2010: An Infrastructure Upgrade for One of the Oldest Airports in the United States

March 11, 2010

A major milestone for Stinson Municipal Airport, which is located seven miles (11.3 kilometers) south of downtown San Antonio in the south-central region of Texas, took place with the opening of a newly renovated runway. Runway 9-27, which previously had a length of 4,835 feet (1,473.7 meters), was extended to 5,002 feet (1,524.6 meters) to attract more private and business jet traffic to the airport. The funding for the extension was part of a $4.4 million block grant provided by the Texas Department of Transportation.

Stinson Municipal Airport has been owned and operated by San Antonio since 1918. Frank R. Miller, who was the director of that city’s aviation department from 2009 to 2016, highlighted the upgrade to Runway 9-27 at the time of its formal debut. “This is a major boost for Stinson Airport, and a major boost for the Southside of San Antonio,” asserted Miller. “The runway extension and other airfield improvements allow Stinson Municipal Airport to host a more diverse, and wide range of general aviation aircraft.”

This airport dates back to 1915, when it was established by the pioneering Stinson family. Emma Stinson managed the flight school at this facility, with her daughter Katherine (who set flying records for everything from mail delivery to aerobatic maneuvers) financing that school. Majorie Stinson, another one of Emma’s daughters and an aviation trailblazer in her own right, served as the flight instructor. Emma’s son Edward Anderson “Eddie” Stinson Jr., who eventually achieved fame as both a pilot and aircraft manufacturer, worked at the airport as a mechanic. The airport bearing their family name now ranks second only to College Park Airport in Maryland as the oldest general aviation airport still in continuous operation in the United States.

Photo Credit: Larry D. Moore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Nv8200pa), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en), Wikimedia Commons

For more information on Stinson Municipal Airport, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinson_Municipal_Airport and https://flysanantonio.com/stinson/about/