Chehalis–Centralia Airport

Chehalis–Centralia Airport is a city-owned public use airport located in Chehalis, a city in Lewis County, Washington. The airport lies one mile (1.6 km) west of the town.

Originally begun on farmland in 1927, the airfield was known as Donahoe Field and it hosted a small golf course. The airfield was seized for military use during World War II and became known as the County-City Airport, with transfer of ownership and management between Centralia, Chehalis, and Lewis County in the early 1960s. Chehalis became sole-owner of the airport in 2013.

Once a hub for West Coast Airlines from the mid 1940s into the late 1950s, the airport does not host a commercial air service. , the airfield experiences approximately 50,000 flight operations per year.

The airport is situated in a floodplains and has experienced several inundations of floodwaters over the course of its history. Surrounded by a large levee first constructed during the second world war, various upgrades and expansions of flood control measures have been implemented in the 21st century.

20th century
The area was first served by an airport during the early 1900s on the Borst family homestead located near the Skookumchuck River and present-day Fort Borst Park in Centralia. The city of Centralia began an official airfield near the park in 1926. Known as the Centralia Municipal Air Field, the site was dedicated in August 1928 but the airport endeavor ceased by the mid-1930s due to a combination of the Great Depression and competition with the Chehalis airport.

Chehalis–Centralia Airport began in 1927, when the Donahoe family, which also owned an adjoining golf course, sold the city of Chehalis and Lewis County approximately 44 acre of their 600 acre farm for over $13,000. The parcel, known as Paul Donahoe Field, was dedicated as an airstrip on May 21, 1927 during a ceremony attended by an estimated crowd of 4,000 people, with flying performances by a dozen aircraft, including military airships. The nine-hole golf course was also part of the dedication. In 1928, the first hangar was built. Existing in the present day, it measured 5,000 sqft at its beginning. During the same year, the county purchased an additional 50 acre to expand the airfield. The grounds contained three airstrips and buildings in Chehalis were marked with directional arrows.

The field was approved to be lighted for night flying beginning in August 1929. The $6,000 project was authorized and funded by the United States Department of Commerce's airway division. By September, the airfield, described as a municipal airport, was leased to the federal government and the installation of the lighting began. The grounds were also prepared for use as an emergency airstrip. Management of the airport was undertaken by the St. John Air Service from the late 1920s into the mid-1930s. During this time, the Queen of the Cowlitz, a sister airship to Charles Lindbergh's, Spirit of St. Louis, was based at Donahoe Field.

In 1941, the airfield, still listed as hosting three airstrips, was increased in size after an additional 81 acre were purchased. By the start of World War II, the airport covered 295 acre, and became known as the County-City Airport. During the war, the federal government seized the airport, using it as a training facility for new pilots and a practice strip for Boeing bombers, and also developed two 5,000 ft runways. In 1959, Chehalis annexed the airport land and the following year, ownership of the airfield was officially transferred to the city and the site run cooperatively with the county. After several local government delays, by September 1961 an official airport partnership between Centralia, Chehalis, and Lewis County was formed. The second runway was decommissioned beginning with efforts in 1978 to convert the land into a commercial area for retail businesses.

21st century
Centralia withdrew from the joint operating agreement in 2004 due to concerns over contract violations, liability, and cost-benefits. Lewis County, which had been a 50% co-owner of the airport with the city of Chehalis since 1961, also relinquished its rights to the airfield in late 2013 despite opposition from the Chehalis-Centralia Airport board. The county considered the joint-ownership to be cumbersome and unnecessary. Concerns included that county involvement was possibly hindering growth and funding or completion of flood mitigation projects. Additionally, the city of Chehalis had, for some time, almost complete oversight and interest of the airport. The transfer of full-ownership to Chehalis was official on January 1, 2014.

In 2020, the airport was granted a loan through the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), with an estimated completion cost of $1.48 million, to construct two, 12,000 USgal above-ground fuel storage tanks, with additional requirements towards environmental hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness, contamination control, and "cultural resource monitoring".

The Aviation Division of WSDOT chose Chehalis–Centralia Airport in 2021 as one of six beta-test sites in Washington state to be used as an airfield for electric aircraft. The same year, the airport was awarded $59,000 through the Airport Rescue Grant via the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic economic hardships.

Airport landholdings expanded in late 2023 with a $316,000 purchase of a surplus property owned by the city. Known as the Barnes property, it is located directly south of Airport Lake and though the land is within the levee, the area is prone to minor flooding due to a small creek on the grounds. A new master plan is to be drafted to include the recently acquired parcel with a schedule for it to be adopted in 2024. No immediate plans for the usage of the new property by the airport have been proposed.

Accidents and incidents
During the Columbus Day storm of 1962, 13 aircraft were destroyed due to wind gusts reaching as high as 95 mph.

