Flying High richard b. russell airport
Tucked away in Northern Armuchee, lies a gem in Rome and Floyd County. The Richard B. Russell Regional Airport has a deep and rich history in the Rome-Floyd area that stretches back to 1942. Initially, the mere 670 acres of land that the airport operated on was used as a Navy Auxiliary Base. After being deeded back to Floyd County in 1945, the airport was used by various airline services that worked out of Russell Field. In 1971, the Board of Commissions voted to rename it from “Russell Field” to “Richard B. Russell Airport” in honor of Senator and Governor Richard B. Russell. Today, Richard B. Russell Regional Airport is a key impactful and entertaining part of the Floyd County community. The airport offers a variety of uses that aviation lovers, businesspeople, and everyday citizens can take advantage of and enjoy. The airport’s capacity can tolerate a wide variety of civilian and military planes. The largest non-military are the Gulf Stream 650 and the Global Express, with
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both planes holding around 12 people. For the military aircraft lovers, the airport can host a wide vary of planes and helicopter including: C130s, C17s, Black Hawks, Huey, and Cobra Ships. The airport also offers an assortment of entertaining events that everyone can enjoy such as, the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show featuring the Blue Angels. For the adventurous types, you can enjoy being flown over Floyd County in a plane by an expert pilot. An exciting project at the airport is extending the runway to 7,010 feet. “The extension of Richard B. Russell Airport runway was approved in the 2013 SPLOST by the voters in Floyd County. Phase 1 of the extension project has recently started with grading and drainage being underway and hopefully completed in late fall
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