History

History of the Moore County Airport

The Moore County Airport has a unique and interesting history. The facility first came into being in 1929 when the Tufts family, famous for their establishment of the famed Pinehurst Resort, opened a dirt runway and named it “Knollwood Airport”.

In 1935 Moore County acquired the airport from the Knollwood Development Company.
From 1942 to 1945, the airport was leased to the U. S. Army Air Corps and was used as the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield.

In 1945, the airport became the Pinehurst-Southern Pines Airport and Piedmont Airlines began service, ending in the late 1960’s.

1980 brought another name change, The Moore County Airport, which still remains the official title today.

From 1945 until January 13, 1992, the County leased out the Fixed Base Operations (FBO). The latest FBO being Air Moore, Inc. / Pinehurst Jet Center.

October 1991 saw the return of scheduled airline service with the arrival of CCAir, operating as USAir Express providing commercial air service to and from Charlotte, North Carolina.

In January 1993, Moore County purchased the remaining 16 years of FBO lease from the Pinehurst Jet Center plus all business assets. The County now owned the airport which included land and buildings as well as the assets of the FBO business.

July 20, 1993, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 942 creating the Moore County Airport Authority to operate and maintain the Moore County Airport facilities.

Growth during the late 1990’s and early 21 century was significant. O & D passenger traffic peaked at over 50,000 passengers in 1998.

Partially due to the effects of the disasters of September 11, 2001 and the impact on airline traffic, CCAir ceased service to the Moore County Airport on April 15, 2002.

The Moore County Airport draws visitors and travelers from all over the country to visit Pinehurst and its surrounding areas. The video at the right shows arrivals and departures at Moore County Airport for filed flight plans during the 2021 Calendar Year from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

According to the NCDOT Division of Aviation’s The State of Aviation Report, SOP supports:
590 jobs
$36,350,000 in personal income
$4,179,000 in state and local taxes
$107,160,000 in economic output

Download the Full NCDOT State of Aviation Report

Knollwood Maneuver

The 11th Airborne, as the attacking force, was assigned the objective of capturing Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The force defending the airfield and its environs was a combat team composed of elements of the 17th Airborne Division and a battalion from the 541st Parachute Infantry Regiment.^[17] The entire operation was observed by Army Ground Forces commander Lt. Gen. McNair, who would ultimately have a significant say in deciding the fate of the parachute infantry divisions.

The Knollwood Maneuver took place on the night of 7 December 1943, with the 11th Airborne Division being airlifted to thirteen separate objectives by 200 C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft and 234 Waco CG-4A gliders. The transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried paratroopers while the other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different airfield in the Carolinas. The four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first wave. Eighty-five percent were delivered to their targets without navigational error, and the airborne troops seized the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield and secured the landing area for the rest of the division before daylight. With its initial objectives taken, the 11th Airborne Division then launched a coordinated ground attack against a reinforced infantry regiment and conducted several aerial resupply and casualty evacuation missions in coordination with United States Army Air Forces transport aircraft. The exercise was judged by observers to be a great success. McNair, pleased by its results, attributed this success to the great improvements in airborne training that had been implemented in the months following Operation Husky. As a result of the Knollwood Maneuver, division-sized airborne forces were deemed to be feasible, and Eisenhower permitted their retention.

Ron Maness – Previous Airport Director

Ron Maness has been involved with aviation his entire career for over 10 years with the Air Force, including as a Captain for the inaugural class of the first TOPGUN training wing in California, and 2 years as a pilot for the Air Force precision flight squadron, the Thunderbirds. Following his military career, Maness joined U.S. Airways where he served as a pilot for 22 years. Prior to accepting his current role as Director, Maness served three terms as Airport Manager in Moore County in 2004-2007, 2010-2012 and again in 2018-2020. He was instrumental in assisting the United States Golf Association with two U.S. Open Championships and coordinating the unique operations plans to handle thousands of flights that arrived and departed at the airport in 2005 and 2014.

Maness’s former responsibilities as Director was to manage all the operational aspects of the airport to include increasing revenues, providing exceptional customer service, and ensuring customer satisfaction. He oversaw, along with the members of the Airport Authority, the short and long-term strategic plans for the facility and work with federal, state, and local agencies for grants supporting facility maintenance, growth in capacity and service, and overall improvements to the airport.

Watch Ron’s interview with CVB CEO Phil Werz as part of their Paradise in the Pines series.