A proposal to rename Montgomery Field, the city of San Diego-run general aviation airport in Kearny Mesa, is scheduled to be taken up Thursday afternoon by the City Council’s Economic Development Committee.
The city’s Airport Division has suggested changing the airfield’s name to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, which would honor the legacy of aviation pioneers John J. Montgomery and Bill Gibbs. Montgomery was a physicist and inventor who experimented with gliders in the 1880s in Otay Mesa and made important discoveries about the effects of lift on wings.
Gibbs, now 105 years old, established the airport in 1937. While the facility was taken over by the city of San Diego 11 years later, Gibbs’ family continues to run a flight service business there. Airport Division officials said in their report that the term “executive” will evoke high-quality services available at the airport.
The 456-acre Montgomery Field offers three asphalt runways that generally run east-west and are used by light aircraft and smaller corporate jets. The airport also includes three helipads.
Besides Gibbs Air Service, the field’s tenants include flying schools, a Sheraton hotel, a Mexican restaurant, and it is home to San Diego fire and police aerial operations.
http://www.kusi.com/story/30715160/committee-to-consider-montgomery-field-renaming-thursday