Georgia's Aviation History
Georgia's First Flight
Powered flight was born in Georgia in 1907 when bicycle shop owner Ben Epps flew his rudimentary aircraft across a cow pasture near Athens. On his second attempt, his flying machine rose from the earth and into the air 50 feet and "flew" for about 100 yards. It came down harshly and lost both wings - but Mr. Epps escaped without a scratch.
Epps built and flew his own aircraft; he focused on a single engine two-cycle 15 horsepower version, which differed from the Wright brothers' twin propeller model first flown in 1903. In the next 19 year following his first flight, Epps built and tested several airplanes. In 1926 he produced a 340 pound aircraft capable of a top speed of 60 miles per hour.
Ben Epps Sr. passed his love of flight on to his children, and his oldest son Ben Jr. soloed at the age of 13 in 1929. This record of the youngest solo flight ever recorded led to a White House reception with President Hoover in 1931.
Although Ben Sr. was fatally injured in a crash near Athens in 1937, his legacy of flight in Georgia lives on today. One of Ben Sr.'s sons, Pat Epps, owns and manages Epps Aviation at the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta.
Birth of Airfields
Many of the early pioneering flights in Georgia were aimed at selling airplanes. In 1910, Atlanta's first aerial exhibition was held at the site of an auto racetrack. Later, that same site would evolve into Atlanta's first municipal airport, now known as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
One of the earliest flying fields opened in 1910 in Augusta, at the former Army Camp McKenzie. The Wright brothers established a flying school at the field and a year later the entire Army Signal Corps flight training school arrived; among the trainees: future Commanding General of the Army Air Force, General Hap Arnold.
In 1918, Souther Field opened in Americus, and the Army created a rudimentary landing field at Camp Benning near Columbus a year later. In late 1919, Ben Epps Field opened near Athens commemorating Georgia's aviation pioneer. Over the next 15 years, airfields opened in LaGrange, Douglas, Savannah, Alma, Waycross, Macon, Brunswick, Rome and DeKalb County.
In 1941 the Army Air Corps began construction on an Air Corps Depot south of Macon GA. When the construction began, the town nearest to the Depot was called Wellston, then a mere train stop located in the middle of a large dairy farm. However, that was soon to change.
Colonel Thomas, the first commander at the installation, wanted to name the Air Corps Depot after his mentor and hero, Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins; but Army regulations required installations be named after the host town - meaning "Wellston Army Air Depot" would be built in Middle Georgia. By now, Wellston had begun to flourish with the on-going housing and military construction. In a dramatic show of appreciation and support for the Army and Colonel Thomas, the Wellston City Fathers changed the name of the city to Warner Robins. Today, the base is known as Robins Air Force Base and is one of the 3 largest aircraft maintenance depots in the world.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
In 1925, Atlanta began developing the current site of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport into an airfield. Originally, it was named Candler Field after the property's former owner's which included Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler. A year later, two 1,500 foot long dirt strips were built and Florida Airways began delivering mail on the Tampa/Jacksonville/Atlanta rout, becoming the first commercial flight into Candler Field. The following year the first hangars were built on the property.
In June of 1930, Delta Air Service, later known as Delta Air Lines, began passenger service from Birmingham, Ala., in June. In December of that same year, Eastern Air Transport, formerly Pitcairn Aviation inaugurated the first continuous passenger service from Atlanta to New York.
During World War II Atlanta was declared an air base location by the U.S. government and Candler Field doubled in size. In 1942, Candler Field recorded 1,700 takeoffs and landings in a single day and was named the nation's busiest airport, a distinction the current Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retains today.
In 2005, the airport celebrated 80 years of service. The current name reflects two former Atlanta Mayors: William B. Hartsfield and Maynard H. Jackson, along with its international designation. From its humble beginnings to its present world-class distinction, Georgia's primary airport continues to be a vital link in the world's air transportation system.