Early aviators
Chehalis and Centralia, similar to other smaller communities during the beginnings of human flight, were enticed by the ventures of flying machines. The earliest recorded aviator in the area was John Brown, who attempted to construct an airplane at the Tynan Opera House in Chehalis. However, there is no record that the apparatus ever achieved flight. The first aviator to achieve flight in Lewis County was Claude Berlin, a local grocer who undertook flying lessons to become a licensed pilot. He officially piloted a Curtiss biplane over Centralia on May 30, 1912 during the city's Hub City Festival, attempting to bless new buildings by dropping champagne bottles during the flight. He hit at least one of the targets. In 1914, Gustav (George) Stromer took flight during Chehalis' Fourth of July celebrations, and after several issues of mechanics and strong winds, managed to land on the fields at the Green Hill School. Stromer would perform the first recorded night flights in the region, and after a week of performances, survived a crash north of Centralia at Waunch Prairie, ending his flying pursuits in the Twin Cities. Other early aviators include the first woman pilot, listed only as Mrs. Crown, and Kenneth Arnold, famed for his report on flying saucers in 1947.

Flooding
During the Second World War, the United States Department of War built levees around the airfield and in 1942 installed a levee pump.

Two large floods in 1990 and 1996 caused severe inundations at the airfield, damaging some aircraft. The events, in association with levee regulations at airports, led to 430,000 cuyd of fill added to the grounds meant to raise buildings 8 ft above the high-water mark of a flood event.

During severe flooding due to the Great Coastal Gale of 2007, the airfield was underwater by as much 8 ft and 2 in of silt and mud covered the runway. During the ordeal, the original 1942 pump failed, forcing an intentional break of the levee that led to increased damages in the community. In preparation of a 2009 flood, fifty aircraft that could not be evacuated were moved to atop the levee.

A modern, electric two-pump station was completed in 2018 with funding provided by the Chehalis River Basin Authority at a cost of $1.14 million. The pumps, able to siphon as much as 12,000 gallons per minute, worked without fail during a January 2022 flood event.

Facilities and aircraft
Chehalis–Centralia Airport covers 438 acre, which contains one asphalt runway: 16/34 measuring 5,000 x. Surrounded by a levee built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the airport also contains an oxbow lake, aptly named Airport Lake, at the northeast portion of the field. The lake is a remnant of the Chehalis River and waters are drained by pump over the levee and by a small tunnel.

By 1975, the airport had seen the construction of six hangars.

Airfield reports in 1975 listed between 45 and 50 based aircraft with a daily average of 50 flights. In 2004, the airport reported an average range of 35,000 to 40,000 takeoffs and landings per year. For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2011, the airport had 47,710 total operations, an average of 131 per day: 90% general aviation, 9% air taxi, and <1% military. There were 105 aircraft listed as based at the airport: 81% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, 3% jet, 8% helicopter, 2% ultralight, and 2% glider. A master plan update in 2023 reported an annual operations total of approximately 50,000 flights and the airport was a base for 56 aircraft; over half the flight operations were listed as belonging to small business jets.

A reproduction of a Douglas World Cruiser, known as the Seattle II, was stored at the airport in the early 2020s. Originally meant to be flown to retrace the route of the original Seattle during the first aerial circumnavigation of the planet in 1924, international complications prevented the historic attempt. The Liberty V-12 engine-powered craft was flown over Boeing Field for the company's 100th anniversary and is being decommissioned, with plans to be installed at the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, Washington.

Artworks
The Chehalis-Centralia Airport is home to a collage mural, Chehalis Celebrates Aviation, that highlights airplane history in the city.

Commercial service
, the Chehalis–Centralia Airport is not served by a commercial airline. West Coast Airlines (WCA) previously operated scheduled flights, including round-trips, from Chehalis beginning in October 1946. The original aircraft used was a Douglas DC-3 Mainliner, seating 21 passengers. Airmail service was provided the following month. Due to limited passenger numbers, WCA terminated their contract with the airport in September 1958.

Training and flight programs
The Lewis County Civil Air Patrol is stationed at the airport. Providing limited free instruction to people as young as 12 years old, the program offers a flight academy with the possibility to earn a pilot's license. The airport also hosts a chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Flying Start Program, a guidance course meant for adults over the age of 18. The half-day class provides free mentorship, a first flight, and instructions on how to continue flight training in the future.

An annual event that coincides with the city's ChehalisFest celebration, the airport hosts free flights for children and teenagers. Referred to as "Young Eagle Flights", a chapter of the EAA, young flyers may even briefly handle the controls of the aircraft.

The airport has been host as a layover stop for the Goodyear Blimp during trips along the West Coast. The blimp, visiting every few years, provides free tour flights while stationed at the field.

Economy
Several businesses of various size and notability operate on airport land which is part of Chehalis' Twin City Town Center district. The CLS began its commercial and retail business expansion in 1993 by leasing over 15 acre to Wal-Mart for a lump sum payment of $1.8 million. The airport used a portion of the funds for improvements to airport facilities. Further large companies followed, such a Kmart and in 2006, Home Depot. By 2004, approximately 38 acre of airport land had been converted to commercial space with a lease revenue of $700,000.

Economic reports from 2021 and 2022 specify that over 1100 jobs are supported by the airport and the shopping district, with over 500 additional positions of employment that are connected due to the existence of the airfield. The airport receives no annual tax stipend from the state, and is considered "financially self-sustaining", generating $1.2 million in tax revenue to Chehalis and Lewis County and an additional $7.8 million for Washington state.

, the 2018 levee pump build was estimated to have a return on investment of $39 for every $1 in construction cost, protecting approximately $45 million in property.