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Clinton County Air Force Base

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Clinton County Air Force Base
USGS aerial image as of 22 March 1994
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OwnerUnited States Air Force
LocationUnion Township, Clinton County, near Wilmington, Ohio
Elevation AMSL1,077 ft / 328 m
Coordinates39°25′41″N 083°47′32″W / 39.42806°N 83.79222°W / 39.42806; -83.79222
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4L/22R 10,701 3,262 Concrete
13/31 5,984 1,824 Concrete

Clinton County Air Force Base (IATA: ILN, ICAO: KILN, FAA LID: ILN) was a United States Air Force base located two nautical miles (3.7 km) southeast of the central business district of Wilmington, a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States.

History

The airport opened in 1929 and a small hangar was built in 1930. The landing strip was approved by the Civil Works Administration in 1933. In 1940, the Civil Aeronautics Authority took control of Wilmington Airport for use as an emergency landing field. In 1942, the Army Air Corps took over the airport, renaming it Clinton County Army Air Field. The Air Material Command the airfield for glider research, training and development until the end of World War II.[2]

The airfield was closed after World War II, but reopened during the Korean War. By 1958, the Clinton County Air Force Base was home to the newly created 249th Air Reserve Training Wing. The runway was extended from 6,000 to 9,000 feet in 1960. The air force base was closed in 1971 and its operations were transferred to Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus.[2]

The base was decommissioned in 1972 and the Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) began developing the area as the Wilmington Industrial Air Park (WIAP). It also became home to the Great Oaks Joint Vocational School District. In 1977, the Southern State Community College opened, using old barracks buildings as classrooms. In 1980, Midwest Air Charter was acquired by Airborne Freight Corporation, resulting in Airborne Express, which became the largest tenant at WIAP and resulted in the airfield being named Airborne Airpark.[2]

Facilities and aircraft

Airborne Airpark covers an area of 2,000 acres (810 ha) at an elevation of 1,077 feet (328 m) above mean sea level. It has two concrete surfaced runways: 4L/22R is 10,701 by 150 feet (3,262 x 46 m) and 4R/22L is 9,000 by 150 feet (2,743 x 46 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 71,000 aircraft operations, an average of 194 per day: 96% scheduled commercial and 4% general aviation.[1]

Future of the Property

On January 19, 2010, DHL agreed to turn over the airport, including its two runways, control tower, buildings and cargo storage facilities to the Clinton County Port Authority. While no concrete plans have been set, the port authority plans to work with local and state officials on redeveloping the property.[3]

In January 2012, the Clinton County Port Authority was in conversations with the Ohio Air National Guard for the possible return of a U.S. Air Force presence at the airport, with possible use as a joint civil-military airfield by the Air National Guard to operate model specific Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for ILN PDF, effective 2009-08-27.
  2. ^ a b c ABX Air: Air Park History
  3. ^ "DHL agrees to donate airport to group for redevelopment". Dayton Daily News. 2010-01-18. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  4. ^ "Air Guard wants to fly UAV here". Wilmington News Journal. 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
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