Tappahannock Municipal Airport was a town-owned public-use airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located one nautical mile (1.85 km) west of the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Tappahannock

Tappahannock, Virginia

Tappahannock is the oldest town in Essex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,068 at the 2000 census. Located on the Rappahannock River, Tappahannock is the county seat of Essex County...

, a town in Essex County

Essex County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,989 people, 3,995 households, and 2,740 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile . There were 4,926 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was located south of the intersection of Route 17 & Airport Road.

The airport closed in 2007, following the opening of Tappahannock-Essex County Airport

Tappahannock-Essex County Airport

Tappahannock-Essex County Airport is a public-use airport located five nautical miles south of the central business district of Tappahannock, a town in Essex County, Virginia, United States. It is owned by the Tappahannock Essex County Airport Authority....

 .

History

The Tappahannock Flight Strip opened in 1944 and had a 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) hard-surfaced runway. It was one of many flight strips built during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 for emergency use by military aircraft. Sometime after the war it was converted to civilian use. By 1968, a state airport directory listed Tappahannock Municipal Airport as operated by the Town of Tappahannock and containing a shorter 2,800-foot paved runway.

Facilities and aircraft

Tappahannock Municipal Airport covered an area of 75 acres (30.4 ha) and contained one asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 paved runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

 (2/20) measuring 2,785 x 75 ft (849 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2006, the airport had 6,990 aircraft operations, an average of 19 per day:
99% general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

and 1% military.