Another Utah field with an important military connection was Wendover Field, established as a gunnery and bombing range in 1940. During World War II, bomber crews from all over the country came to Wendover for training before being assigned to overseas bases. One of the most famous crews was the 509th Composite Group, which trained for atomic warfare from December 1944 to April 1945. It dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Utah was one of the first states to establish a body to "supervise and promote aviation within the state and to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to enhance the industry."

The Utah State Aeronautics Commission was established in 1937, and operating funds were provided by a tax on fuel used in aircraft.

Now a part of the Utah Division of Transportation, the Aeronautics Division still carries out that original mission, says aeronautical planner Monte Yeager.

Utah now has 51 airports that fall under the division's jurisdiction, 35 of which are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and thus eligible to receive federal funding. The rest are small and/or private enterprises.

There are three primary commercial airports — Salt Lake City International, Saint George Municipal and Cedar City Municipal.

In recent years, says Yeager, both the state and the nation have demonstrated a strong commitment to aviation by providing additional funding for maintenance and improvements. "In the last two or three years, we've made tremendous strides. You go to any airport in the state and you'll see that something has been done."

And that's as it should be in a state that, for the past 100 years, has seemed to always have an eye on the sky.

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E-MAIL: carma@desnews.com