Chennault International Airport
Encyclopedia
Chennault International Airport is a public use airport
located four nautical miles (7 km) east of the central business district
of Lake Charles
, a city in Calcasieu Parish
, Louisiana
, United States
. It is owned by the Chennault International Airport Authority.
It was previously Chennault Air Force Base and before that, Lake Charles Air Force Base, and as such, was home to the now deactivated 44th Bomb Wing
in the 1950s and 1960s.
While a fully operational airport, it is an industrial center and provides no commercial air services. It is named for Major General Claire Chennault, USAAF, the aviator famous for commanding the Flying Tigers
fighter group during World War II
http://www.chennault.org/news/details.cfm?nID=1.
Its mission statement reads as follows:
"The Authority created pursuant hereto shall be established for the primary object and purpose of stimulating and encouraging the development of an industrial park for economic development through commerce, industry and research and for the utilization and development of natural and human resources of the area and provide job opportunities."http://www.chennault.org/about/index.cfm
Northrop Grumman Corporation is Chennault's major aircraft
manufacturing and modification tenant. Aeroframe Services, LLC (formerly EADS Aeroframe Services, Inc.
) specializes in maintenance and overhaul services for Airbus
. The Chennault Jet Center, the focus of Chennault's Fixed Base Operations for business and general aviation, as well as charter operations, is also located nearby. Airborne Express
air freight operations serve Southwest Louisiana
and Southeast Texas
with daily DC-9 jet service from its on-airport truck hub
, providing tenants with immediate access to express air shipping.
, located on the former Chennault Air Force Base, offers a variety of academic and technical programs with terminating certificates, diplomas, and/or associate degrees. The College's Workforce Development unit tailors training programs to meet local business, industry and community training needs.
The site is also officially designated by NASA
as an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle
.
The Mallard Cove Golf Course, an 18-hole championship golf course
, is located near the airport.
of 17 feet (5 m) above mean sea level. It has one concrete
paved runway
designated 15/33 which measures 10,701 by 200 feet (3,262 by 61 m).
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 52,976 aircraft operations, an average of 145 per day: 58% general aviation
, 38% military
, 3% air taxi
and 1% scheduled commercial
. At that time there were 42 aircraft based at this airport: 38% single-engine
, 10% multi-engine, 29% jet
, 12% helicopter
and 12% military
.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located four nautical miles (7 km) east of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, a city in Calcasieu Parish
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
Calcasieu Parish[p] is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Charles. As of 2010, the parish population was 192,768...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned by the Chennault International Airport Authority.
It was previously Chennault Air Force Base and before that, Lake Charles Air Force Base, and as such, was home to the now deactivated 44th Bomb Wing
44th Missile Wing
The 44th Missile Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Twentieth Air Force, being assigned to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. It was deactivated on 4 July 1994....
in the 1950s and 1960s.
While a fully operational airport, it is an industrial center and provides no commercial air services. It is named for Major General Claire Chennault, USAAF, the aviator famous for commanding the Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
fighter group during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
http://www.chennault.org/news/details.cfm?nID=1.
Its mission statement reads as follows:
"The Authority created pursuant hereto shall be established for the primary object and purpose of stimulating and encouraging the development of an industrial park for economic development through commerce, industry and research and for the utilization and development of natural and human resources of the area and provide job opportunities."http://www.chennault.org/about/index.cfm
Northrop Grumman Corporation is Chennault's major aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
manufacturing and modification tenant. Aeroframe Services, LLC (formerly EADS Aeroframe Services, Inc.
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
) specializes in maintenance and overhaul services for Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
. The Chennault Jet Center, the focus of Chennault's Fixed Base Operations for business and general aviation, as well as charter operations, is also located nearby. Airborne Express
Airborne Express
Airborne Express was an express delivery company and cargo airline. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, its hub was at Wilmington, Ohio.Airborne was founded as the Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California in 1946 to fly flowers from the state of Hawaii to US Mainland.Airborne Express...
air freight operations serve Southwest Louisiana
Southwest Louisiana
Southwest Louisiana is a five-parish area intersecting the Acadiana and Central Louisiana regions in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is composed of the following parishes : Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis...
and Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The subregion is geographically centered around the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan areas...
with daily DC-9 jet service from its on-airport truck hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
, providing tenants with immediate access to express air shipping.
Other features
Sowela Technical Community CollegeSowela technical community college
Sowela Technical Community College is a member of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and under the governance of the Louisiana Board of Regents...
, located on the former Chennault Air Force Base, offers a variety of academic and technical programs with terminating certificates, diplomas, and/or associate degrees. The College's Workforce Development unit tailors training programs to meet local business, industry and community training needs.
The site is also officially designated by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
as an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
.
The Mallard Cove Golf Course, an 18-hole championship golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
, is located near the airport.
Facilities and aircraft
Chennault International Airport covers an area of 1310 acres (530.1 ha) at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 17 feet (5 m) above mean sea level. It has one concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 15/33 which measures 10,701 by 200 feet (3,262 by 61 m).
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 52,976 aircraft operations, an average of 145 per day: 58% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, 38% military
Military aviation
Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...
, 3% air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...
and 1% scheduled commercial
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
. At that time there were 42 aircraft based at this airport: 38% single-engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
, 10% multi-engine, 29% jet
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
, 12% helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
and 12% military
Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
.