Airports are funny places. On one hand, you’ve got behemoths like Chicago O’Hare or Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, where hundreds of flights take off and land every day in a carefully choreographed frenzy. On the other, there’s your Uncle Clem easing his Cessna 172 onto a sod strip framed by a pair of cornfields. Somewhere in the middle lies a forgotten kind of airport like the one just southeast of Alexandria, Indiana. For most of its life, it went by the name Knotts Field1.
The name came from Duane Knotts. By the time he graduated from high school in 1948, he’d already obtained his pilot’s license and an Aeronca 11 Chief. In 1955, Knotts and his wife, Carolyn, formed Knotts Flying Service. The two established the airport on the family farm near their hometown2. In the late 1960s, Knotts signed on to handle the regional Beechcraft franchise3.
By 1995, Knotts Flying Service had become more than just a rural airfield. The twenty-six-acre property boasted a 2,590-foot paved runway, a two-story office, a mechanic’s shop, and hangars roomy enough for thirteen planes.
Knotts wasn’t just running an airport, though. In addition, he served as a corporate pilot for U.S. Engineering in Muncie. He was also honored by the FAA as a Master Pilot for fifty years of safe flying in 20054. Later that year, the city of Alexandria officially declared May 3rd as Duane Knotts Day.
The Central Indiana Soaring Society relocated its operations from suburban Indianapolis to the wide-open skies above Knotts Field in 20045. Three years later, the organization purchased the airport outright6. Now known as SoarIndy, the club operates three of its own sailplanes and serves as the home base for another fifteen privately owned gliders. A sign on County Road 800-North proclaims the place open weekends between April and October.
Duane Knotts passed away in 2018 at the age of 87, but his presence still lingers in the skies above northern Madison County. A lifelong aviator with an unwavering passion for flight (mostly in his restored T-28 Trojan), Knotts transformed a stretch of farmland into a full-fledged airport to create a place where countless pilots would learn to soar. It may be smaller than O’Hare or Hartsfield-Jackson, but the towering Beechcraft sign Knotts mounted decades ago still stands tall on Gilman Road. Duane Knotts may have gone on his final flight, but the sky still carries his legacy.
Sources Cited
1 Air Show Set For Sunday At Knots’ Field (1971, June 2). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 2.
2 Alexandria-Monroe Township Historical Society: Alexandria Notable – Duane Knotts (2022, August 17). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 5.
3 Marston, S. (1969, June 11). Over 3,000 Attend City’s First Fly-In. The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 2.
4 Cecil Duane Knotts (2018, May 9). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 2.
5 Corbett, J. (2018, June 13). Central Indiana Soaring Society invites community to share in excitement of gliding. The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
6 Gordon, J. (2004, July 7). Free falling in the sky above Alexandria. The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
I love these small airports. And I miss that generation of pilots who powered general aviation to its peak in the 50s-70s.
I forgot about your pilot’s license! And your father’s.
Yes, I flew into one or two of those tiny airports back when I was flying. When you get used to the luxury of a big 5500 foot concrete runway suitable for business jets, a 2500 foot grass strip makes you pucker a bit. But there’s also a feeling of accomplishment.
I’d imagine so! I’ve heard that the concentration involved is exhausting.