Airshow comes to Williamsburg airport to celebrate its 55th anniversary
Good morning! Big airshow coming to Waltrip Williamsburg Executive Airport, Williamsburg city council getting recommendation to proceed with $26.2 million new library.
Editor’s note — we corrected the misspelling of Charly’s airport and clarified the airport has received state funding but no federal funds.
Our local airport – we don’t mean the one in Newport News – will be celebrating its 55th anniversary next month with a two-day airshow featuring nationally recognized performers including the first all-women’s parachute team, a flying circus, aerobatics and famed World War II fighters.
Larry Waltrip, owner of Waltrip Williamsburg Executive Airport in James City County, told us he plans to host more than 5,000 people for the event, which he is putting on at a six-figure cost.
But, as we talked at a table in the airport’s Charly’s restaurant, it’s clear the real meaning of the event for him is the recognition the local general aviation airport has finally gotten from the community as a public service, tourism and economic development asset.
The airport generates more than $4 million in economic activity, according to a 2011 report by the Virginia Department of Aviation. Though privately owned, the airport is open to all and handles up to 18,000 arrivals a year.
Although its 3,000-foot runway is too small for most jets it can easily handle propeller aircraft, including law enforcement and rescue helicopters, and it’s a quick ride for business people and visitors to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.
Famous visitors, according to the airport’s guest book, include most Virginia governors since Linwood Holton, President Bill Clinton, Attorney General Janet Reno, the President of Venezuela, Queen Noor of Jordan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and Vice President Al Gore. Other famous visitors include Elizabeth Taylor, Walter Cronkite, Merv Griffin, Arnold Palmer, Mickey Gilley, Eric Severied, Roger Penske, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and members of the DuPont family.
The airport has become a community hub, offering meeting spaces to local organizations. Its popular restaurant allows patrons to watch airplanes come and go over lunch while their children safely play on outdoor swings separated from the action by a fence.
Dozens of area high school students have received free training at the airport’s flight school courtesy of a local scholarship created by pilots based at the field and longtime airport employee Charlie Rogers.
The airport got off to a rough start when Larry asked his parents, who owned a construction company, to carve him out a runway on 200 acres of land they owned off Lake Powell Road so he could learn to fly. They quickly learned of the various approvals and permits they needed to get.
“Everybody thought I was crazy to do that… when I started,” Waltrip said. “My accountants, my lawyers, everybody was asking me, ‘Man, what are you doing?.’"
The airport became a labor of love for his late wife Jean, who ran it with a firm but calm hand. Over the years it expanded with the help of state aviation grants. Because the airport is privately owned, it is not eligible for federal funding, Weidner explained. The Waltrips said they have never paid themselves a profit from the field.
Although local officials have been occasionally wary, if not hostile, to the airport in the past, county supervisors had nothing but kind words and enthusiasm when manager Heron Weidner briefed them on the airshow last month.
To ensure safety, The Federal Aviation Administration worked with the show’s air boss to set out where the performers can practice and perform. The airspace will be closed to other air traffic during the shows. James City County police and fire officials reviewed plans before the show was announced and gave their approval for the safety measures that will be in place, with a heavy emergency responder presence, Weidner said.
Airshow Details
· When: Saturday and Sunday Sept. 20 and 21st. Gates open at 9 a.m.
· Where: Waltrip-Williamsburg Executive Airport. Offsite parking only with shuttles to bring spectators to the field.
· Cost: $30 for general admission, $48 for reserved seating, $140 for VIP including tent and meals. Parking costs extra. No gate admission, tickets must be purchased online at https://airshow.waltripwilliamsburgexecutiveairport.com/airshow-information/
Waltrip hired what is known as an air boss, who oversees all aspects of the show, to help him gather nationally known acts.
They include teams that perform aerobatics, various skydiving acts, and a comedy act with an iconic Piper Cub that includes shutting the engine down in view of spectators, then gliding down safely and taxiing up to the terminal.
Build the new library, committee urges Williamsburg City Council
Williamsburg City Council will receive a briefing from the city library evaluation committee this afternoon, recommending the city proceed with building a new downtown library at a cost of $26.1 million, not including furnishings and equipment.
The library evaluation committee’s memorandum will present the results of an in-person and online survey of more than 250 people who were asked a variety of questions about design preferences, library use and requirements.
The surveys were designed to gather input about user preferences, and didn’t ask whether participants favored spending money on a new downtown library. We also could see no questions that asked participants if they would favor renovating the existing facilities at less cost.
A unanimous resolution from the Library Evaluation Committee accompanying the report said the group was aware that James City County plans to build its own library three miles away.
“The City Council should proceed with the final design and construction of a new downtown Williamsburg Library that will continue to serve as the administrative headquarters for the Williamsburg Regional Library system,” the committee’s resolution states.
It should be “situated in a fashion aligned with the original (consultant) proposal along Armistead Avenue and closer to Lafayette Street as this option received overwhelming public support, particularly for minimizing disruption to the existing library and maximizing available parking; and …The new downtown Williamsburg Library design should align aesthetically with the original Hourigan/Tymoff+Moss proposal, following public and committee support for a blended architecture that leans toward traditional but remains contemporary.”
The committee included the city’s manager as well as council members William “ Pat” Dent and Barbara Ramsey, members of the library’s board of trustees and the Friends of the Williamsburg Regional Library.
James City Planners recommend mental health facility on Jamestown Road
James City County should allow a former assisted living facility at 1807 Jamestown Road to become a mental health facility, the planning commission recommended last week.
Haven Health Management made a successful case to the commission for permission to repurpose the former New Dawn assisted living facility on the 6.1-acre site, which is behind the 7-Eleven on Jamestown Road.
The group said it would use the three existing buildings on the property and would add to its 24 parking spaces to accommodate staff.
Haven Health LLC provides drug abuse and mental health services at its facilities, the group’s application for a special use permit states. Its local program would treat up to 50 adults, who typically stay from 30 to 60 days, according to the application.
The company said it would only accept applicants who voluntarily seek treatment, not those referred by court order, and only adults will be admitted.
There would be 24-hour staffing, with up to 30 workers during the day and up to 28 at night, including nurses, clinicians and mental health specialists, the company said.
The additional parking would accommodate employees only, because visitors will not be allowed and patients will not be allowed to park at the site.
The planning commission voted unanimously to recommend the board of supervisors approve the permit.
Government Meetings This Week
City of Williamsburg
City Council Work Session, Monday Aug. 11, 4 p.m. Stryker Center
Architectural Review Board, Tuesday Aug. 12, 6:30 p.m. Stryker Center
Economic Development Authority, Wednesday Aug. 13, 3 p.m., Stryker Center Room 127
City Council regular meeting. Thursday, Aug. 15, 4 p.m. Stryker Center
York County
Planning Commission, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m., York Hall.
Passings
No criticism implied, we want accuracy and appreciate feedback from our readers!
Didn’t intend to be critical just to point out a spelling error. Not a big deal!