If you had three guesses to answer the question, “What is the oldest airport in the Golden Triangle?” your first two guesses (Columbus Air Force Base and Golden Triangle Regional Airport) would be wrong.

That distinction belongs to George M. Bryan Airport in Starkville, which opened as Starkville Municipal Airport in 1934, just seven years after Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight across the Atlantic. (Side note: Lindbergh crash-landed a plane near Maben in 1923.)

CAFB wouldn’t come along until seven years later. Before the 1971 arrival of GTR, the Golden Triangle’s first commercial airport, the Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (1953) and McCharon Field in West Point (1959) were years into operation.

In their early years, Bryan Airport, Columbus-Lowndes Airport and McCharon Field served as commercial airports, albeit on a limited basis. Today they are general aviation facilities, owned by local governments and open to the public, mostly for small personal aircraft. Among them, the three airports average 142 takeoffs/landings per day, according to data from AirNav.com

Officials have been celebrating the 70th anniversary of Columbus-Lowndes County Airport in recent weeks, including renaming the airport’s terminal in honor of Lt. Col. Alva Temple, a member of the famous World War II all-Black 332nd Fighter Group known as The Tuskegee Airmen.

The celebration is a good time to reflect not just on the historic role of these airports – more than two centuries of operations among them – but their current and future roles in our community.

Far more than a place for private charter jet flights to take off and land, the FAA states that general aviation airports serve many vital needs that larger commercial airports are unable to meet, things like emergency medical flights, aerial firefighting flights, law enforcement flights, flight training, time-sensitive cargo service and agricultural flights (crop-dusting, for example).

General aviation airports often have facilities for pilots, refueling and refreshing. All three of our general aviation airports feature fuel services. Columbus-Lowndes and Bryan also offer major airframe and powerplant services.

They are excellent airports for those who are learning to fly or are considered novice pilots because they are not crowded facilities. They are often used for flight training purposes where pilots can practice their take-offs and landings.

Our three general aviation airports have played – and continue to play – important roles in our community. While their roles have evolved from their early days, they remain a key part of aviation in our area.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.