Hondo Municipal Airport

Hondo Municipal Airport
IATA: HDO – ICAO: KHDO – FAA LID: HDO
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		City of Hondo
Serves		Hondo, Texas
Elevation AMSL		930 ft / 283 m
Coordinates		29°21′35″N 099°10′36″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
4/22	5,400	1,646	Concrete
8/26	6,059	1,847	Concrete
13/31	6,045	1,843	Concrete
17L/35R	5,624	1,714	Concrete
17R/35L	3,224	983	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations			27,120
Based aircraft			22
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Hondo MAP

Location of Hondo Municipal Airport, Texas

For the United States Air Force use of the airport, see Hondo Air Base

Hondo Municipal Airport (IATA: HDO, ICAO: KHDO, FAA LID: HDO) is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) northwest of the central business district of Hondo, in Medina County, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the city of Hondo.

Facilities and aircraft

Hondo Municipal Airport covers an area of 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) at an elevation of 930 feet (283 m) above mean sea level. It has five runways:

• 4/22 is 5,400 by 150 feet (1,646 x 46 m) with a concrete surface;
• 8/26 is 6,059 by 150 feet (1,847 x 46 m) with a concrete surface;
• 13/31 is 6,045 by 150 feet (1,843 x 46 m) with a concrete surface;
• 17L/35R is 5,624 by 150 feet (1,714 x 46 m) with a concrete surface;
• 17R/35L is 3,224 by 140 feet (983 x 43 m) with an asphalt surface.

For the 12-month period ending April 14, 2008, the airport had 27,120 aircraft operations, an average of 74 per day: 69% military and 31% general aviation. At that time there were 22 aircraft based at this airport: 82% single-engine, 14% multi-engine and 4% helicopter.

History

Hondo Municipal Airport has its origins in 1942 with the establishment by the Army Air Corps of Hondo Army Airfield, and was used as a Navigator training base. The Women's Air Force Service Pilot squadrons were assigned there in November 1943. Two notable woman pilots, Betty Henrich and Hollywood stunt actress Mary Wiggins, were among the first WASPs to report for duty. Between July 1942 and August 1945 some 14,158 navigators were trained at Hondo. The base was closed on December 29, 1945, and the buildings and fixtures were sold as surplus.

Between 1945 and 1951 civilian operators such as the Hollaway flying school trained student pilots at the former base under the GI Bill. As a result of the Korean War, the United States Air Force reactivated the base as a contract pilot training center, training pilots at Hondo Air Base. It closed again in 1958.

During the 1960s the city of Hondo leased facilities at the base to the Hondo Livestock Auction and to Gary Aerospace, Universal Rundle, and Doss Aviation. The aviation companies worked with the United States Air Force to screen pilots, and Universal Rundle manufactured toilets.

In 1957 a golf course was constructed on the base through the efforts of base commander Lt Col Earl V. Riley. A golf tournament bearing his name remained a yearly event in the 1980s. In the spring of 1973 the Air Force began a flight-screening program at Hondo using the T-41 Mescalero, a militarized version of the civilian Cessna 172. The training program, still in operation in the 1980s, was attended by United States and foreign students.

After the mid-1970s the base housed a number of businesses, including a fiberglass-products plant, a greenhouse, a national guard armory, and the Medina Electric Cooperative.

External links

• Aerial photo as of 14 January 1995 from USGS The National Map
• FAA Terminal Procedures for HDO, effective 12 January 2012
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KHDO
  • ASN accident history for HDO
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures