Welcome to Campbell
Field Airport
Elevation 40 Ft.
Airport established 1933 by D. M. Kellam
Celebrating 75 Years of
Aviation in Northampton County
1933-2008
On the
Eastern Shore of Virginia.
FAA
ID# 9VG
Free
WiFi Internet Access!
NOTAM:
"Soup on Sunday"
is ON for June 28th, 2009
AT-6 at the former Kellam Field in 1939!
(That's 70 years ago!)
Have you flown into Campbell Field and had a great time?
If so, please tell others about it at AirNav and AOPA (member only)
"Soup-on-Sunday"
Menu:
"Soup on Sunday"
is ON for June 28th, 2009
AT-6 at the former Kellam Field in 1939!
(That's 70 years ago!)
Have you flown into Campbell Field and had a great time?
If so, please tell others about it at AirNav and AOPA (member only)
"Soup-on-Sunday"
Menu:
Steamed
Sabrett Hot Dogs with all the toppings an aviator would love.
"Tarmac Busting" Soup (most likely Chili)
Hot coffee, soft drinks and water.
Assorted desserts.
Print out the "Soup-on-Sunday" flyer.
_______________________________________________
What's New:
_______________________________________________
"Tarmac Busting" Soup (most likely Chili)
Hot coffee, soft drinks and water.
Assorted desserts.
Print out the "Soup-on-Sunday" flyer.
What's New:
Hang
Gliding: Campbell Field Airport is now the home to the
Eastern Shore Hang Gliding Center. Take a tandem introductory
hang gliding flight and learn to fly hang gliders. See www.SoartheShore.com
for all the details or call (757) 442-7519 to schedule your flight.
Courtesy Car: Flying in and want to explore the shore? We are the only airport on the ESVA with a courtesy car. Please print and complete the Courtesy Car Agreement and leave it with us prior to using the car. The keys to the courtesy car are located in the Pilot's Pub. The four digit combination to the Pilot's Pub is the CTAF. The only thing we ask of the driver is that they replace the fuel used.
VAHS Article on Campbell Field: Linda Burdette, member & editor for the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society, penned a wonderful article on Campbell Field entitled "75 Years of Rolling on the Grass". (see pages 22-26)
Precision Windsports Article on Campbell Field: Precision Windsports, the dealer for Airborne Trikes, came to Campbell Field for a couple days of flying above the scenic Eastern Shore. Read this article about their adventure on the Eastern Shore.
Want to keep up with Campbell Field Airport? Follow the airport on Twitter!
Campbell Field Airport has a Facebook Page! Become a Facebook friend of Campbell Field Airport.
Check out the latest article on Campbell Field in the April 2008 issue of Atlantic Flyer. Many thanks again to photographer and journalist Michael Likavec for a great article.
Courtesy Car: Flying in and want to explore the shore? We are the only airport on the ESVA with a courtesy car. Please print and complete the Courtesy Car Agreement and leave it with us prior to using the car. The keys to the courtesy car are located in the Pilot's Pub. The four digit combination to the Pilot's Pub is the CTAF. The only thing we ask of the driver is that they replace the fuel used.
VAHS Article on Campbell Field: Linda Burdette, member & editor for the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society, penned a wonderful article on Campbell Field entitled "75 Years of Rolling on the Grass". (see pages 22-26)
Precision Windsports Article on Campbell Field: Precision Windsports, the dealer for Airborne Trikes, came to Campbell Field for a couple days of flying above the scenic Eastern Shore. Read this article about their adventure on the Eastern Shore.
Want to keep up with Campbell Field Airport? Follow the airport on Twitter!
Campbell Field Airport has a Facebook Page! Become a Facebook friend of Campbell Field Airport.
Check out the latest article on Campbell Field in the April 2008 issue of Atlantic Flyer. Many thanks again to photographer and journalist Michael Likavec for a great article.
Forget the $100 Hamburger....Now you can
Fly-In for CLAMS!
Give us a call and we will have Virginia's Finest Eastern Shore Clams waiting for you!
Give us a call and we will have Virginia's Finest Eastern Shore Clams waiting for you!
Live
Webcams!
We now have two live cameras! The original hangar camera and
the new runway camera.
See what is happening around the aerodrome.
Did you know you can camp at
Campbell Field Airport?
Camping Information Page
If you have flown into Campbell Field Airport please add yourself to our map. Include your home base and plane type.
_______________________________________________
"Come Roll On the Grass"
"Grassroots Airport for Grassroots Flying"
"Home of the $100 Hotdog"
Taildragger Friendly!
_______________________________________________
Airport Updates:
First Hang Gliding Flight at Campbell Field
Jon Thompson flying the Dragonfly Aero Tug
Jon giving Bill some tips while Christine looks on.
Discussing the first flight.
Getting ready for my flight.
The activities attracted a few spectators.
Here are a few neighborhood kids checking out the Dragonfly.
They still have a long way to get to the moon!
Brad launching the Wills Wing Falcon 3 off the cart.
Last flight of the day.
7/10/2008 New Patio and Furniture: The teak outdoor furniture just arrived so we went to work building a small brick patio in front of the "Pilots Pub". I think it looks great. Fly on in to the next "Soup-on-Sunday" and enjoy it.
6/14&15/2008 Virginia Festival of Flight: The 11th Annual Virginia Regional Festival of Flight was a big success! I had a great time and hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. A big thank you to the hundreds of volunteers, the Virginia Department of Aviation, the City of Suffolk, the Suffolk Executive Airport and SFQ manager Kent Marshall, the SFQ Airport Commission, the Delegates of the Virginia Aviation Council, and especially all the pilots that flew in every type of aircraft imaginable. Enjoy these great photos by Mike Likavec and visit the Festival of Flight home page.
6/1/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: Mediocre weather meant a small crowd today. We did have a large crowd from Pennsylvania camp out the night before despite the heavy downpours. They were very brave and even enjoyed the lighting show. We had a few regulars in today including a 1979 Cessna 182 with a new paint job and interior, it looked great!
1979 Cessna 182 (Looks like a 2008!)
Kids!
More Kids!
Cute Picture (and they did fly in)!
6/01/2008 MS Bike Tour: Campbell Field Airport sponsored the local team that rode in the MS 150 Bike Tour around the Eastern Shore.
Team "Off the Map". Looking happy before the event
and the inches of rain that will flood their tent that night.
5/25/08 Soup-on-Sunday: After several weeks of rain outs the weather finally cleared for a beautiful Soup-on-Sunday. The 30+ aircraft including everything from a Piper Cub to a Cessna 150 and 210 to a Beechcraft twin.
5/4/2008 Soup-on-Sunday & Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society Presentation: A lousy weather forecast threatened to cancel this weeks "SOS" but the last minute change in the forecast brought beautiful weather to Campbell Field. Over 30 aircraft flew in and a large local crowd drove in. I'm guessing that we had 150+ people in attendance.
This week was a special "SOS" as we had the Virginia Aeronautical Hisorical Society (VAHS) and the Virginia Department of Aviation joining us. Read the press release. Four individuals gave presentations. First, Al Orgain, Chairman of the VAHS gave a talk about the Society and what it does to preserve Virginia aviation history and honor Virginia aviators. One program that the VAHS sponsors is the Historical Marker Project, commemorating the sites of aviation firsts with roadside historical markers. One such location to be commemorated soon is the Wallops Island Flight Facility (WAL), here on the Eastern Shore. Van Crosby, President of the VAHS, was also in attendance to help with Mr. Orgain's presentation. Next, David Hahn, VAHS Historian, gave a presentation on the history of aviation in Virginia.
Then a local perspective of aviation history was given by Jeffrey Walker. Mr. Walker is a lifelong resident of the Eastern Shore and was an active duty pilot with the Navy, then flew for the Virginia Marine Resource Commission and Continental Airlines. He recollected several interesting stories about the pilots and flights here at the old Kellam Field. A couple of his interesting remarks included the Shoreflight Pilots Club, who would have breakfast flights out to Hog Island where they would land on the beach. Then he mentioned the aerial goose hunts and the bags of birds dropped at the end of the runway to evade the law. These stories, of course, were second hand knowledge! For more history of the old Kellam Field see the History section.
Lastly, Randy Burdette, Director of the Virginia Department of Aviation gave a short talk on the department, its finances and the trend of private and public use airports in the commonwealth. One interesting remark was the high rate of closure of private use airports in Virginia. In just that last ten years Virginia has lost a high percentage of its private use airports. In an attempt to slow or stop the rate of closures Randy is organizing an event to unite and educate owners of private use airports. The Eastern Shore is an area with many private use airports and there were at least six owners in attendance at the event. I will update this site when Randy releases more details about the event.
A special thanks to Morgan Harris, Aviation Operations Specialist, Virginia Department of Aviation, for driving in the departments display trailer. We usually find Morgan at the big events such as Sun 'n Fun and the Virginia Regional Festival of Flight so it was a treat to have him out on the Eastern Shore. I saw many pilots leaving with bags of information from the VADOA's trailer.
I hope everyone enjoyed the presentations, the hot dogs and chili. I must admit that I am beginning to feel more like a hot dog vendor than an airport owner. We served almost 200 hot dogs this Sunday and I served 200 hot dogs at last Saturdays event in Suffolk for the Virginia Aviation Council. That's a lot of dogs!
3/30/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: We have not had a "SOS" in a while so I was hoping that that the conditions would be perfect this Sunday. Well, they were not! While the field was VFR all day just to the south was heavy rain and IFR conditions. Suprisingly about 10 aircraft ventured in, needless to say all were from the north. It sort of caught me off gaurd because with the light drizzle and windy conditions I was sure that nobody was going to come in. Fortunately I had everything ready to go and was able to throw on some hot dogs and chili just in time! I had a great time and I hope the 20 or so people that braved the weather will come back on a nicer day.
A couple of CGS Hawks.
4/1/2008 PRESS RELEASE: (Happy April Fool's Day!)
Campbell Field Airport announced today that it had awarded the runway paving contract to Branscome, Inc. and the engineering and design contract to Delta Airport Consultants. These signed contracts come one month before a May 1st deadline set by the Virginia Department of Aviation. As of May 1st the Virginia Department of Aviation has “outlawed” grass or turf landing surfaces. Claiming that “no aircraft was ever meant to land on grass” and that grass strips are a “thing of the past” the department moved quickly forward with a mandate effectively banning all grass and turf landing surfaces. Campbell Field owner Gordon Campbell commends the Department of Aviation for their progressive stance; “The department has finally realized that grass runways are just silly. Finally we can get out of the dark ages and be like most other states that have banned grass landing areas. Personally I am tired of seeing all that green grass every time I'm on final approach not to mention all the hours I spend cleaning grass stains off my wheel pants, and I really miss the sounds and smell of asphalt.”
The owner is also looking forward to the increased economic development that a paved runway will generate. “Lets face it, the guys flying Piper Cubs and other small aircraft are not bringing any money into the area. If a Cub and a GV roll up to the hangar at the same time who do you think is getting the red carpet?” He will also contact Signature Flight Support in hopes that they will open an FBO at the field.
The construction is schedule to begin in 90 days and will necessitate closing the airport for 15 minutes every hour. Large corporations looking to build corporate hangars can contact the owner directly regarding leasing information.
