MACON, Ga. — You can catch a flight now at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, but several decades ago it served a different purpose -- flight school.
It used to be named Cochran Field, and it was built in the early 1940s to be utilized in WWII. The air field is where both American and foreign pilots were trained until the Air Force inactivated the base in the mid 1940s.
An agreement with the Army said that when the War Department was done using the property, the deed would revert to the city and the county.
Following the war, the air field was used for different things and has served the Central Georgia area under a few names, including: Lewis B. Wilson Municipal Airport, Macon Municipal Airport, and now the Middle Georgia Regional Airport.
Back in the 1950s and 60s, a community of people referred to the area surrounding it as Cochran Field. There was once a pool near the field that was open to the public, and some may remember working at the field long hours dumping pesticides into planes to get rid of fire ants.
Manufacturing buildings and hangars were later built on top of what was Cochran Field, but some original structures still stand.
Two Army built hangars are still there, along with a few old warehouses. There is a building that used to be a post office, and a home that is original to the property.
Darlene McLendon is the President and CEO of the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, and she worked at the field when it was the Lewis B. Wilson Airport in the 1980s. She worked as a Radar Approach Controller in the original red and white air traffic tower.
The tower she worked in was later moved to the Museum of Aviation and sits right outside her office window today. She worked one of the first shifts in the tower that stands at the airport currently. She said it's like she went in a "small circle."
"It's been an interesting evolution of that part of the city and for the airport. It's certainly had its peak days when air travel was connecting to Atlanta, Savannah... it certainly is a great asset to have here in our community," she said.
One family has been a staple at the air field since the late 1940s, and they still operate there today. Henry Lowe is the son of Jim Lowe, who launched Lowe Aviation back in 1946.
Both Jim and Henry have been inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, and Henry now runs the business with his son.
The airport today operates as a city-owned, public-use airport. It is operated by TBI Airport Management, Inc. and is mostly used for general aviation. It's located at 1000 Terminal Drive in Macon.
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