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Souther Field Airport



Jimmy Carter Regional Airport
IATA: none – ICAO: KACJ – FAA LID: ACJ
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Americus
Location Sumter County, near Americus, Georgia
Elevation AMSL 471 ft / 144 m
Coordinates 32°06′38.8770″N 084°11′19.8530″W / 32.11079917°N 84.18884806°W / 32.11079917; -84.18884806Coordinates: 32°06′38.8770″N 084°11′19.8530″W / 32.11079917°N 84.18884806°W / 32.11079917; -84.18884806
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5/23 6,021 1,835 Asphalt
9/27 3,787 1,154 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 5,600
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

PT-17s on the ramp at Souther Field, 1943


Flight Training
Flight Training

Hangar and aircraft, about 1943
Hangar and aircraft, about 1943

Jimmy Carter Regional Airport (ICAO: KACJ, FAA LID: ACJ) is a public airport located four miles (6 km) northeast of the central business district of Americus, in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. It owned by the City of Americus.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Souther Field is assigned ACJ by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA.

Facilities and aircraft

Jimmy Carter Regional Airport covers an area of 378 acres (153 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 5/23 measuring 6,021 x 100 ft (1,835 x 30 m) and 9/27 measuring 3,787 x 75 ft (1,154 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending June 7, 2006, the airport had 5,600 aircraft operations, an average of 15 per day: 98% general aviation and 2% military.

History

Originally named Souther Field, aviation began in 1918, when on 19 January, the War Department leased 407 acres 4.5 miles north of the center of Americus, Georgia from Sumter County for a primary training airfield and an aviation supply depot. The Air Service named the facility Souther Field in honor of Major Henry Souther who served as consulting engineer on many of the World War I aviation projects. Major Souther had been killed earlier in the line of duty at Fort Monroe, Virginia. When completed, the base consisted of warehouses, accommodations for 2,000 officers and men, 15 wooden hangars, and a hospital plus other structures.

The first aircraft to land on the field were Standard J-1s powered by Hall Scott motors from Maxwell Field, Alabama. However, Curtiss Jennys, manufactured in Canada, became the first aircraft assigned to the field. Shortly thereafter, 71 more Jennys from the Curtiss factory in Buffalo, New York also arrived. The first 25 cadets reported on 29 May 1918. An additional class of 25 cadets arrived every week until the signing of the armistice. The high-water mark saw 125 officers, 1,400 men, and 147 aircraft at the field. Souther logged more flying hours than any other Army airfield during the war.

After the end of the conflict, the War Department deactivated the field and sold its surplus airplanes to the public. One of the surplus aircraft buyers was none other than Charles Lindbergh. In May 1923, Lindbergh paid $500 for a Jenny with a brand-new OX-5 engine, a new paint job, and an extra 20 gal. gasoline tank. He had over 100 Jenny airframes to choose from. Lindbergh aborted his first takeoff attempt on a windy day with his completed Jenny. Lindbergh spent a week practicing at Souther before he finally departed for the barnstorming circuit. In 1928, Sumter County purchased the property.

William J. Graham of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania founded the Graham Aviation Company in April 1938. By the end of 1940, Graham Aviation managed eight airports in western Pennsylvania and operated several pilot schools as well as one flight instructor school. The Army Air Corps asked Graham if he would consider establishing a Contract Pilot School. A pilot, who had trained at Souther during World War I, suggested the former airfield to Graham for his school. Graham and his staff came to Americus and inspected the site. Finding it satisfactory, he leased the property from Sumter County.

Construction of the new contract training field began in December 1940 initially consisting of one barracks, a mess hall, a workshop hangar, and a 138 x 204-ft. steel hangar. The necessity of removing the concrete foundations of the World War I buildings slowed construction. The Instructor training program began on 1 February 1941 with five St. Louis Steel Car Company PT-15s. The PT-15 is virtually indistinguishable from the PT-17 Stearman except by the trained eye. The Air Corps bought a total of 14 for evaluation purposes. On 15 March the school received its first 10 PT-17 Stearmans.

Officially the 56th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment, the school's contract called for training classes of 50 students. The first class began ground school on March 22, 1941. Meanwhile, the Army Air Corps modified Graham's contract for the training of British Royal Air Force cadets. The first class of RAF students arrived from Canada on a train in early June. Local citizens warmly greeted the Brits as they bused through Americus to the school.