UPDATE: If you were fooled by this April Fool's Day PR you were not alone! Quite a few of you took the bait! It was fun but remember the slogan for the airport is "Come Roll on the GRASS". There will never be asphalt here! Thanks to the VA Department of Aviation for playing along. The department and their director is the best in the country! Happy April Fool's Day!
3/5/2008 Appalachia Volunteers of Boston College: Every year a group of Boston College students come to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to volunteer during their spring break as part of the Appalachia Volunteers of Boston College. This year 100 or so students worked in several communities on the Eastern Shore, including 19 that were hosted near Campbell Field Airport in Weirwood. For the third year in a row Campbell Field Airport hosted a party for all the groups on the Eastern Shore. This year there was food, a lot of dancing and then a huge bonfire.
Don't Ever Click Here
Camping Information Page
If you have flown into Campbell Field Airport please add yourself to our map. Include your home base and plane type.
_______________________________________________
"Grassroots Airport for Grassroots Flying"
"Home of the $100 Hotdog"
Taildragger Friendly!
_______________________________________________
Airport Updates:
6/13&14/2009: 75th Anniversary Fly-In & Campout: (I'm working on it!...sorry for taking so long!)
5/30&31/2009 12th Annual Festival of Flight: The Virginia Aviation Council just hosted their 12th Annual Festival of Flight at the Suffolk Executive Airport in Suffolk, VA. It was a wonderful event and as one of the organizers I was grateful that we had perfect weather on Saturday as over 350 aircraft attended the event. I would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers who did everything from parking aircraft to cooking pancakes to carrying out the trash. It was an amazing coordinated effort of volunteers that made this event what it is and will become. EAA just published a nice review of the event. The EAA article also has a listing of aircraft judging results. Photos and other post event info is being uploaded to VirginiaFlyIn.org. Check out this video below of the event that was produced by the Virginia-Pilot.
5/24/2009 Soup-on-Sunday: After a string of perfect days the weather turned to only marginal on Sunday. It was still very flyable all day but rain was popping up on the radar in a few Virginia locations. We had a good morning of flying tandem hang gliders but the turnout for Soup-on-Sunday was very low. We were lucky if we had ten aircraft show up. But ten aircraft is enough to make the afternoon a fun time. In fact, I sort of like the smaller crowds because it gives me a little time to interact rather than making sure the food is warm and plentiful. It was also our first full weekend of hang gliding at Campbell Field so "SOS" attendees were able to watch a few tandem hang gliding flights. At least one "SOS" attendee took a tandem hang gliding flight and had a great time!
Dr. Nichols (R) with family & friends
Larry & Susan Kennedy with their Grumman
Father & Son
Aeronca Champ
RV's
V-Tail Bonaza
Another RV!
For more great photos of the day's event please visit:
Flickr-Campbell Field Airport
Flickr-Travis Faudree
Flickr-Mike Likavec
4/1/2009 April Fool's Day: Someone here at Campbell Field Airport got a hold of the mailing list and issued a Press Release indicating that the power lines at the south end of the runway were going to be raised 278 feet to accomodate incoming traffic. While I have no official statistics it appears a few of you believed the tale, if not just for a few minutes. If you did not get last years prank about paving the runway, then you get some sympathy. But if there are any of you that fell for it two years in a row, well, maybe it is time for an examination (of the head)! I was suprised how many of you indicated that with all the FAA's beauracracy, they just might approve something like this. Some of you asked if there was any consideration given to departing traffic, missed approaches, or cost considerations. No, there was no consideration given to those things because this was a joke that was thought up in about 30 minutes! Oh, and the photo, it was just pulled from somewhere in the far reaches of the internet! Good luck to you all next year!
Happy April Fool's Day 2009!
2/7/2009 Winter!: It has been cold around here, seemingly more so than in past years. Maybe I am just getting old! During January I had a nice flight down to Florida for a couple of weeks. I picked up Hang Gliding and Trike instructor Jonny Thompson (he works with Kitty Hawk Kites during the summer) at Currituck and we had a tailwind most of the way down to Quest Air Soaring Center, just west of Orlando. Airnav.com did a great job of pointing out all the cheap fuel along the route (paid a low of $2.44 at Ormond, Fl.), I might never see that again! After bumming around Quest for a few days and getting a few hang gliding tows in I headed down to Miami for a few days then worked my way up to Charleston, S.C., then to KVTA in Ohio to pick up our new airport mascot, Piper! What was most amazing about the trip is that I had a tailwind on virtually every leg, you don't see that often! Meanwhile the bathroom here at 9VG is a gutted miserable mess! Time to get to work!
Old Pan Am seaplane operations terminal on Dinner Key, Coconut Grove, Fl.
Above the West Virginia mountains flying to 9VG from Ohio.
Piper, the new mascot of 9VG.
12/30/2008 HSC-2 "Fleet Angels": During the week it is sometimes slow around here so it is nice to have a visit from Naval Station Norfolk. Today a MH60S "Knighthawk" from HSC-2 came in for a few minutes of practice (and to blow all the grass clippings off the runway!). HSC-2 is short for the Helseacombatron Two "Fleet Angels". They are the guys/gals that support our Atlantic Fleet with search and rescue, onboard delivery and executive transport. The wing has six squadrons based at Naval Station Norfolk. MH60S Photo, HSC-2 Logo.
"Fleet Angels"
(quality is poor because it is a frame from the webcam feed)
12/14/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: I did not want it to be the last "SOS" of 2008 but mother nature had other things planned for the final two Sundays in 2008. It was a perfect day for flying and I guess that is why the arrivals started off slow, by 12:30 there were only 5-6 aircraft on the field. But the smell of hot dogs and chili was too much for those still in the air and by 1pm the regular crowd of 20+ aircraft were piling in. We had quite a few aircraft that travelled an hour plus to get here. We had aircraft from North Carolina, the D.C. area, Philadelphia area and one couple from the upper west side of Manhattan. Their travel time was by far the longest as they had to take several modes of public transportation and then a long walk just to get to their home airport in New Jersey (yes, I am spoiled, with my Grumman no more than 40 feet away at all times)! I guess it is worth it for a hot dog...where would you get one in New York City? Enjoy the pictures:
ET enjoying his hot dog in the Pilot's Pub!
