ABOUT GREENWOOD MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
Greenwood Municipal Airport is owned by the City of Greenwood and operated by Ralph Hill of Lighthouse Flight Support. LFS seeks to encourage and lead an airport environment in Greenwood that is safe, compliant, hospitable, progressive and profitable
LFS operates under the authority of the City Administration and the Board of Aviation Commissioners, as well as the FAA and Indiana Department of Transportation.
History of the Airport
(The following is an abbreviated version of a story written by Virginia Wheatcraft Vielhaber and Robert Vielhaber)
The present day Greenwood Municipal Airport sits on what was once the Wheatcraft farm which was first settled in 1850. The farm originally spanned from Old Meridian Street east to Emerson Avenue with land on both sides of what is now County Line Road.
In 1945, two of the eldest Wheatcraft brothers, Bill and Ed (Horace) had learned to fly and bought their own plane. Some of the Wheatcraft farmland was set aside for a runway so the boys could use it for take-offs and landings. It was mowed grass turf and ran north-south.
Another brother, Ray, later became intrigued with planes, also took flying lessons, got his private pilot's license and went on to become a commercial pilot. His pursuit of a commercial pilot's license was achieved in only eight months, an extraordinary feat.
The three brothers opened the Wheatcraft Airport as a commercial airport on December 26, 1496.
Bob Miles was the first manager of the Wheatcraft Airport in 1955 and served for two years until leaving to become a pilot for Lake Central Airlines. Ralph Morgan took over as manager in 1957.
The airport was later sold to Ernie Hough and Orville Horton and was renamed Skyway Airport. Under their ownership improvements were made to the runway beginning in 1969. It was paved and lengthened from 1,700 feet to over 3,000 feet necessitating the purchase of additional land adjacent to the airport in 1970. The hangar area was also expanded and a non-FAA runway lighting system was installed.
A 1975 Reliever Airport Study identified the need for a reliever airport on the south side of Indianapolis, but Skyway Airport was not considered a feasible airport due to a lack of meeting FAA standards.
Around 1980 the Skyway Airport was offered for sale to the city of Greenwood. While considering purchase, the then mayor of Greenwood, Jeanette Surina, appointed a committee to work with federal and state agencies to designate Skyway Airport a reliever airport for the Indianapolis International Airport. By October 1984, Skyway Airport was included in the Indiana State Airport System Plan and added into the National Plan of Integrated Airpoort Systems (NPIAS) making the city, as airport sponsor, eligible to receive FAA funding for the airport.
In June 1985 following the filing of a Master Plan and Environmental Assessment report, a FAA Grant award was made and the city of Greenwood purchased the Skyway Airport in July 1986. The airport was renamed Greenwood Municipal Airport.
Since then there have been many improvements and additional land purchased for an entrance road. A new terminal building and maintenance hangar were built and dedicated in 1988.
The result is a first class airport facility with 109 T-hangars, a well-designed, beautifully appointed terminal building and a state of the art maintenance facility. The airport now has a 4,300 foot by 75 foot runway, parallel taxiway and medium intensity lighting system with PAPI and REILS on over 200 acres. The airport is a fully self-sustaining operation with hangar rentals, land rentals and investments that comprise its income. No tax dollars are involved in the maintenance or payroll of the airport.