Washington-Virginia Airport was an airport that was located in Fairfax County, Virginia from 1947 to 1970. The airport was mainly used for general aviation purposes until encroaching residential and commercial activities forced its closure.
Key personnel
Charles Douglas Benn. Benn served in the Army Air Force as a flight engineer on B-17 aircraft during World War II. Along with his brother, John D. Benn, he helped develop and operate the Washington-Virginia Airport. Benn was also a Piper Aircraft dealer and owned one of Virginia's largest flight schools. He later developed the Woodbridge, Virginia Airport and managed it until his retirement in 1987. In 1989, Benn was elected to the Hall of Fame of the Virginia Aeronautical Society in recognition of "his distinguished contribution to the progress of aviation." Benn died at the age of 83 on September 1, 2004 in Salem, Virginia. John D. Benn. Benn purchased the Bailey's Crossroads Airport 1946. He operated the airport and its many activities until he died on December 1, 1967. During a December 14, 1987 ceremony, the Virginia Aviation Museum dedicated its theater to Benn. John D. Benn Jr. A retired US Air pilot, he was the son of John D. Benn who along with his brother, Charles Benn, developed and operated the Washington-Virginia Airport. After his father's death in 1967, John D. Benn Jr. served as president of the airport and negotiated the eventual sale of the airport and subsequent development as the Skyline Center. Benn died at the age of 68 on January 1, 2000.
History and usage
The Washington-Virginia Airport was originally known as "Crossroads Airport". Work on the airport began in the Bailey's Crossroads area of Fairfax County in the early 1940s but was delayed because of World War II. The airport's first appearance on an aeronautical sectional chart was in 1945 when it was displayed as a commercial airport with the name "Crossroads." In the following year, John D. Benn Jr., and his brother Charles Benn purchased the airport from E.C. Germain of Washington Air Charter Service and applied to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Division of Aeronautics, for a license to operate a commercial airport as "Bailey's Crossroads Airport". Their application was heard and approved on May 16, 1946.
The airport featured two graveled runways, a north–south runway measuring 2,200 feet and a second, longer runway that ran east–west and measured 2,800 feet. During the late 1940s, the Benn brothers opened a flight school that included 10 Piper J-3 Cubs, two Cessna 120s, a Cessna 140, a Fairchild PT-19 and a Cessna UC-78 Bobcat in its inventory. The airport also had multiple hangars and administrative offices. By 1949, the airport was considered as one of the busiest general aviation airports in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and attracted a number of airshows and events.
The airport's proximity to The Pentagon resulted in the facility hosting a number of military aviation demonstrations and displays, to include a flight demonstration of the Piper PA-18, the Aérospatiale Alouette helicopter, the OV-10 Bronco, the de Havilland Caribou, and the McDonnell Douglas Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) aircraft. In addition to general aviation, military displays and flight training, the airport hosted other activities during its time in service, to include the following: 1949: Connie B. Gay's "Hillbilly Airshow" that featured country music singing stars and a North Carolina air circus, complete with acrobatic planes and airplane wing walkers 1954: Northern Virginia Fair. A Washington Post article characterized the fair as having an exhibit of special interest to women as it included knitting, sewing, and crocheting demonstrations as well as an array of canned and baked goods.
As the 1960s progressed, increased urbanization led to the closure of other general aviation airports in the Washington D.C area to include Beacon Field Airport in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. The closure of that facility resulted in many of its aircraft relocating to the Washington-Virginia Airport. By the mid-1960s over 100 aircraft were housed in Washington-Virginia's hangars or on the fields adjacent to the runways. A 1968 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association airport directory said that the airport offered fuel, repairs, hangar, flight instruction, and charter services and that bus, taxi, rental cars, food and lodging were also available. The airport's manager was listed as Charles D. Benn. The directory also stated that the airport had only one runway in use (12/30) as the north–south runway (17/35) had been closed at the request of the state for safety reasons.