I was trying to get a shot of the brand new R44!
These kids did not eat any Christmas cookies (and I have a bridge to sell you)!
A nice V-tail Bonanza departing.
A Piper Twin out of Norfolk.
11/23/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: It started out as a very chilly day on the Eastern Shore with temps in the low 20's. So I wrongly assumed that the "SOS" crowd would be light. But with temps rising into the lower 40's and severe clear conditions aircraft from at least a five state area started "rolling on the grass" at Campbell Field. We ended up having, if not a record turnout, a near record turnout of aircraft at the field with 50+ planes (including two Robinson R44 Helo's) flying in. I was especially impressed to see a large turnout from North Carolina. We had several planes from Currituck, Manteo and the Raleigh-Durham area. Quite a few of them were told of the event here by our good friend and hang gliding guru, Jonny Thompson. From the north we had aircraft from as far away as Baltimore and New Jersey. I apologize for not taking more photos. I normally am able to get out near the runway and take pictures of all the aircraft but today I was stuck in the hangar most of the time making sure there were enough hot dogs in the steamer.
Pair of RV-8's
Cessna 172 out of Newport News
1975 Pazmany PL-2
"AirShark" CGS Hawk with intimidating graphics.
Don't get caught in front of this aircraft on short final!
Beech P35 Bonanza with Aspen Avionics EFD1000 Pro newly installed. Not shown in the photo is a Garmin stack including the Garmin 430. If my piggy bank is big enough I would like to put the Aspen system in my Grumman Tiger.
Shiny 1946 Taylorcraft BC12-D
11/21/2008 Wallops flight Facility Historical Marker Unveiling: I attended the unveiling ceremony today at the NASA visitor center at Wallops Flight Facility. The Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society was instrumental in organizing and preparing for the placement of this marker. Funding for the marker was provided by the Virginia Department of Aviation. Sposors of the ceremony were BaySys Technonlogies, Inc. and NASA Wallops Flight Facility.
10/21/2008: Main hangar at Campbell Field turns 60 years old today. The airport was established in 75 years ago and the original hangars were on the east side of the field. In 1948 a large wood t-hangar was erected on the NW side of the field. The hangar was built for five aircraft, a t-hangar configuration for four aircraft and the additional main hangar.
Inscribed in the concrete floor of hangar.
9/21/2008 Soup-on-Sunday:
Check out the photos HERE.
9/20/2008 NAS Oceana Air Show:
9/13/2008 WWI Fly-In: Day one of the Great War Aerodrome WWI Fly-In & Campout was a lot of fun! I will post a longer write up later but enjoy a couple of photos now! See more photos HERE
Great Lakes Biplane owned by Paul Ennis framed by the aerodrome gates.
The Thomas family poses for pictures in front of the gates.
9/4/2008 Trike Flying at Campbell Field: Terri, the owner of Lynchburg, Virginia based Precision Windsports, Inc. took a short break from selling the AirBorne Trikes and headed east with his friend John for a few days of trike flying on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Terri brought along a brand new AirBorne Outback powered by a Rotax 912. For two days they flew in formation up and down the Eastern Shore following the seaside and bayside coastline, exploring all the creeks and marsh areas. I also took a break from my busy task of managing the airport (oozing sarcasm) and flew my Phantom alongside of Terri so I could get a few shots of the Outback in its true element. Terri and John had a couple of spectacular days of flying ahead of the upcoming tropical storm "Hanna".
As you can tell from the photos below, the Eastern Shore of Virginia offers some of the best views from the air. There is little air traffic, no restricted areas or MOA's, no mountains, no large buildings or towers, in short, it is a pilot's paradise! Bring your plane and your tent and enjoy a couple days of true bliss!
8/17/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: A perfect summer day across the mid-atlantic brought in a large crowd. Over the course of the afternoon around 40 aircraft flew in for hot dogs, hamburgers, chili and steamed corn. Usually one aircraft steals the show. Today we had two aircraft that competed for best in show! We all have our favorite aircraft but when a stunning 1944 Beech Staggerwing D17S arrived people quickly abandoned their comfortable seats in the shade for an up close inspection. The second aircraft that had people choking on their corn was a 1943 Boeing Stearman B75N1 300HP. What is it about the 1940's that led to so many cool aircraft being produced! You can have your Cirrus! I'll take a Staggerwing or a Stearman any day.
In reality all aircraft are cool (just some are a little cooler than others!) and we had plenty on the field all day. I saw a beautiful pair of yellow piper cubs, a Piper Super Cub, a bunch of Cessna 172's, a bunch of Grumman Tigers, at least on Mooney, a Piper Warrior, a Cessna 206, and others.
We are offering hang gliding tandem intro flights this Sunday so no "Soup-on-Sunday" but your are welcome to come in and watch or take a tandem flight. If you can't make it check it out on the new RUNWAY CAM!
7/13/2008 Hang Gliding @ Campbell Field: History was made this past Sunday on the Eastern Shore of Virginia as Hang Gliders flew for the first time over the shore. During the afternoon seven aerotow flights were made, each up to 2500 feet over the Eastern Shore. The gliders released and soared over the shore and landed smoothly back at Campbell Field. We were lucky to have an experienced instructor with us for the day; Jon Thompson from KittyHawk Kites in North Carolina. After that the Australian built "Dragonfly" aero tug was piloted by the Eastern Shores own Bill McCarter. I took three tandem tows with Jon while Brad soloed the Wills Wings 195 and 170 gliders. It was a perfect day and from 2500 feet you could see the entire Eastern Shore. Our tandem hang gliding business will be launching very soon so look for updates here and the launch of the hang gliding website.
