Flying into History: The Rise and Fall of Utah Central Airport
An Airport in Granger!
The Utah Central Airport was between 3200 West to3600 West
History of Utah Central Airport (1936–1968)
The Utah Central Airport was established in 1936 on a stretch of open farmland in what would later become part of West Valley City. At a time when aviation was still finding its place in Utah, the airport quickly became a vital hub for flying lessons, short-hop passenger flights, crop dusting, and the barnstorming exhibitions that captured the public imagination.
The driving force behind the airport was Vern Carter, a World War I–era pilot who devoted much of his life to promoting aviation in Utah. In the years following the war, Carter embodied the spirit of early flight—teaching students, performing aerial shows, and making a livelihood from aviation in an era when pilots often had to do everything themselves, from repairing planes to drumming up business. His leadership made Utah Central a respected field and a training ground for many local aviators.
By the mid-1950s, Carter handed over management of the airport to Glen Dellinger, a longtime aviation enthusiast and community leader. Under Dellinger’s stewardship, the airport continued to serve the west side as a convenient airfield for private pilots and small commercial operations. Other managers also contributed during these years, helping sustain the facility as the surrounding area began to grow and develop.
However, the airport’s fate was sealed by competition and change. With the Salt Lake City Municipal Airport—renamed Salt Lake International Airport in 1965—located just five miles north, the larger facility received over $8 million in improvements between 1960 and 1967, expanding its runways, terminals, and services. These upgrades made it the dominant airfield in the region, drawing away traffic and investment from smaller facilities like Utah Central.
By 1968, Utah Central Airport closed its runways for the last time. Its once-bustling hangars and flight lines gave way to new development, and only memories remain of the days when barnstormers, student pilots, and adventurous locals looked to the little airport on the west side as their gateway to the skies.
Today, the Utah Central Airport lives on in local history as a reminder of the community’s role in Utah’s aviation story—a place where dreams of flight took wing long before the jet age reshaped the skies over Salt Lake Valley.
Note: During the 1960’s the airport was preparing to close. In 1962-1968 a group of racers were given permission to use part of the land for the Bonneville Raceway. They moved the Raceway further west to a 60 acre piece of land
