Chinese Pilots to Train at Newly-Opened Private Airport in Texas

December 6, 2023

An 11/14/2023 General Aviation News article New Airport Opens in Texas announced the grand opening and completion of the first phase of construction - "a 3,100-foot by 70-foot lighted runway, basic airport infrastructure, and the flight school main hangar" - at the Chennault Airfield. The primary beneficiary of this construction is a flight training school. "The owners of the Chennault Aviation Academy [CAA] wanted to...create a place for Chinese and American pilots to thrive," officials said, noting one of the academy owners is of Chinese descent. According to their website in 2022, "CAA acquired the former Cut & Shoot Airport-19TE, a cropduster grass airstrip, with the vision to transform it into a modern and well-equipped private airfield."

Per the article, the dirt airstrip which had been abandoned for several decades is the first airfield to open in Texas since 2008.

A spokesperson contacted at the Aviation Division of the Texas Department revealed that this agency was unaware that the airfield had opened. Calls to the City of Conroe and Montgomery County where the facility is located also yielded little information. The county suggested calling the city and the city said to contact the county.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation estimates the total cost of this "privately funded for private use" project as $1,200,000. There seems to be little information publicly available on exactly who is paying for this airport. Were environmental assessments completed before embarking on the project? Was the public involved and allowed an opportunity to provide feedback?

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 157, "private use means available for use by the owner only or by the owner and other persons authorized by the owner." Establishing a flight training school suggests that this airfield straddles the line between public and private.

According to a globalair.com report, Chennault Aviation Academy Opens New Airfield in Texas, "Phase two of development includes hangars for rent and sale, club building and other airport businesses. The new headquarters is the center of CAA's expansion plans, with a new hangar and office building to host the flight school."

Both the airfield and training academy are named after Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault, who served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. "He left for China after the start of the Sino-Japanese War and trained pursuit units in the Chinese Air Force. In 1941 he was named brigadier general in the Chinese Air Force and put in charge of recruiting pilots for the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers. On April 15, 1942 he was recalled to active duty by the Army Air Force as a colonel and was promoted to brigadier general one week later. He then became a commanding general of the U.S. Air Force in China and in March 1943 he was promoted to major general and named to command the 14th Air Force in China, where he spent the remainder of WWII."

The opening of a flight training airport as a private facility is highly concerning and should set off alarm bells across the country. Public process and involvement as well as environmental and land use reviews should be readily accessible, especially given the enormous negative impacts generated by flight training companies. Not only do they generate relentless noise both close to and at a distance from the airport, they are also major sources of lead emissions and other toxic pollutants.

This airport also raises national security concerns. U.S. Aviation Academy at Denton Municipal Airport in Denton, Texas, which recruits student pilots from China, has been implicated in training pilots who go on to serve in the Chinese military. For additional details see Flight Schools Implicated in Training Chinese Military Pilots.