The Many Lives of Milton Airfield

Located on the Rivanna River across from the Glenmore neighborhood, Milton Airfield encompasses 172 acres of mostly floodplain. And while you won’t see airplanes taking off and landing at the old airfield these days, it once thrived as Charlottesville’s bustling center of aviation activity.

Initially, the University of Virginia’s interest in purchasing the property to establish an airfield in 1939 was met with resistance from the surrounding rural communities of Milton, Shadwell, and Keswick—all of which voiced concerns about noise and safety. But across the Atlantic, Hitler had invaded Poland. Driven by the need to train pilots as the threat of World War II loomed, UVA proceeded with the purchase. The airfield’s dedication in April 1940 attracted a large crowd, and the field would soon serve a dual role as an important part of the national defense effort and as the region’s first and only commercial airport until the mid-1950s.
Milton Airfield was more commonly known as UVA Airport during World War II and would be the site of training exercises for hundreds of students as part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program. The CPTP, launched by the U.S. government in 1938, aimed to increase the number of civilian pilots who could be quickly converted to military pilots if needed. This initiative became even more critical as the United States edged closer to entering World War II.

At UVA Airport, Frederick Morse, an aviator and chair of the UVa mechanical engineering department, directed the rigorous CPTP training program that included both ground school and flight training. The ground school covered subjects like meteorology, navigation, and aircraft mechanics. Another pilot and UVA professor, Walter “Roy” Franke, served as the flight operations director. Students trained on the Piper Cub J-3, known for its simplicity and reliability, which made it an excellent primary trainer aircraft. Advanced training involved the T-6 Texan, a more complex aircraft that prepared pilots for the demands of combat flying.
Each training class consisted of 30 students and lasted four to five months. With the U.S. entry into the war, the training schedule accelerated, producing a new class of certified pilots every two months. This intensive program ensured a steady stream of qualified pilots ready for military service. By 1943, more than 435,000 pilots nationwide had received training through the CPTP, with UVA Airport playing a significant role in this effort.

After World War II, the field continued operating as a commercial airport. A Civil Air Patrol squadron, comprised of students, faculty, and local citizens, remained active, conducting occasional search and rescue missions in the area. The field also hosted parachuting clubs and Sunday afternoon aerobatic shows with daring stunts such as wing-walking and racing a convertible along the landing strip and plucking a rider from it with a low-flying plane.
As aviation technology and the transportation needs of the region evolved, so did the demand for more modern facilities. That need was met by the new Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, which opened in 1955 and was initially served by Piedmont Airlines. By the end of that year, Piedmont Airlines had established four daily flights to Washington, D.C., among other destinations, making air travel significantly more accessible to the residents of Charlottesville and surrounding regions.

The writing was on the wall for Milton Airfield and in 1971, it officially ceased operations as a commercial airport. But its story doesn’t end there.

In the decades following its time as an active airfield, Milton has been used for a variety of purposes, ranging from a storage site for UVA graduation chairs and snow removal equipment, to the UVA School of Architecture’s Landscape Lab — an innovative site for architecture students and faculty to engage in landscape-design research and teaching. The historic hangar on the property has housed a woodshop, research labs, and shared spaces for University and community groups, including the UVA Engineering School’s Motorsports and Hoos Flying Teams, the Model Airplane Club, and the Rivanna Radio Control Club.
The old concerns about noise at Milton that accompanied the airfield’s opening way back in 1939 resurfaced in more recent years. This time, the noise was caused by a shooting range used by University police officers. Quiet was restored in 2016 when Albemarle County, Charlottesville, and the University of Virginia joined forces to build the indoor Regional Firearms Training Center at Milton Field. The 19,054-square-foot facility includes a pair of eight-lane firing ranges, a computer simulation room, and a scenario-based training area designed to provide realistic and comprehensive training for local law enforcement officers.