The modernization of the city’s newest airport is getting ready to take off. A planning advisory board proposed new master plan for Fort Worth Spinks Airport last week to manage the airport’s growth over the next decade.
Dismount into the airport’s past before we fly into the future of the South Fort Worth aviation hub.
Pappy Spinks financed the design of the Spinks Acromaster aircraft designed by Charlie Hubbard.
Significant history
In the early 1960s, a renowned aerobatic competitor and aircraft manufacturer Maurice Hunter “Pappy” Spinks founded Oak Grove Airport south of Fort Worth near Burleson. It housed several hangars, a flight school, aircraft sales and maintenance areas.
As a destination for pilot training and aerial acrobatics, the airport hosted the National Aerobatic Championships from 1967 to 1971, but after the death of Pappy Spinks in 1982, Oak Grove faded from importance.
In 1989, the airport was officially closed, but the city activated the adjacent Fort Worth Spinks Airportnamed after him, as a public airport and relief airport for the DFW and Meacham international airports.
Cruising altitude
With two runways, a control tower, maintenance facilities and three flight schools, the airport operated around 62,000 flights in 2023 with a fleet of 236 aircraft. Projections by KSA Engineers show that this number could rise to over 91,000 flights and 350 aircraft in the next 30 years.
After 36 years of growth, the airport has a new proposed master plan to ensure that it meets future aviation needs. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends updating long-term planning documents every seven to ten years. The last master plan was updated in 2004.
KSA Engineers was involved in the creation of a master plan that extends to the year 2044.
Image courtesy of the City of Fort Worth
On the radar
The master plan – with a total of almost Improvements valued at $94 million between 2025 and 2044 – includes drafts for:
- Another continuous taxiway
- Over 40 new aircraft hangars
- Another terminal building
- Additional parking spaces for cars
- Land protected for future aviation use
The city council will vote on the proposed plan on Tuesday, August 13. If approved, it will be submitted to the FAA and TxDOT-Aviation.
