
451 8th Avenue SESt. Petersburg, FL 33701Phone: 727-822-1532 • Fax: 727-820-0303
http://www.awaps.org/
The relics and mementos of history are all about you. You just have to recognize what they are. For the curious, finding a true connection to history is personally rewarding. If you are in St. Petersburg, Florida and are seeking aviation history then you need not look further than Albert Whitted Airport. Situated on a promontory jutting into Tampa Bay, Albert Whitted Airport forms part of the shoreline of downtown St. Petersburg.

The airport is named after Lt. James Albert Whitted, a St. Petersburg native who was one of the United States Navy’s first 250 Naval Aviators. A bit of a barnstormer, his aerial maneuvers were a thrilling introduction to aviation for St. Petersburg. The airport was named in his honor in 1928.
A George T. Baker founded National Airlines in 1934 and for a time was headquartered at Albert Whitted Airport. After the World War the airline grew and added many routes. It became the first airline to introduce domestic jet service and the first airline to have all turbine-powered fleet. National Airlines was acquired by Pan Am in 1980 and slowly lost its identity.
The Goodyear Company operated part of its lighter-than-air fleet from Albert Whitted Airport. The airport was one of the first chosen to conduct blimp operations. In 1934 Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg was commissioned and it provided a critical link in the air sea rescue duties of the Coast Guard. IN addition to land aircraft, the Coast Guard operated amphibious aircraft including the PBY Catalina and the Martin PBM Mariner and Marlin aircraft. The Coast Guard switch to helicopter and C-130 aircraft prompted the Coast Guard to station the aircraft at Coat Guard Air Station Clearwater, the facility at Albert Whitted becoming a non-flying Coast Guard facility.

Albert Whitted Airport is owned by the City of St. Petersburg. It is a self-supporting operation. It provides business and personal aircraft travelers with convenient access to St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, the densest populated area in Florida, as well as the surrounding areas of Tampa Bay. It is estimated that Albert Whitted Airport operations provides the local economy with approximately 35 million dollars, provides employment for over 300 people with a payroll of over 12 million dollars.
Oh! And don’t forget. The airport provides the space needed to operate the annual Honda Grand Prix Indy Car Race… And that is a snapshot of a cultural and historic icon, a jewel convenient to everyone in downtown St. Petersburg.



The food is prepared in small batches as needed. The lettuce is crisp, the tomatoes fresh and the burger patties have just come off the barbecue grill. Once in awhile a lot of people will arrive at the same time and there will be a short wait, certainly not longer than at your favorite restaurant, but the freshly prepared food is worth the wait.

All of the workers at the AWAPS functions are volunteers. They are there very early getting set up. They are there all the while the proceeding are going on. They are there late, after everyone else has gone home, cleaning up and putting things back to normal. They do it because they love aviation, they love the airport and they are dedicated to preserving the airport form those with greed at heart and self interest at hand. If you have an interest in flying or just an interest of St. Petersburg in general, check the AWAPS website for the next cook-out or other function. Join in and become part of the aviation community. Better yet, Join AWAPS, volunteer and make your voice heard for what is right. You will find that you are among some very nice and very dedicated people, many of which you will come to call friend.
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