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Austin's aviation history began in 1911, when adventurer Cal Rodgers landed the “Vin Fiz,” a Wright Brothers biplane, during his transcontinental flight. He landed in a field at the Ridgetop subdivision, in the vicinity of 51st and Duval Streets. In 1917, U.S. Army DeHaviland biplanes practiced take-offs and landings at “Penn Field,” a small dirt strip south of St. Edward's University which served as Austin's first landing field. Penn Field was named after the first pilot from Central Texas to lose his life in aerial combat during World War I.
In the late 1920's, the Austin City Council petitioned the Army Corps at Kelly Field in San Antonio to send a pilot over the Austin city limits to select the site most suitable for a municipal airport. The Army sent Lt. Claire Chennault, later to become the famous General Chennault of the World War II “Flying Tigers,” who recommended the Matthews farm tract (current airport site) located four miles northeast of downtown Austin.
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, a City-owned airport named to honor a City Council Member who died while in service to Austin, was officially dedicated on October 14, 1930. The main terminal building was dedicated on May 27, 1961, expanded in 1983, and the east terminal was dedicated in April 1990. The Federal Inspection Station, located near the terminal, was completed in 1995.
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport closed to commercial passenger traffic on May 22, 1999, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport opened to the public on May 23, 1999. Robert Mueller Municipal Airport remained open for general aviation use through June 22, 1999.
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