Business View Magazine | March 2019

75 reconnaissance pilot training base with P-39 Aircobras and then, with a mission change, became a fighter pilot training base with P-40 Warhawks and P-51 Mustangs, under the aus- pice of the Third Air Force. It continued that way, all the way until the closing of the airfield in September 1945. After the war, the federal government basically abandoned the field and the local community college moved out here for a short period and provided technical train- ing for local residents. The primary runway was even being used as a drag strip, while the Rose City Airport was still in use in the downtown area.” In 1961, the Thomas County and the City of Thomasville reopened the Airport as the Thomasville Municipal Airport. “It mostly ca- tered to local plantation traffic, which is still the biggest customer base that we have,” Petty notes. “We see a lot of traffic during the area’s quail season, which lasts from November to February, and is considered one of the staple industries in this region. Our biggest month is in January.” The Airport has seven employees and it gets some city funds for its operations, with the county maintaining its roads, ease- ments, and some of its outlying property. AT A GLANCE THOMASVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT WHAT: : A general aviation airport WHERE: Seven miles northeast of Thomas- ville, a city in Thomas County, Georgia WEBSITE: www.thomasville.org/depart- ments/airport