Who would have thought a true story with a link to Clay and Macon counties would arguably be the most popular movie in the United States today?   

Atop a hill on the western edge of Bryson City, Sossamon Airfield has sat mostly unused for quite some time, but that may change over the next few years.

Drake Enterprises is spreading its wings further into the community as it takes over management of the Macon County Airport. 

Under the new subsidiary Macon Air LLC, Drake assumed responsibility for airport operations as of Oct. 1 after its former management entity — Franklin Aviation, led by Neil Hoppe and Peggy Milton — decided to retire. Hoppe and Milton had managed the airport for 20 years under a contract with the county. 

The Macon County Airport Authority may have hit a roadblock in the planning process for a project that will add another 1,000 feet to the runway. 

With the last Macon County Airport runway extension project barely in the rearview, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has approved another $4.5 million airport project to make the runway even longer. 

The last expansion project in 2011 extended the runway from 4,400 feet to 5,000 feet for safety reasons — the same reason why local officials say the runway now needs to be expanded to 6,000 feet. 

Geography and population conspire to make much of Western North Carolina a terrible place for an airport; west of Asheville, commercial airstrips are practically nonexistent.

The Macon Aero Modelers Club members are not afraid to fly much of anything. Large, wooden aircraft churning through the sky, small, light planes twisting and turning at 10, 15, 20 Gs — if it’s got wings, it’s their forte. 

The Macon County Commission last week narrowly approved funding for upgrades and an expansion of the runway at the county airport.

Macon County could once again find itself with a bigger airport runway — this time wider. 

Shortly after takeoff, the Smoky Mountain Flying Club is having to re-route its course. 

The flying club nearly lost an $11,000 non-refundable down payment on an airplane after a deal with investors went bad.