Drake Field is a city-owned public-use airport

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 three nautical miles (6 km) south 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 Fayetteville

Fayetteville, Arkansas

Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...

, in Washington County

Washington County, Arkansas

Washington County is a county located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 203,065. The county seat is Fayetteville. Washington County is Arkansas's 17th county, formed on October 17, 1828, and named for George Washington, the first President of the...

, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is also known as Fayetteville Executive Airport and was formerly known as Fayetteville Municipal Airport.

History

Drake Field served as the commercial airport for Northwest Arkansas until the opening of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is an airport located in Highfill, Arkansas, near Bentonville, Rogers, Fayetteville, Springdale, and Siloam Springs, Arkansas...

 (XNA) in Highfill, Arkansas

Highfill, Arkansas

Highfill is a town in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 379 at the 2000 census. It is home to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, which serves all of Northwest Arkansas, including the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical...

.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers an area of 631 acres (255.4 ha) at an elevation

Elevation

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 1,251 feet (381 m) above mean sea level. It has one 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 16/34 with an asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 surface measuring 6,006 by 100 feet (1,831 x 30 m).

For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2009, the airport had 35,267 aircraft operations, an average of 96 per day: 97% 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...

, 2% 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...

, 1% 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...

, 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 85 aircraft based at this airport: 81% 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...

, 8% multi-engine, 9% 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...

 and 1% 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...

.

External links

• Fayetteville Executive Airport (Drake Field) at City of Fayetteville web site
• Aerial image as of 28 February 2001 from USGS The National Map