St. Marys’ Airport

There’s a lot of controversy over this subject lately as the debate about our airport (whether we need one or not) and its location (too close to the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base or not) rages on. I have fond memories of it because it’s where I had my first (and only) flying lesson on my 50^th birthday. We (the instructor and I) flew over my house a couple of times and also over Cumberland Island and the surrounding marshes and waterways. The view and exhilaration was spectacular. I did the take-off but handed over the landing to the instructor. A few years after that I donned a parachute and other appropriate sky diving stuff (including a buddy jumper I was attached to), jumped out of a plane there, and landed safely back on terra firma. That was a genuine adrenaline rush and though the view moved faster it was equally spectacular. On the way to the airport before the jump (a couple of blocks from our house) we passed a hearse and burst simultaneously into the song that goes, whenever you see a hearse go by you think that you might be next to die, the worms crawl in the worms crawl out…you probably know the rest of it but even that coincidental crossing of paths with a hearse didn’t deter me. I was struck by how loud the plane’s engine sounded as we went up and then how quickly the sound fell away as we fell away from the plane and yes, I would do it again. But probably not from the St. Marys’ Airport since the folks from The Jumping Place have moved on and the sounds of planes’ engines is a lot less frequent these days. According to the city the airport is no longer an economic contributor and some expensive vandalism (breakage of runway lights) has occurred. An FAA grant would pay to fix the vandalized lights and help fence in and add security cams but the city is worried that if the airport closes they may have to repay the grant and it’s a risk they hesitate to take. All this and the Navy, in the wake of 9/11, have repeatedly expressed their own homeland security type concerns. Some skydivers, one an immigrant with no identification, landed on the base rather than back at the airport and the field adjacent (where I landed). Hence you no longer see colorful parachutes dotting the skies above St. Marys. I guess the property consisting of mostly runways could be used to expand the tax base by filling the area with more homes. Alas, St. Marys’ Airport, you will always invoke fond memories for me. I will miss you.