Updates to the city’s newest airport are preparing for takeoff. A Planning Advisory Committee proposed a new master plan for Fort Worth Spinks Airport last week to guide the airport’s growth over the next ten years.
Descend 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 Akromaster aircraft, designed by Charlie Hubbard.
Photo by Alan Wilson
High-flying history
In the early 1960s, renowned aerobatic competitor and aviation manufacturer Maurice Hunter “Pappy” Spinks established Oak Grove Airport south of Fort Worth near Burleson. It held several hangers, a flight school, aircraft sales, and maintenance areas.
A destination for pilot training and aerial stunts, the airport hosted the National Aerobatics Championships from 1967 to 1971, but after Pappy Spinks died in 1982, Oak Grove faded away.
In 1989, the airport was officially closed, but the city activated the adjacent Fort Worth Spinks Airport, named in his honor, as a public-use airport and a reliever for DFW and Meacham International Airports.
Cruising altitude
With two runways, a control tower, maintenance facilities, and three flight schools, the airport operated ~62,000 flights with a fleet of 236 aircraft in 2023. Projections from KSA Engineers show those numbers could increase to 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 it meets future aviation demands. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends that long-term planning documents be updated every seven to 10 years + the last master plan was updated in 2004.
On the radar
The master plan — which totals nearly $94 million worth of improvements between 2025 and 2044 — includes designs for:
- Another full-length taxiway
- Over 40 new aircraft hangars
- Another terminal building
- Additional automobile parking
- Land preserved for future aeronautical use
City Council will vote on the proposed plan on Tuesday, Aug. 13. If approved, it will be submitted to the FAA and TxDOT-Aviation.
