White Mountain Airport (New Hampshire)
White Mountain Airport was a private airport located in North Conway, in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. This general aviation airport had one runway. The airport closed in the late 1980s. The property has since become the site of Settlers' Green Outlet Village and hotel, as well as the proposed site for the middle segment of the Conway Bypass. History In 1921, the Carroll County Park Association procured approximately of land in a series of purchases. The property included a grandstand and racing track that had hosted horse racing and motorcycle racing over the years, as well as providing a fairgrounds and a site for early regional aerial barnstorming. There was also a dance hall. In October 1929 the association sold the land to the White Mountain Airport Corporation for $4,100. When the corporation was formed, the buildings on the property were sold and the airport developers tore down the grandstand and stalls. Ralph P. Newhall and his brother-in-law Walter J. Maguire (an agent for the Shell Eastern Petroleum Corporation) started the Eagle Flying Service on the property in 1930. The Conway Village Airport was a second airfield just a few miles away. During his years as part of the New England Air Circus Association, Wylie Apte participated in several air shows at both the Conway Village and White Mountain airports and was known to the Airport Corporation. When Newhall and Maguire sought to extricate themselves from the flying business, they persuaded Apte to take over the operation on a year-to-year lease arrangement working on a percentage basis. Prior to this, Apte was a founder of the New England Air Circus Association with Lee Bowman. He had also been manager at Parlin Field and Twin Mountain airports. In 1934, Apte accepted their offer and became the manager of the airport operations at the White Mountain Airport. He persuaded the White Mountain Airport Corporation to clear away the trees so that he could taxi near the highway, and in 1935 a WPA project cleared off the stumps and enlarged the runway to . When the US entered World War II in December 1941 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Apte closed the White Mountain Airport operation and joined the Coastal Air Patrol as a 1st Lieutenant Pilot. When he returned from his WWII service, he presented the White Mountain Airport Corporation with a proposal to sell him the property. The Airport Corporation was dissolved May 4, 1943, and sold the property to Apte in July 1943, who had by that time acquired 101 of the original 108 shares. Wylie Apte, Sr. died in August 1970. Following his death, his son Wylie (Bunky) Apte, Jr. assumed control of the White Mountain Airport. By the mid-1970s Bunky had made the airport into a busy tourist attraction with a fleet of five Waco UPF-7 open cockpit bi-planes, a helicopter, sailplane, and several Piper and Cessna aircraft providing scenic rides and charter flights. Because sightseeing rides are highly seasonal, Wylie sought support and partnership