Bamberg County Airport Offers Low Tax Rates, Fuel for General Aviation Pilots

At Tobul Field, a single aircraft's annual property tax bill recently reached nearly $10,000, a figure County Administrator Joey Preston cites when making the case that Bamberg County's public-use airport earns its place on the county's ledger. Preston is simultaneously the airport's manager, concentrating financial and operational oversight of the 94-acre facility at 709 Airport Rd. in one county office.

The airport, listed under FAA identifier 99N and located 5 nautical miles west of Bamberg's central business district between the city and the Town of Denmark, markets itself explicitly on low costs. It offers self-serve 100LL avgas and strives to maintain the lowest fuel price in the region, drawing more than 400 visiting pilots per year to its single lighted runway. That runway, designated 05/23 and measuring 3,603 feet by 60 feet at an elevation of 231 feet above sea level, accommodates most light single- and twin-engine aircraft as well as small corporate planes.

Aircraft property tax revenues were estimated at $7,920 in 2018 and have climbed since. The South Carolina Aeronautics Commission places the airport's total annual economic activity at $219,610. Tobul Field has two hangars: a county-owned structure and a second leased to Crosswind Aviation, which operates charter services and contract pilot and aircraft management work across South Carolina. Those lease payments, combined with fuel sales and aircraft tax collections, are the airport's primary revenue offsets against county costs.

The terminal building includes bathrooms, an efficiency kitchen, a pilot room, a conference room, an indoor lounge, and an outdoor porch with white rocking chairs. Bamberg County Fire Department Coordinator Paul Eubanks assists Preston with day-to-day airport operations. The county opened the airport in October 1982 after local doctors, business owners, and recreational pilots lobbied the county council and secured those 94 acres. "It gave Bamberg County more to offer," Eubanks said.

The facility was renamed Tobul Field at a dedication ceremony on March 22, 2022, honoring Joseph Tobul, a Bamberg businessman who invested years of personal time and money maintaining the airfield. The naming reflects the airport's sharpest economic development story: Jim Tobul, Joseph's son, landed at the airport in 1986 while scouting expansion locations for Tobul Accumulator, Inc. across four states. During that visit he met Bill Wetzel, then the county's economic development director. The company chose Bamberg, eventually employing a peak of 100 workers before its sale in 2014.

For the 12 months ending July 29, 2020, the airport recorded 700 aircraft operations, averaging two per day, with three single-engine aircraft based on the field. The county's listing with the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission keeps Tobul Field eligible for FAA and state Airport Improvement Program grants, which can fund runway rehabilitation, lighting upgrades, and hangar construction without drawing directly on county general funds.

Preston's position as both county administrator and airport manager means Bamberg County Council holds direct authority over the airport's finances and capital decisions. What the facility costs taxpayers beyond its own revenue streams, and what grant matches the county may be asked to fund in coming budget cycles, are questions any council member can raise at a regular meeting.