5/30&31/2009 12th Annual Festival of Flight: The Virginia Aviation Council just hosted their 12th Annual Festival of Flight at the Suffolk Executive Airport in Suffolk, VA. It was a wonderful event and as one of the organizers I was grateful that we had perfect weather on Saturday as over 350 aircraft attended the event. I would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers who did everything from parking aircraft to cooking pancakes to carrying out the trash. It was an amazing coordinated effort of volunteers that made this event what it is and will become. EAA just published a nice review of the event. The EAA article also has a listing of aircraft judging results. Photos and other post event info is being uploaded to VirginiaFlyIn.org. Check out this video below of the event that was produced by the Virginia-Pilot.
5/24/2009 Soup-on-Sunday: After a string of perfect days the weather turned to only marginal on Sunday. It was still very flyable all day but rain was popping up on the radar in a few Virginia locations. We had a good morning of flying tandem hang gliders but the turnout for Soup-on-Sunday was very low. We were lucky if we had ten aircraft show up. But ten aircraft is enough to make the afternoon a fun time. In fact, I sort of like the smaller crowds because it gives me a little time to interact rather than making sure the food is warm and plentiful. It was also our first full weekend of hang gliding at Campbell Field so "SOS" attendees were able to watch a few tandem hang gliding flights. At least one "SOS" attendee took a tandem hang gliding flight and had a great time!
We
had a number of photographers working today. I like that
because
I don't have to worry about getting good shots for this site.
Many thanks to Mike Likavec, Travis Faudree and Alex
Hrapunov.
Enjoy the pics below and I have listed several links to find
more
great pictures of the day.
Christine & Piper
Christine & Piper
Dr. Nichols (R) with family & friends
Larry & Susan Kennedy with their Grumman
Father & Son
Aeronca Champ
RV's
V-Tail Bonaza
Another RV!
For more great photos of the day's event please visit:
Flickr-Campbell Field Airport
Flickr-Travis Faudree
Flickr-Mike Likavec
4/1/2009 April Fool's Day: Someone here at Campbell Field Airport got a hold of the mailing list and issued a Press Release indicating that the power lines at the south end of the runway were going to be raised 278 feet to accomodate incoming traffic. While I have no official statistics it appears a few of you believed the tale, if not just for a few minutes. If you did not get last years prank about paving the runway, then you get some sympathy. But if there are any of you that fell for it two years in a row, well, maybe it is time for an examination (of the head)! I was suprised how many of you indicated that with all the FAA's beauracracy, they just might approve something like this. Some of you asked if there was any consideration given to departing traffic, missed approaches, or cost considerations. No, there was no consideration given to those things because this was a joke that was thought up in about 30 minutes! Oh, and the photo, it was just pulled from somewhere in the far reaches of the internet! Good luck to you all next year!
Happy April Fool's Day 2009!
2/7/2009 Winter!: It has been cold around here, seemingly more so than in past years. Maybe I am just getting old! During January I had a nice flight down to Florida for a couple of weeks. I picked up Hang Gliding and Trike instructor Jonny Thompson (he works with Kitty Hawk Kites during the summer) at Currituck and we had a tailwind most of the way down to Quest Air Soaring Center, just west of Orlando. Airnav.com did a great job of pointing out all the cheap fuel along the route (paid a low of $2.44 at Ormond, Fl.), I might never see that again! After bumming around Quest for a few days and getting a few hang gliding tows in I headed down to Miami for a few days then worked my way up to Charleston, S.C., then to KVTA in Ohio to pick up our new airport mascot, Piper! What was most amazing about the trip is that I had a tailwind on virtually every leg, you don't see that often! Meanwhile the bathroom here at 9VG is a gutted miserable mess! Time to get to work!
Old Pan Am seaplane operations terminal on Dinner Key, Coconut Grove, Fl.
Above the West Virginia mountains flying to 9VG from Ohio.
Piper, the new mascot of 9VG.
12/30/2008 HSC-2 "Fleet Angels": During the week it is sometimes slow around here so it is nice to have a visit from Naval Station Norfolk. Today a MH60S "Knighthawk" from HSC-2 came in for a few minutes of practice (and to blow all the grass clippings off the runway!). HSC-2 is short for the Helseacombatron Two "Fleet Angels". They are the guys/gals that support our Atlantic Fleet with search and rescue, onboard delivery and executive transport. The wing has six squadrons based at Naval Station Norfolk. MH60S Photo, HSC-2 Logo.
"Fleet Angels"
(quality is poor because it is a frame from the webcam feed)
12/14/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: I did not want it to be the last "SOS" of 2008 but mother nature had other things planned for the final two Sundays in 2008. It was a perfect day for flying and I guess that is why the arrivals started off slow, by 12:30 there were only 5-6 aircraft on the field. But the smell of hot dogs and chili was too much for those still in the air and by 1pm the regular crowd of 20+ aircraft were piling in. We had quite a few aircraft that travelled an hour plus to get here. We had aircraft from North Carolina, the D.C. area, Philadelphia area and one couple from the upper west side of Manhattan. Their travel time was by far the longest as they had to take several modes of public transportation and then a long walk just to get to their home airport in New Jersey (yes, I am spoiled, with my Grumman no more than 40 feet away at all times)! I guess it is worth it for a hot dog...where would you get one in New York City? Enjoy the pictures:
ET enjoying his hot dog in the Pilot's Pub!
