Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport 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 in Scott County

Scott County, Missouri

Scott County is a county located in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 40,422; a 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 40,673. Its county seat is Benton...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, United States

United States

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

. The airport is two nautical miles (3.7 km) northeast 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 the city of Sikeston

Sikeston, Missouri

Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is geographically situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way of Interstate 55, Sikeston is close to the...

.

Facilities and aircraft

Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport covers an area of 732 acres (296.2 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 315 feet (96 m) above mean sea level. It has one 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...

 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 2/20 which measures 5,502 by 100 feet (1,677 x 30 m).

For the 12-month period ending August 31, 2006, the airport had 10,400 aircraft operations, an average of 28 per day: 83% 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...

, 10% 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 8% 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...

. At that time there were 14 aircraft based at this airport: 64% 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...

, 14% multi-engine and 21% ultralight.

History

Opened in April 1940 as Harvey Parks Airport with 6,600' x 5,280' open turf field. Began training United States Army Air Corps flying cadets in June 1940 under contract to Missouri Institute of Aeronautics. Assigned to United States Army Air Forces Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central FLying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19

Fairchild PT-19

|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II . London: Bounty Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7537-1461-4....

s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned. Also provided flexible gunnery training.

Inactivated on 16 October 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. Declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945. Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and returned to being a civil airport.

Since becoming a civil airport, it has become a very popular destination for Army helicopter crews from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY.

External links

• Aerial photo as of 22 March 1996 from USGS The National Map via MSR Maps