Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport

Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport is a public/military airport in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the City of Westfield and is three miles (6 km) north of it. The airport is northwest of the larger city of Springfield. Formerly known as Barnes Municipal Airport, it is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility. Westfield-Barnes is one of Massachusetts' largest airports with a strong flight training, general aviation, and military presence.HistoryJuly 13, 1914 can be the date upon which aviation came to Westfield. Jack McGee of Pawtucket, Rhode Island flew a Wright biplane over Westfield and the flight originated on a strip of land near Southampton Road and the Holyoke Rail Bridge. McGee was hired by local merchants to drop tickets from his airplane which could have been claimed for prizes.Following the entry of the United States into World War I, however, the expansive plain was heavily utilized by the federal government in August–September 1917 as Camp Bartlett, a mobilization and training camp for the 103rd and 104th Infantry Regiments of the 26th "Yankee" Division, prior to deployment in France.