Charles Lindbergh Visits
In 1927, Winston-Salem officials were notified that Maynard Field
was to be a scheduled stop on Charles Lindbergh's cross-country
tour celebrating the advances of aviation. The heads of the community
realized that a "landing field" would not do for the world's
greatest aviator and his "Spirit of St. Louis" so a portion
of land positioned off of Walkertown Avenue was located and determined
to be the perfect site for a new airport. Clint Miller pledged $17,000
for the development of facilities at the new airfield so when the
Airport Corporation met for the first time they determined the new
airfield to be Miller Municipal Airport.
All was ready on October 14, 1927 for the "Spirit of St. Louis"
to land at the new airport. Dick Reynolds had expanded his FBO operation
and commuter airline service from Rochester, NY, building steel
hangars and installing electricity at the airfield. As Lindbergh
landed to a crowd of residents he was escorted to a limousine that
would parade him through town, finally reaching its destination,
Hanes Park, where an enormous crowd had gathered to listen to the
great man speak. His final remarks foreshadowed the shape of things
to come:
"Before closing, I want to bring before you again the necessity
of conducting a progressive air program for your city in order
to keep your city in the foreground of American aeronautics. I
want to thank you for the interest here and for the welcome I
have received. I hope that you will devote a pattern of your interest
in the future to aviation in relation to your community."
For the next five years, Reynolds Aviation was the main activity
at Miller Field. There were commuter flights to New York, Detroit,
Philadelphia and Baltimore and weekend taxi service to Wrightsville
and Myrtle Beaches. In 1932, when Dick Reynolds disbanded Reynolds
Aviation, a group of local businessmen formed Camel City Flying
Service. Camel City renovated the existing structures, strengthened
field lights and installed a grandstand for aerial shows.
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