I was trying to get a shot of the brand new R44!
These kids did not eat any Christmas cookies (and I have a bridge to sell you)!
A nice V-tail Bonanza departing.
A Piper Twin out of Norfolk.
11/23/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: It started out as a very chilly day on the Eastern Shore with temps in the low 20's. So I wrongly assumed that the "SOS" crowd would be light. But with temps rising into the lower 40's and severe clear conditions aircraft from at least a five state area started "rolling on the grass" at Campbell Field. We ended up having, if not a record turnout, a near record turnout of aircraft at the field with 50+ planes (including two Robinson R44 Helo's) flying in. I was especially impressed to see a large turnout from North Carolina. We had several planes from Currituck, Manteo and the Raleigh-Durham area. Quite a few of them were told of the event here by our good friend and hang gliding guru, Jonny Thompson. From the north we had aircraft from as far away as Baltimore and New Jersey. I apologize for not taking more photos. I normally am able to get out near the runway and take pictures of all the aircraft but today I was stuck in the hangar most of the time making sure there were enough hot dogs in the steamer.
Pair of RV-8's
Cessna 172 out of Newport News
1975 Pazmany PL-2
"AirShark" CGS Hawk with intimidating graphics.
Don't get caught in front of this aircraft on short final!
Beech P35 Bonanza with Aspen Avionics EFD1000 Pro newly installed. Not shown in the photo is a Garmin stack including the Garmin 430. If my piggy bank is big enough I would like to put the Aspen system in my Grumman Tiger.
Shiny 1946 Taylorcraft BC12-D
11/21/2008 Wallops flight Facility Historical Marker Unveiling: I attended the unveiling ceremony today at the NASA visitor center at Wallops Flight Facility. The Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society was instrumental in organizing and preparing for the placement of this marker. Funding for the marker was provided by the Virginia Department of Aviation. Sposors of the ceremony were BaySys Technonlogies, Inc. and NASA Wallops Flight Facility.
10/21/2008: Main hangar at Campbell Field turns 60 years old today. The airport was established in 75 years ago and the original hangars were on the east side of the field. In 1948 a large wood t-hangar was erected on the NW side of the field. The hangar was built for five aircraft, a t-hangar configuration for four aircraft and the additional main hangar.
Inscribed in the concrete floor of hangar.
9/20/2008 NAS Oceana Air Show:
9/13/2008 WWI Fly-In: Day one of the Great War Aerodrome WWI Fly-In & Campout was a lot of fun! I will post a longer write up later but enjoy a couple of photos now! See more photos HERE
Great Lakes Biplane owned by Paul Ennis framed by the aerodrome gates.
The Thomas family poses for pictures in front of the gates.
9/4/2008 Trike Flying at Campbell Field: Terri, the owner of Lynchburg, Virginia based Precision Windsports, Inc. took a short break from selling the AirBorne Trikes and headed east with his friend John for a few days of trike flying on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Terri brought along a brand new AirBorne Outback powered by a Rotax 912. For two days they flew in formation up and down the Eastern Shore following the seaside and bayside coastline, exploring all the creeks and marsh areas. I also took a break from my busy task of managing the airport (oozing sarcasm) and flew my Phantom alongside of Terri so I could get a few shots of the Outback in its true element. Terri and John had a couple of spectacular days of flying ahead of the upcoming tropical storm "Hanna".
As you can tell from the photos below, the Eastern Shore of Virginia offers some of the best views from the air. There is little air traffic, no restricted areas or MOA's, no mountains, no large buildings or towers, in short, it is a pilot's paradise! Bring your plane and your tent and enjoy a couple days of true bliss!
8/17/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: A perfect summer day across the mid-atlantic brought in a large crowd. Over the course of the afternoon around 40 aircraft flew in for hot dogs, hamburgers, chili and steamed corn. Usually one aircraft steals the show. Today we had two aircraft that competed for best in show! We all have our favorite aircraft but when a stunning 1944 Beech Staggerwing D17S arrived people quickly abandoned their comfortable seats in the shade for an up close inspection. The second aircraft that had people choking on their corn was a 1943 Boeing Stearman B75N1 300HP. What is it about the 1940's that led to so many cool aircraft being produced! You can have your Cirrus! I'll take a Staggerwing or a Stearman any day.
In reality all aircraft are cool (just some are a little cooler than others!) and we had plenty on the field all day. I saw a beautiful pair of yellow piper cubs, a Piper Super Cub, a bunch of Cessna 172's, a bunch of Grumman Tigers, at least on Mooney, a Piper Warrior, a Cessna 206, and others.
We are offering hang gliding tandem intro flights this Sunday so no "Soup-on-Sunday" but your are welcome to come in and watch or take a tandem flight. If you can't make it check it out on the new RUNWAY CAM!
I'll post some photos here soon but
in the meantime check out all the photos here.
I have also posted a few videos to YouTube. Check them out here.
I have also posted a few videos to YouTube. Check them out here.
7/13/2008 Hang Gliding @ Campbell Field: History was made this past Sunday on the Eastern Shore of Virginia as Hang Gliders flew for the first time over the shore. During the afternoon seven aerotow flights were made, each up to 2500 feet over the Eastern Shore. The gliders released and soared over the shore and landed smoothly back at Campbell Field. We were lucky to have an experienced instructor with us for the day; Jon Thompson from KittyHawk Kites in North Carolina. After that the Australian built "Dragonfly" aero tug was piloted by the Eastern Shores own Bill McCarter. I took three tandem tows with Jon while Brad soloed the Wills Wings 195 and 170 gliders. It was a perfect day and from 2500 feet you could see the entire Eastern Shore. Our tandem hang gliding business will be launching very soon so look for updates here and the launch of the hang gliding website.
