Fort Smith RAP

General

The idea of a municipal airport was established in 1936, thus the beginning of the Fort Smith Municipal Airport. An Airport Advisory Committee was appointed and the Fort Smith Board of Directors purchased 320 acres with bond money. The first scheduled flights were flown in 1952 by Braniff Airways. In 1954, the 188th Tactical Fighter Group of the Arkansas Air National Guard moved to the airport. Dubbed "Rick's Rippers" in honor of Major General Earl T. Ricks, former Adjutant General and highly decorated World War II Army Air Force pilot from Arkansas, they started flying with the RB-26, followed by the RF-80, RF-84F and RF-101. In 1972 they received the F-100 Super Sabre and became the 188th Tactical Fighter Group. In 1976, the group became known as the Flying Razorbacks and was assigned the F-4C Phantom II in April 1979. On July 1, 1988, the 188th took delivery of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Following BRAC realigments, it transitioned to the A-10A in 2008. The airport also supports training activity from other military units most notably the 314th Airlift Wing located at Little Rock Air Force Base, AR. In the mean time, in 2002, the new civil terminal was built and opened. This airline terminal offers complimentary Wi-Fi and the restrooms were voted the America’s Best Public Restroom in 2005. The Fort Smith Air Museum is located within the airline terminal, although their J-3 is located in the Great Mall. Scheduled flights are performed by American Airlines. The A-10Cs are now replaced by UAVs. In 2024 the 85th Fighter Group and the 57th Fighter squadron was reactivated at Ebbing ANGB to provide training from 2025 on 24 F-35As for the Air Forces of Poland, Finland and Germany. The 425th Fighter Squadron has been relocated from Luke AFB with F-16Cs of the Singapore Air Force and will be augmented with the F-35Bs from 2026.