With the United States entry into the war, the Defense Plant Corporation bought Graham's investment in Souther. An enlargement of the school facilities also got underway for the planned increase in training. Ultimately, the school occupied 644 acres with three hangars. The cantonment area contained two two-story barracks, a recreational ball, an exchange, administration building, Link trainer building, ground school building, mess hall, cold storage plant and a hospital. The school had two auxiliary fields. The British cadets departed Souther in the fall of 1942 with the training of American cadets resuming on September 13, 1942.

By the end of 1942, the number of PT-17s present had increased to 107. From January 1, 1943 to January 31, 1944, 2,073 students trained at Souther. The school reached its peak in the winter of 1943/44 with 600 cadets on board and over 450 civil employees that included over 100 flight instructors. Aircraft present reached its zenith with 122 PT-17s, four Fairchild PT-19s, and one BT-13 Valiant, used by the instructors and staff. When the last class graduated in October 1944, the school closed.

In 1944 Souther Army Airfield became a site for German prisoners of war, who worked on the farms in the area. The army deactivated Souther Field at the end of World War II and deeded the land to Americus. In 1948 a portion of Souther Field was chartered for the South Georgia Trade and Vocational School (later South Georgia Technical College).

Two of the three World War II hangars built by Graham Aviation are still standing, one on the college's campus. The warehouse that had served the field since 1918 is privately owned and stands at the western edge of the campus. Souther Field's World War II–era concrete apron (in which are embedded iron tie-downs that secured the Stearman biplane trainers) today is used for campus parking. Opposite the college campus and separated by a stand of trees, today's modernized Souther Field is a public-use airport.

In 1978 Griffin Bell, an Americus native, presented a memorial plaque to Souther Field Airport to commemorate Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1992 a seven-foot bronze statue of Lindbergh, made by University of Georgia art professor and sculptor William J. Thompson, was dedicated. The statue, commissioned by the Sumter County Historic Preservation Society, stands at Souther Field as part of the airport's Lindbergh Monument. Americus celebrated "Lindbergh Days" in 1985 with a public festival and the installation of a state historical marker. Lindbergh's original JN-4 Jenny biplane, purchased and built at Souther Field, is on display at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Nassau County, New York.

On October 11, 2009, the Americus and Sumter County Airport Authority approved Souther Field's renaming as Jimmy Carter Regional Airport. The new name was initially proposed jointly by the Sumter County Board of Commissioners and the Americus City Council.



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Souther Field Airport picture

Location & QuickFacts

FAA Information Effective:

2007-07-05

Airport Identifier:

ACJ

Airport Status:

Operational

Longitude/Latitude:

084-11-19.8530W/32-06-38.8770N
-84.188848/32.110799 (Estimated)

Elevation:

471 ft / 143.56 m (Surveyed)

Land:

378 acres

From nearest city:

4 nautical miles NE of Americus, GA

Location:

Sumter County, GA

Magnetic Variation:

03W (2000)

Owner & Manager

Ownership:

Publicly owned

Owner:

City Of Americus
AND SUMTER COUNTY.

Address:

County Courthouse, Po Box 944
Americus, GA 31709

Phone number:

229-924-3090

Manager:

Brown Hodges Arpt Comm

Address:

P.o. Box 988
Americus, GA 31709

Phone number:

229-924-2944
FBO, SOUTHER FIELD AVIATION INC - TEL 229-924-2813.

Airport Operations and Facilities

Airport Use:

Open to public

Wind indicator:

Yes

Segmented Circle:

Yes

Control Tower:

No

Lighting Schedule:

DUSK-DAWN
MIRL RY 05/23 PRESET LOW INTST DUSK-2200, TO INCR INTST - CTAF. AFT 2200, ACTVT MIRL RY 05/23 - CTAF. ACTVT MALSF RY 23 AND PAPI RYS 05 AND 23 - CTAF.

