Chapter Nineteen

Aviation and the Marion County Airport

Page 327-330

The federal government recognized the need for emergency landing fields and Congress created the Civil Aeronautics Commission charged with the responsibility of studying the need for creation of air fields and emergency landing strips. The study of the CAA showed the need for such and developed a plan for helping communities plan and build such facilities.

To the late A. M. Mear of Flippin, who many at the time thought of as a dreamer and visionary, goes the credit of establishing the first approved CAA landing strip in Marion County. It was located on the farm of Mr. Mear's parents which is now a part of the Flippin school grounds. By his own labor on the airstrip and his persistent efforts, he persuaded the CAA to permit the listing of the airstrip on the National Airport maps. Soon there after the CAA began a search for a location for an airport within a radius of one hundred twenty five miles from Springfield, Fayetteville, Conway and Walnut Ridge. The Mear Airport fit the desired location but the landing strip was too short and no way could be found for lengthening the runway. The CAA was interested in an airport in the Flippin area and asked the citizens of the community to acquire the land for an airport.

In addition to the location meeting the CAA's need for an airport located near the center of the area from the four cities mentioned previously, two other circumstances may have influenced the choke of the present site of the airport. First, the U. S. Corps of Engineers was constructing the Bull Shoals Dam nearby and top government officials and representatives of the contractors needed fast transportation facilities to this project and a good air port would facilitate this. The other factor that may have had a part in the selection was that one of the CAA engineers in the Dallas office, Mr. George Garanflo, had many years earlier been an engineer on the Dixie Dam Survey which had selected the site for the hydro-electric plant to be built by the

power company on the White River on the Tucker Farm, three miles from Flippin and some six air miles from the Bull Shoals Dam. Mr. Garanflo had married a Flippin girl and had lived at Flippin for a time.

Local people contributed to a fund to purchase the land and some of the landowners donated outright-or sold at a reduced price-the land necessary for a 3,000 foot runway, where the present airport is located. Work began on the original runway in 1949 and was completed in 1950.

While the airport has not proved to be a monetary success, it has been a great asset in many ways to the community. The beacon light and runway lights have been a welcome sight to the pilots and many emergency landings were made in the first five years of operation and lives were saved.

The airport was officially dedicated in 1954 with C. C. Williford, the popular weatherman of Radio Station KWTO, Springfield, Missouri, as the guest speaker. Also featured on the show was Dorothy Hall of Station KWTO, famous for her beautiful whistling. The Cole Brothers, who were performing all over the country at the time, gave one of the finest air show performances seen in the country. The entire Arkansas Congressional delegation gave the community full cooperation and a flight of jet fighters from the air base at Memphis made two flights over the airport and received a roaring ovation from the crowd assembled.

After the dedication, improvements continued and the community received much publicity from the Weather Data and Flight Informatioti Station established by the FAA with sufficient personnel to man the station twenty-four hours daily. Flippin was often referred to as the coldest or the hottest spot in Arkansas.

In 1960, probably for political reasons, the "powers that be" decided that the Weather Data and Flight Information Center should be moved to the Harrison Airport. Local efforts were made to keep it at Flippin and the move was delayed until 1961. Direct wire service from the Harrison facility to the airport is available to all who ask for weather information for flight service.

In the mid-60's a group of local citizens composed of the late Guy Shaw, then Mayor of Flippin, Glenn Johnson, Postmaster of Flippin, Attorney Frank Huckaba, and Mr. C. C. Brown of Houston, Texas, who had built a summer home in Bull Shoals and was intensely interested in development of the airport, were flown to Washington by Mr. Brown's pilot, Bill Click, to meet with the FAA and J. W. Trimble, the Congressman from the Third District, to try to secure federal aid to pave or black-top the runway. They were received cordially but were given little aid since the government had furnished three-fourths matching aid in the original construction of the airport.

Since the federal aid was not secured, a movement was begun to secure the help of Baxter County in making the facility a good bi-county airport. Hopes were high for this cooperation as Marion County voters had just voted approval of a bond issue to build the Mar-Bax shirt factory near Gassville in Baxter County. A meeting held at Lakeview Park Lodge attended by delegates from both counties considered the proposal and after discussion the Baxter County delegation declined to join in the effort to have a bi-county airport supported by a bond issue as such a facility is used by a relatively small percentage of the citizens.

In the late "Sixties", Flippin donated the airport to Marion County and many improvements have been made. The 3,000 foot runway has been extended to 3500 feet and is now paved. Plans are now underway to provide for the lengthening of the runway to 5000 feet. This will provide a landing strip that will enable larger planes to land and takeoff from the airport. As air traffic develops and industry and recreational facilities grow in this area, it is logical to assume that the Marion County Airport will play a more important role in the future development of Marion County.

The airport is under the administration of the Marion County Airport Commission composed of Gay Rorie, Hal Johnson, Guy Alexander, Chris Wade, and Charles "Chuck" Hogle. Since the fall of 1973 the airport has been operated by Doyle Linck, a native of Flippin and a retired U.S. Navy man. Prior to operation by Mr. Linck, it was operated by Monte Borne' and Lawrence Wilett. The first leasor of the airport was L. D. Crane. Each of these operators did his part in development of the airport and the services it has rendered to the people of the area.