Felts Field - History

History

Felts Field, Spokane's historic airfield, is located on the south bank of the Spokane River and east of Spokane proper. Aviation activities began there in 1913. In 1920 the field, then called the Parkwater airstrip, was designated a municipal flying field at the instigation of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce. In 1926, the United States Department of Commerce officially recognized Parkwater as an airport, one of the first in the West. In September 1927, in conjunction with Spokane’s National Air Derby and Air Races, the airport was renamed Felts Field for James Buell Felts (1898–1927), a Washington Air National Guard aviator killed in a crash that May. Parkwater Aviation Field, later Felts Field, was the location for flight instruction, charter service, airplane repair, aerial photography, headquarters of the 116th Observation Squadron of the Washington Air National Guard, and eventually the first airmail and commercial flights in and out of Spokane. After World War II, commercial air traffic moved to Geiger Field (later Spokane International Airport). Felts Field remains a busy regional hub for private and small-plane aviation and related businesses and services. In 1991 it was designated Felts Field Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today the airport is used primarily for general aviation activity. No scheduled passenger service remains at Felts, though commercial scheduled Part 135 cargo operations remain via UPS and DHL contracting (Ameriflight LLC and perviously Merlin Express Airways).