Stinson Municipal Airport is the second oldest
general aviation airport in continuous operation in the
United States (after
College Park Airport). Established in October 1915, when the Stinson family initially leased the land from the City of San Antonio. The Stinsons had been operating out of
Fort Sam Houston but had to relocate when the
1st Aero Squadron took over the fort's air facilities to monitor the border. Emma Stinson leased 750 acres southeast of town, and
Edward Stinson cleared the mesquite. The Stinson School of Flying was managed by Emma Stinson, and financed by
Katherine Stinson. Eddie worked as one of the mechanics, while
Marjorie Stinson was the
flight instructor. The first class of five Canadians graduated in November 1915. By March 1916, the school had 24 students and four aircraft. Civilian flights were banned during
WWI, and the airport became San Antonio's civil airport in 1918. The name was changed to Windburn Field in 1927, but then changed back to Stinson Field in 1936. The
Works Progress Administration built the terminal building between 1935 and 1936. During
World War II the airfield was used by the
United States Army Air Forces as a training base. At the end of the war the airfield was returned over to the City of San Antonio for civil use. As the reliever for
San Antonio International, the airport has an
FBO, three flight schools, police and state aviation units, a
part 135 operator, two aerial photography outfits, helicopter tour company and helicopter flight school, and numerous
general aviation aircraft. It is also home to the
Texas Air Museum - Stinson Chapter. The historic terminal was renovated in 2006-2008 and runway 9-27 re-opened on March 11, 2010 after being re-surfaced and extended to 5002 feet, allowing more private and business jet traffic. In August 2010 the Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol announced it will be moving its statewide headquarters to Stinson Municipal Airport. It was only in Stinson for several years before moving to its current location. In March 2017, funded by the
City of San Antonio and
Texas Department of Transportation, construction of a new control tower for the airport began as an attempt to make the airport more attractive to corporate travelers and to bring attention to the historic sites surrounding the airport. Construction of the new tower was completed and began its operation in 2019. == Facilities==