Beacon Color:

Clear-Green (lighted land airport)

Landing fee charge:

No

Sectional chart:

Atlanta

Region:

ASO - Southern

Boundary ARTCC:

ZTL - Atlanta

Tie-in FSS:

MCN - Macon

FSS on Airport:

No

FSS Toll Free:

1-800-WX-BRIEF

NOTAMs Facility:

MCN (NOTAM-d service avaliable)

Federal Agreements:

NGY3

Airport Communications

CTAF:

122.800

Unicom:

122.800 

Airport Services

Fuel available:

100LLA

Airframe Repair:

MAJOR

Power Plant Repair:

MAJOR

Bottled Oxygen:

NONE

Bulk Oxygen:

NONE

Runway Information

Runway 05/23

Dimension:

6021 x 100 ft / 1835.2 x 30.5 m

Surface:

ASPH, Good Condition

Weight Limit:

Single wheel: 30000 lbs.
Dual wheel: 50000 lbs.

Edge Lights:

Medium

 

Runway 05

Runway 23

Longitude:

084-11-43.8400W

084-10-53.6220W

Latitude:

32-06-15.7560N

32-06-57.2640N

Elevation:

466.00 ft

462.00 ft

Alignment:

46

127

ILS Type:

 

LOC/GS

Traffic Pattern:

Left

Left

Markings:

Precision instrument, Good Condition

Precision instrument, Good Condition

Crossing Height:

37.00 ft

44.00 ft

VASI:

2-light PAPI on left side

2-light PAPI on left side

Visual Glide Angle:

3.00°

3.00°

Approach lights:

 

MALSF

Runway End Identifier:

 

Yes

Obstruction:

45 ft trees, 1730.0 ft from runway, 34:1 slope to clear

85 ft trees, 3090.0 ft from runway, 700 ft left of centerline, 34:1 slope to clear

 

Runway 09/27

Dimension:

3787 x 75 ft / 1154.3 x 22.9 m

Surface:

ASPH, Good Condition

Weight Limit:

Single wheel: 30000 lbs.

 

Runway 09

Runway 27

Longitude:

084-11-43.6500W

084-10-59.6220W

Latitude:

32-06-42.9280N

32-06-42.3420N

Elevation:

470.00 ft

459.00 ft

Alignment:

91

127

Traffic Pattern:

Left

Left

Markings:

Basic, Poor Condition
RWY MARKINGS BADLY FADED.

Basic, Poor Condition
RWY MARKINGS BADLY FADED.

Obstruction:

20 ft trees, 320.0 ft from runway, 50 ft left of centerline, 6:1 slope to clear

93 ft trees, 1595.0 ft from runway, 200 ft left of centerline, 15:1 slope to clear
+10 FT BRUSH AND TREES 140 FT FM RY END, 65 FT LEFT.

 

Radio Navigation Aids

ID

Type

Name

Ch

Freq

Var

Dist

LKG

NDB

Lindbergh

 

242.00

03W

5.6 nm

IZS

NDB

Montezuma

 

426.00

04W

18.0 nm

OHY

NDB

Coney

 

400.00

02W

18.0 nm

BEP

NDB

Bay Creek

 

350.00

03W

29.9 nm

AB

NDB

Putny

 

227.00

02W

39.6 nm

AWS

NDB

Lawson

 

335.00

02W

43.8 nm

OP

NDB

Yates

 

339.00

03W

48.6 nm

LSF

VOR/DME

Lawson

051X

111.40

02W

43.0 nm

PZD

VORTAC

Pecan

108X

116.10

02W

27.9 nm

VNA

VORTAC

Vienna

112X

116.50

01E

35.7 nm

MCN

VORTAC

Macon

089X

114.20

01E

44.4 nm

EUF

VORTAC

Eufaula

029X

109.20

02E

48.9 nm

Remarks

  • WILDLIFE ACTIVITY ON & INVOF ARPT.
  • EXISTED PRIOR TO 1959.

 Based Aircraft

Aircraft based on field:

19

Single Engine Airplanes:

17

Multi Engine Airplanes:

2

Operational Statistics

    Time Period: 2005-06-08 - 2006-06-07

Aircraft Operations:

108/Week

General Aviation Local:

71.4%

General Aviation Itinerant:

26.8%

Military:

1.8%

 

 

 

Souther Field Airport   

Address: Sumter County, GA

Tel: 229-924-3090, 229-924-2944


Images and information placed above are from
http://www.airport-data.com/airport/ACJ/

We thank them for the data!

 


General Info
Country United States
State GEORGIA
FAA ID ACJ
Latitude 32-06-38.877N
Longitude 084-11-19.853W
Elevation 471 feet
Near City AMERICUS



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