Pro Athletes and Celebrities Use this Beaufort Airport. Why it's Being Discovered
Oct. 3—Rocking chairs sit on a porch at the Beaufort Executive Airport, where pilots or anybody from the public can sit and watch airplanes come and go.
"A lot of people don't know it's here," says Beaufort County airports director Jonathan Rembold of the small publicly run airport on Lady's Island.
The anonymity of the slow-placed airstrip is changing fast. In the past nine months alone, the airport has tracked 6,000 non-local users of its lone 34,000-foot runway for business and pleasure. Some of those passing through were first-time visitors to the Lowcountry and chose to put down roots based on what they saw.
The out-of-the-way airport in northern Beaufort County is used by pro athletes and celebrities trying to avoid the spotlight, fishermen and hunters, hobby pilots and business people and doctors who fly rather than drive to make sales calls or perform surgeries.
The discovery of the airstrip by pilots from outside of the Lowcountry hasn't been an accident.
South Carolina is a good place to refuel for pilots flying from New England to Florida. A year ago, airport officials decided to see if a fuel price reduction would catch their attention. It did. Fuel sales doubled, a clear indication more pilots were touching down in Beaufort County.
In addition, in November, the airport began marketing the facility as Beaufort Executive Airport, with "county" dropped to attract more business clientele. Locals have long known the airport colloquially as Frogmore Intranational.
On top of those two in changes, COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, and airport officials say that drove up use, too, with more people flying their own planes or chartering them rather than flying commercial.
One day this week, Paul Dolin, supervisor of the airport off of Sea Island Parkway across from the Walmart, sped down the runway in a four-wheeled cart, pointing out its features including 34 hangars that are full. An additional 13 airplanes are parked outside on the runway. There are 50 people on a hangar waiting list.
"If I could build 50 hangars tomorrow, I'd fill up 50 hangars tomorrow," Dolin says.
Dolin is the sole full-time employee of the airport, overseeing three part-time employees. Beaufort Executive is one of two airports Beaufort County operates. While Hilton Head Airport offers commercial flights, the 110-acre Beaufort Executive is a general aviation airport offering aircraft servicing and fueling for smaller aircraft flown for recreational or business purposes.
Executive Flight Training, a flight school, is based here. And the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office has a hangar here where it keeps law enforcement aircraft, as does Mosquito Control. Deputy airports director Steve Parry notes that airport officials sometimes take complaints about low-flying aircraft. More often than not, he says, it's a plane spraying for mosquitoes, which changes the complaints to cheers.
"It happened really quickly by word of mouth," Rembold said of increased use of Beaufort Executive.
He also credits top-notch customer service for the uptick. Airport employees, for example, send pilots and passengers to local restaurants, hoping they will enjoy as much of Beaufort as they can during their brief stays.
"We don't have a fee for being a concierge, but that's what we do," Rembold said.
Plans are in place to spruce up the lobby so the tourists have an improved first impression.
Within the next 30 days, $80,000 will be spent to remodel the lobby of the terminal using hospitality tax funds. The airport was built in the 1950s, and the land was once part of the Eustis cotton plantation.
"We want to make it look nice so people have a nice place to enter and exit when they visit," Parry said.
Those improvements will follow on the heels of a $1 million upgrade of the airport's runway lights in 2019. They were damaged during flooding caused by hurricanes Matthew and Irma. An FAA grant covered the cost of the work.
It's not unusual to see celebrities or professional athletes at the local airport. PGA golfers, for example, use it to reach the region before and after the RBC Heritage tournament on Hilton Head. Golfers playing Secession Golf Club in Beaufort fly in sometimes, too. Parry, however, wouldn't name names.
"I can imagine for them, it's a nice getaway," Parry said.
Open house, 5K race planned
Beaufort Executive Airport, located at 39 Airport Circle on Lady's Island, will host a 5K and an open house on Saturday, Oct. 9.
The open house is from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will feature a welcome tent with exhibitors, aircraft displays on the tarmac, and a WWII vintage aircraft.
The Run the Runway 5K for runners and walkers starts at 7:30 a.m. Sign up for the run at www.beaufortcountyairport.com or call 843-962-2142.
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