"Soar the Shore"
First Hang Gliding Flight at Campbell Field
Jon Thompson flying the Dragonfly Aero Tug
Jon giving Bill some tips while Christine looks on.
Discussing the first flight.
Getting ready for my flight.
The activities attracted a few spectators.
Here are a few neighborhood kids checking out the Dragonfly.
They still have a long way to get to the moon!
Brad launching the Wills Wing Falcon 3 off the cart.
Last flight of the day.
7/10/2008 New Patio and Furniture: The teak outdoor furniture just arrived so we went to work building a small brick patio in front of the "Pilots Pub". I think it looks great. Fly on in to the next "Soup-on-Sunday" and enjoy it.
6/14&15/2008 Virginia Festival of Flight: The 11th Annual Virginia Regional Festival of Flight was a big success! I had a great time and hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. A big thank you to the hundreds of volunteers, the Virginia Department of Aviation, the City of Suffolk, the Suffolk Executive Airport and SFQ manager Kent Marshall, the SFQ Airport Commission, the Delegates of the Virginia Aviation Council, and especially all the pilots that flew in every type of aircraft imaginable. Enjoy these great photos by Mike Likavec and visit the Festival of Flight home page.
6/1/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: Mediocre weather meant a small crowd today. We did have a large crowd from Pennsylvania camp out the night before despite the heavy downpours. They were very brave and even enjoyed the lighting show. We had a few regulars in today including a 1979 Cessna 182 with a new paint job and interior, it looked great!
1979 Cessna 182 (Looks like a 2008!)
Kids!
More Kids!
Cute Picture (and they did fly in)!
6/01/2008 MS Bike Tour: Campbell Field Airport sponsored the local team that rode in the MS 150 Bike Tour around the Eastern Shore.
Team "Off the Map". Looking happy before the event
and the inches of rain that will flood their tent that night.
5/25/08 Soup-on-Sunday: After several weeks of rain outs the weather finally cleared for a beautiful Soup-on-Sunday. The 30+ aircraft including everything from a Piper Cub to a Cessna 150 and 210 to a Beechcraft twin.
5/4/2008 Soup-on-Sunday & Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society Presentation: A lousy weather forecast threatened to cancel this weeks "SOS" but the last minute change in the forecast brought beautiful weather to Campbell Field. Over 30 aircraft flew in and a large local crowd drove in. I'm guessing that we had 150+ people in attendance.
This week was a special "SOS" as we had the Virginia Aeronautical Hisorical Society (VAHS) and the Virginia Department of Aviation joining us. Read the press release. Four individuals gave presentations. First, Al Orgain, Chairman of the VAHS gave a talk about the Society and what it does to preserve Virginia aviation history and honor Virginia aviators. One program that the VAHS sponsors is the Historical Marker Project, commemorating the sites of aviation firsts with roadside historical markers. One such location to be commemorated soon is the Wallops Island Flight Facility (WAL), here on the Eastern Shore. Van Crosby, President of the VAHS, was also in attendance to help with Mr. Orgain's presentation. Next, David Hahn, VAHS Historian, gave a presentation on the history of aviation in Virginia.
Then a local perspective of aviation history was given by Jeffrey Walker. Mr. Walker is a lifelong resident of the Eastern Shore and was an active duty pilot with the Navy, then flew for the Virginia Marine Resource Commission and Continental Airlines. He recollected several interesting stories about the pilots and flights here at the old Kellam Field. A couple of his interesting remarks included the Shoreflight Pilots Club, who would have breakfast flights out to Hog Island where they would land on the beach. Then he mentioned the aerial goose hunts and the bags of birds dropped at the end of the runway to evade the law. These stories, of course, were second hand knowledge! For more history of the old Kellam Field see the History section.
Lastly, Randy Burdette, Director of the Virginia Department of Aviation gave a short talk on the department, its finances and the trend of private and public use airports in the commonwealth. One interesting remark was the high rate of closure of private use airports in Virginia. In just that last ten years Virginia has lost a high percentage of its private use airports. In an attempt to slow or stop the rate of closures Randy is organizing an event to unite and educate owners of private use airports. The Eastern Shore is an area with many private use airports and there were at least six owners in attendance at the event. I will update this site when Randy releases more details about the event.
A special thanks to Morgan Harris, Aviation Operations Specialist, Virginia Department of Aviation, for driving in the departments display trailer. We usually find Morgan at the big events such as Sun 'n Fun and the Virginia Regional Festival of Flight so it was a treat to have him out on the Eastern Shore. I saw many pilots leaving with bags of information from the VADOA's trailer.
I hope everyone enjoyed the presentations, the hot dogs and chili. I must admit that I am beginning to feel more like a hot dog vendor than an airport owner. We served almost 200 hot dogs this Sunday and I served 200 hot dogs at last Saturdays event in Suffolk for the Virginia Aviation Council. That's a lot of dogs!
3/30/2008 Soup-on-Sunday: We have not had a "SOS" in a while so I was hoping that that the conditions would be perfect this Sunday. Well, they were not! While the field was VFR all day just to the south was heavy rain and IFR conditions. Suprisingly about 10 aircraft ventured in, needless to say all were from the north. It sort of caught me off gaurd because with the light drizzle and windy conditions I was sure that nobody was going to come in. Fortunately I had everything ready to go and was able to throw on some hot dogs and chili just in time! I had a great time and I hope the 20 or so people that braved the weather will come back on a nicer day.
A couple of CGS Hawks.
4/1/2008 PRESS RELEASE: (Happy April Fool's Day!)
