Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Ever since I first met Jeff Smith, a longtime Battelle employee who was credited with the plan to modernize Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), I knew of his passion for flying. Then, at a recent meeting of the East Tennessee Economic Council, he underscored that passion by saying that his goal after high school graduation was to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, but it was too expensive.  Second choice became The Ohio State University just up the road from his hometown.

Today, that passion for flying is directed at Rockwood Aviation, where Smith and three other equal partners have great plans for turning an airstrip once known allegedly as a place for drug smuggling into a turbine friendly facility and backcountry destination east of the Mississippi River.

His partners are:

1. Mike Goulian, a world-renowned aerobatic pilot and entrepreneur;
2. Randy Massey, a Blount County businessman; and
3. Todd Simmons, President, Customer Experience at Cirrus Aircraft.

In mid-2023, Roane County Executive Wade Cresswell, who used to work at ORNL and knew of Smith’s passion of flying, contacted him to see if he could provide some help to the City of Rockwood.  The airport, not unlike many small general aviation airports, was challenging the City’s ability to make it self-sustaining.

“To make general aviation airports work you have to have something that distinguishes you from others,” Smith said, adding, “To make airports viable long term, they need to not only serve the aviation community, but the airport has to deliver value to the community broadly.”

Fast forward a year, and Rockwood Aviation was formed with a 10-year contract, effective July 1, 2024, to manage the airport, and the team, led by Scott Brun, its day-to-day General Manager, is on a roll.

Smith credits Senator Ken Yager with securing $4 million in state funding to replace the 1960s-era fixed base operator building. Construction starts in the spring of 2026, and according to Smith, the new terminal building will be unlike the typical terminal buildings you’ve seen at hundreds of other small general aviation airports. Other plans include:

1. In partnership with Massey Properties, there’s a $10 million project underway to add 75,000 square feet of hangar space.
2. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has RKW, as the airport is known, on its priority list for a 500-foot runway extension.
3. A $734,000 state grant paid for the resealing of the runway and taxiways.
4. There are also two new fuel trucks – one for jets and one for piston aircraft – that are a “must have” for a thriving airport.

Smith believes all of those improvements should allow RKW to better serve the Flatrock Motor Club that is less than 10 minutes away, as well as the Oak Ridge Innovation Corridor. At 5,000 feet in length with plans to go to 5,500 feet, the runway can serve small and medium size business class aircraft, the type frequently used by executives and business owners.

Finally, there’s the backcountry pilots who will be served by an ‘alternative operations area’ (i.e., a grass strip) adjacent to the paved runway. This new feature will make RKW more welcoming to backcountry pilots.

Smith says that the recreational use statute in Tennessee State Law specifically mentions aviation which provides the liability protection to landowners that open their airstrips to the public. Smith said he and his partners are working with several landowners that either have or want to add a grass strip.  Build the network of grass strips will take time, Smith said, but he is pleased with the strong interest he is seeing.

“We envision a network of 15-20 airstrips that provide camping, fishing, swimming, hunting, and access to hiking trails,” he says of the East Tennessee Backcountry Network.

The latest piece of the puzzle came together with the recent announcement that Shaun Tubbs, President of Performance Air Inc. in Caldwell, ID, agreed to relocate his repair business for backcountry airplanes to RKW next June. Smith said the nature of backcountry flying sometimes results in aircraft “getting bent”; repairs take special skills and understanding to make them airworthy again.

Sounds like the sleepy RKW airport is undergoing an awakening.

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