History
Originally called Capital Landing Field, the facility opened in mid-1930 and was Harrisburg's original commercial service airport. In 1934, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the facility and renamed it Harrisburg-York State Airport. The airport provided air service to the capital region and was an intermediate stop on longer air routes, principally the route between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. During those years, scheduled commercial air service was provided by Transcontinental and Western Airlines, TWA's predecessor.
During the 1940s, the airport continued in its role as the third largest airport in Pennsylvania and served an important role in the movement of war materials for the adjacent New Cumberland Army Depot, and as the site of the former Naval Photographic Reconnaissance Training School.
The Army Air Corps stationed the 101st and 103d Observation Squadrons at Harrisburg Airport early in the war to train pilots in observation and aerial photography. Later in the war, the Army Air Force formed the 6th Fighter Wing and 47th Bombardment Wing at the airport before their deployment overseas.
During the 1950s and 1960s, both air carrier service and the number of FBO's increased steadily until 1968 when Olmsted Air Force Base, located just across the river in Middletown was closed and all scheduled commercial air service was transferred to newly named Harrisburg International Airport in 1970. It was at that time, that Capital City Airport received its current name and became the region's main general aviation airport.
Capital City Airport is located adjacent to the Defense Distribution Center, one of the largest military distribution centers for the warehousing of supplies and equipment for the U.S. Armed Forces. A parachutte rigger detachment from the 82nd Airborne Division also operates out of Capital City Airport.
Since 1999, Capital City Airport has been owned and operated by the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA).
Read more about this topic: Capital City Airport (Pennsylvania)
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