About Thomaston - Upson County Airport
 

    When the Thomaston Upson County Airport (OPN) was opened in July of 1994, it held the distinction of being the first airport in Georgia built from the ground up in more than 20 years.

    The purpose of constructing an airport specifically to complement industry and trade was an innovative concept in the mid-1980s when this project began. The existing airport (Reginald Grand Field) had one 2,900- foot by 50-foot runway, a circle to land NDB approach, six T-hangars and 15 based aircraft. Needless to say, local community leaders had to overcome some obstacles to gain support for a new facility. With the subsequent decline of the textile industry in the 1990s, which provided more than 5,000 jobs in Upson County at its peak, the foresight of providing access for new business was brilliant.

    OPN currently provides 6,350 feet of runway, an ILS approach and AWOS. There are 101 based aircraft, including five business operations, 100 T-hangars and seven corporate hangars, three of which are brand new. The joint city and county industrial development authority has successfully recruited several major businesses to whom airport access was at the top of their list of needs. The first among these was Quad/Graphics, which opened their Thomaston plant in 1995 on adjacent property to the airport. Today the airport not only serves every major business in Upson County, but it also reaches out to industry and trade in seven surrounding counties.

    Thomaston is located in the center of a triangle between Atlanta, Macon, and Columbus. The city was incorporated in 1825 and has some of the oldest buildings in the state of Georgia. It also features County owned Sprewell Bluff Park, which is located on 1,372 acres of pristine Georgia country with the Flint River as its hallmark attraction. Visitors can boat, fish, hike along its trails, and play horseshoes or volleyball all in a natural remote environment that allows complete escape from daily stresses.

    Thomaston is also home to Upson Regional Medical Center, a 115-bed primary healthcare facility and winner of the Hometown Health Association's hospital of the year award. Gordon College of the Georgia University System, offering more than 60 programs of study for its residential students, is also only 10 minutes from OPN.

    The FBO at the Thomaston airport is manned by employees in a joint project of Thomaston and Upson County with the concept that the first impression a prospective industrial client will get is upon exiting the aircraft. "We call it our field of dreams," say Airport Manager Mitch Ellerbee. "Our staff knows our first priority is to provide service to our customers, and quite frankly it's easy to do when all your people share a love of airplanes. As we've grown, another of our top priorities has been not to lose the home town atmosphere of a small airport," says Ellerbee. Competitive fuel pricing has been another way OPN draws potential business. "We tell our customers that we're not always cheapest, but it's always fair," says Ellerbee. "That concept is shared by our supplier, Perry Brothers Aviation Division, and with good communication we simply try to buy at the right time in a very volatile market."

    The Thomaston Upson County Airport is a success story that is now widely known across the state and used repeatedly as an example of how a community can invest in itself by providing access for industry via aviation.