This year is a milestone year for Larry T. Waltrip and the Waltrip Williamsburg Executive Airport.

To celebrate the 55th anniversary of the airport’s opening, Waltrip and his team will host an open house on Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature airplanes on display, food trucks and a family fun zone.

Originally set to be an airshow, the event is now free to the public.

Formerly known as Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport, the privately owned airport on Marclay Road started from 200 acres of land carved into an airstrip. The land was behind a construction company owned by Waltrip’s parents, Dudley C. and Mary Waltrip, off Lake Powell Road. Prior to the airport, the family ran a go-kart track before it was closed due to noise complaints, Waltrip said.

Today, the airport features 66 hangars, housing about 90 airplanes, and includes a restaurant, a pilot shop and a flight school. Last year, the airport was renamed in honor of the Waltrip family.

Despite the struggles that came with its construction, Waltrip, 83, said James City County now recognizes the airport as a plus, which he said wasn’t always the case. So Waltrip showed them, he said.

A line of Cessna 172s adorn the airstrip of Waltrip Williamsburg Executive Airport. The planes are owned by the Williamsburg Flight Center, which provides flight training, air tours and and rentals. James W. Robinson/staff
Staff brings in an airplane for maintenance by the Williamsburg Flight Center. James W. Robinson/staff

Born in James City County, Waltrip has been in business since he was 17. While still at what was then James Blair High School, he was given an Evinrude marine equipment dealership and opened his own boating store, Larry’s Marine Sales. Waltrip enrolled in the Virginia National Guard in 1964, serving two years as a cook. After moving into civil engineering as an operator, he served in operations information for eight years before becoming a master sergeant. He also learned to fly as part of the military flying club at Fort Eustis.

He was approached to create a small Williamsburg airport after the death of Floyd G. Clark, owner of the previous Williamsburg Airport on Airport Road. Waltrip said he liked the idea as he didn’t like driving to and from Richmond for work at the National Guard, opting to fly instead.

With help from his parents and brother Dudley S. “Timmy” Waltrip, construction began for the airstrip in 1967.

However, construction stalled when Waltrip was informed by the head of the Virginia Department of Aviation that he needed a special use permit from the state and the Federal Aviation Administration to build the airport. What followed was some opposition from the county government and the nearby neighborhood, Waltrip said, and he eventually landed in court.

“I went through a lot. A lot,” he said. “It ended up going to the Board of Supervisors, it went to the State Corporation Commission (and) I ended up in the state Supreme Court.”

The Virginia Supreme Court eventually ruled in Waltrip’s favor and construction of the airport continued, finally opening on Sept. 20, 1970. Former Gov. Linwood Holton was one of the first notable figures to come through the airport, which also saw visits from Merv Griffin, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Today, the airport is a bustling place. Along with Charly’s Airport Restaurant, which provides lunch inside the terminal building, the facility includes the Williamsburg Flight Center, an FAA-approved independent business that offers a flight school, historic air tours and aircraft maintenance. Waltrip and his wife, Jean, who he married in 1968, were inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001 prior to her death in 2008.

The flight school also provides training for Tidewater-area high school students selected for the Williamsburg Aviation Scholarship Program. Instruction is given by retired F-22 and F-16 pilots as well as legacy airline pilots.

Herron Weidner, who is producing the anniversary event, said the open house will celebrate the airport’s 55 years of history and relationships made, ranging from the Virginia Department of Aviation to landscapers and electricians.

“(The) 55 year celebration is to celebrate them just as much us,” Weidner said.

The event will feature vintage and modern display aircrafts to view and learn about from their owners. It will also include the Aero Adventure Family Fun Zone, described by Weidner as a hands-on and interactive area where kids and — kids at heart — can participate in activities focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

On celebrating the 55th anniversary, Waltrip said he is happy to offer something to the public that somebody can appreciate. He also said one of his goals is to incorporate medical transportation at the airport. And an airshow, although it didn’t come together for this year, is still a possibility for the future.

“I’m just so thankful that I’ve been able to get to 55 years,” Waltrip said. “I’m so thankful that I got the people that are working for me to carry on my vision of this airport to the next generation. And I am sure it will be.”

For those who purchased tickets, the airport’s ticketing partner, AttendStar, will be issuing refunds. For more information, visit airshow.waltripwilliamsburgexecutiveairport.com or call 757-558-9194.

James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/09/06/williamsburg-airport-to-mark-55-years-with-open-house/