Campbell
Field Airport Awards Runway Paving Contract
Campbell Field Airport announced today that it had awarded the runway paving contract to Branscome, Inc. and the engineering and design contract to Delta Airport Consultants. These signed contracts come one month before a May 1st deadline set by the Virginia Department of Aviation. As of May 1st the Virginia Department of Aviation has “outlawed” grass or turf landing surfaces. Claiming that “no aircraft was ever meant to land on grass” and that grass strips are a “thing of the past” the department moved quickly forward with a mandate effectively banning all grass and turf landing surfaces. Campbell Field owner Gordon Campbell commends the Department of Aviation for their progressive stance; “The department has finally realized that grass runways are just silly. Finally we can get out of the dark ages and be like most other states that have banned grass landing areas. Personally I am tired of seeing all that green grass every time I'm on final approach not to mention all the hours I spend cleaning grass stains off my wheel pants, and I really miss the sounds and smell of asphalt.”
The owner is also looking forward to the increased economic development that a paved runway will generate. “Lets face it, the guys flying Piper Cubs and other small aircraft are not bringing any money into the area. If a Cub and a GV roll up to the hangar at the same time who do you think is getting the red carpet?” He will also contact Signature Flight Support in hopes that they will open an FBO at the field.
The construction is schedule to begin in 90 days and will necessitate closing the airport for 15 minutes every hour. Large corporations looking to build corporate hangars can contact the owner directly regarding leasing information.
"Come Roll on the Asphalt"
UPDATE: If you were fooled by this April Fool's Day PR you were not alone! Quite a few of you took the bait! It was fun but remember the slogan for the airport is "Come Roll on the GRASS". There will never be asphalt here! Thanks to the VA Department of Aviation for playing along. The department and their director is the best in the country! Happy April Fool's Day!
3/5/2008 Appalachia Volunteers of Boston College: Every year a group of Boston College students come to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to volunteer during their spring break as part of the Appalachia Volunteers of Boston College. This year 100 or so students worked in several communities on the Eastern Shore, including 19 that were hosted near Campbell Field Airport in Weirwood. For the third year in a row Campbell Field Airport hosted a party for all the groups on the Eastern Shore. This year there was food, a lot of dancing and then a huge bonfire.
See more Boston College photos here.
Boston College Students
participated in a roadside cleanup of Bayford Road.
A pickup truck filled with
garbage...and some students!
The group tours New Ravenna Mosaics
in Exmore Virginia. New Ravenna is a leading designer
and manufacturer of stone, glass and tile mosaics. Christine
Campbell (far left) hosted the tour.
Boston College students learning
the fine art of mosaic production.
See more Boston College photos here.
2/17/2008 Good old airports can last forever but good old hangars eventually die! The oldest hangar at Campbell Field, and most likely the first, finally succombed to the high winds we had over the past few days. The airport was established in 1933 and I suspect that this hangar was built shortly thereafter to house Darryl M. Kellams Avro Avian, an English made two place bi-plane. This hangar has been on the verge of collapse since I purchased the airport in 2003. When I first met the hangar I shoveled almost a foot of composted leaves and debris off the roof. That work probably gave a few extra years to the hangar. However, I then took those years away when I pulled all the vines off the sides which were probably supporting the structure. The hangar remained productive and was used as an aircraft hangar right up until the end. Ray Gefken stored his Fisher ultralight airplane there for several years and was continually shoring up the hangar with a few bits of wood here and there. Fortunately the hangar showed a great deal of compassion for the aircraft within and while one side of the hangar buckled in the wind it remained upright just long enough for Ray to gently remove his aircraft without a single scrap. If only the goats could have shown some compassion for his aircraft...but thats another story!
Inside of the hangar during the
airports busy years.
(click on image to open larger size)
Caption reads:
1947-1948 CAP (Civil Air Patrol) Meeting in hangar at airport Weirwood,
VA.
Seated l to r: Parks W. Ward, Harry McCann Sr., Lt. Dan Wilkens, Capt.
Harry W. McCann, Jr. "Capt. Mac", Lt. H. M. Terry "Buzzy"
View of hangar from the air
this past fall.
Hangar barely standing.
Fisher ultralight airplane undamaged.
Hangar after the fall.
11/17&18/2007 74th Anniversary of Campbell Field Fly-In & Campout: I just posted a series of photos on Flickr, they look great so check them out! Click here for PHOTOS. About 70 aircraft made the trip to Campbell Field over the weekend. The weather was great but cold! However, a few brave souls pitched there tents and enjoyed a great movie and bonfire. Thanks for attending and I hope everyone had a great time!
The winners of the spot landing contest were:
1st
Place Ralph Brumbley
N6969N Commanche
2nd Place Steve
Thomas
NC85286 7AC Champ
3rd Place Richard
Sears
N812RS RV7
Congratulations!
Older Airport & "Soup-on-Sunday" updates can be found following these links:
Campbell Field Airport & "Soup-on-Sunday" Updates 2005-2006
Campbell Field Airport & "Soup-on-Sunday" Updates 2006-2007Don't Ever Click Here
Click this link for a current interactive
aeronautical sectional chart.
Airport Office: (757) 442-7519
Address:
Campbell Field Airport
9114 Bayford Road, PO Box 64
Weirwood, VA 23413-0064
Airfield is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA) in the Weirwood Hamlet, Northampton County. We are near the towns of Exmore, Eastville and Nassawadox Virginia.
We love grassroots aviation and we are taildragger friendly.
Copyright Campbell Field Airport 2008
"Come Roll On the Grass"
Click on the banner below to build your own great website.
Campbell Field Airport
9114 Bayford Road, PO Box 64
Weirwood, VA 23413-0064
Airfield is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA) in the Weirwood Hamlet, Northampton County. We are near the towns of Exmore, Eastville and Nassawadox Virginia.
We love grassroots aviation and we are taildragger friendly.
Copyright Campbell Field Airport 2008
"Come Roll On the Grass"
Click on the banner below to build your own great website.