leesburg Executive Airport, which serves the entirety of Loudoun County (without 'any' financial assistance from that entity) with private and corporate aircraft operations. A designated reliever airport for Dulles International, the airport accounts for nearly $ 45 Million per year in economic impact to the region (Virginia Department of Aviation). It is home (as of 2005) to over 240 based aircraft and hosts 20-30 jet operations per day.
The Town has constructed another 50 commercial and private hangars (2002), a modern terminal addition to the original building (2004), and attracted several new corporate operators. Several corporate jet operators are teaming to build new hangars in 2006/2007, and the runway was completely rebuilt in 2005 to re-do the make-shift work completed in the 1980s. The Airport Commission has promised expansion for general aviation, including additional hangars, self-serve fuel, and an ILS approach, however this expansion has yet to occur.
A second flight school opened on the field named Aviation Adventures, which also operates out of Manassas Regional Airport (KHEF). In 2006, Landmark Aviation purchased Piedmont-Hawthorne, and continues to operate the FBO.
