Purdue University Airport
| Purdue University Airport | |||
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| IATA: LAF – ICAO: KLAF – FAA LID: LAF | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Purdue University | ||
| Serves | Lafayette, Indiana | ||
| Location | West Lafayette, Indiana | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 606 ft / 185 m | ||
| Coordinates | 40°24′44″N 86°56′13″W / 40.41222°N 86.93694°WCoordinates: 40°24′44″N 86°56′13″W / 40.41222°N 86.93694°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Maps | |||
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 LAF
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 5/23 | 4,226 | 1,288 | Asphalt |
| 10/28 | 6,600 | 2,012 | Asphalt |
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Purdue University Airport (IATA: LAF, ICAO: KLAF, FAA LID: LAF) is a public-use airport in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States. Owned by Purdue University, the airport is 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) southwest of the central business district of Lafayette,[1] in West Lafayette. Because of the heavy traffic generated by Purdue University and its flight programs, Purdue University Airport is one of the busiest airports in Indiana, second only to Indianapolis International Airport.
The airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2] The facility no longer offers a commercial airline service.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
Purdue University Airport was the first university-owned airport in the United States. In 1930, inventor-industrialist David Ross (one of two people for whom Purdue's Ross–Ade Stadium is named) donated a tract of land to be used as an aeronautical education and research facility at Purdue University. The U.S. government designated Purdue University Airport as an emergency landing strip on 1 November 1930; the runways were paved later in the 1930s. Amelia Earhart prepared her airplane for her around-the-world flight attempt in Hangar 1 at the airport. Earhart was an adjunct faculty member at the time and the Lockheed aircraft she flew was purchased for her by the Purdue Research Foundation.[4]
Hundreds of members of the U.S. Army, Navy, and War Training Service were trained at Purdue Airport during World War II, as were several commercial pilots from Latin America.[5] Later, the airport became the home of the first Reserve Officers' Training Corps flight program (1955)[6] and the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (1960s).[7]
The original hangar, now referred to as the Niswonger Hall of Aviation Technology, still stands and is used by Purdue University's department of Aviation Technology for offices, classrooms, and laboratories. The bay that held Earhart's plane still contains aircraft; they are used by the Aeronautical Engineering Technology program for maintenance and inspection training. A large addition to the building was completed in the summer of 2009.[8]. A plaque on the building near the side entrance commemorates the airport's history.[9]
From the mid-1970s until the mid 2000s, Purdue University Airport received regularly scheduled commercial air service. Allegheny Airlines / Lake Central Airlines (both now part of US Airways) maintained flights to Chicago O'Hare and Pittsburgh (the latter via BAC 111 jet for a period of time). Air Wisconsin offered service to Chicago O'Hare and to Marion. Northwest Airlines (via Mesaba Air) offered service to Detroit. Lastly, TWA (via Trans States Airlines) offered service to St. Louis. As of 2011, all of these carriers have ceased operations into Purdue Airport and there is no commercial service.
Purdue University Airport also had its own airline, Purdue Airlines in the 1960s and 1970s. There were up to three McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (Series 30) aircraft based at the Airport for charter service. One such charter was to Hugh Hefner for his all-black Playboy jet (maintained periodically at the Airport).
Evergreen International maintained a short-lived cargo operation at the Airport in the late 1970s using the Lockheed Electra
President Ronald Reagan and Air Force One (then a military version of a DC-9) visited Purdue University Airport on April 9, 1987. He later wrote a letter concerning a list of questions to the Editor of the Purdue Exponent concerning his optimism about the future of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and his favorable impression of what he saw at Purdue.
[edit] Facilities
Purdue University Airport has an FAA-staffed air traffic control tower and is the second busiest tower in Indiana.[10].
The airport covers an area of 527 acres (213 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 10/28 is 6,600 by 150 feet (2,012 x 46 m) and 5/23 is 4,226 by 100 feet (1,288 x 30 m).[1]
Runway 10 has a Category 1 ILS approach. Runways 10 and 28 are both served by GPS WAAS approaches. Additionally, a VOR-A approach is available.[11]
Runway 10 is occasionally used in a shortened configuration: aircraft land at the beginning of the runway but do not use its full length to stop. Instead, they hold short of the intersecting runway 5/23. Known as a land and hold short operation (LAHSO), this procedure is relatively common in the United States and allows both runways to be used at the same time. Pilots have the ability to reject the LAHSO clearance if they need the full runway to ensure a safe landing.[12]
Runway 23 has a displaced threshold, which shortens the runway to 3,913 ft for landing operations.[11]
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ a b c FAA Airport Master Record for LAF (Form 5010 PDF)
- ^ National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015: Appendix A (PDF, 2.03 MB). Federal Aviation Administration. Updated 4 October 2010.
- ^ "Pilot/Aircraft/Ground Services". http://www.purdue.edu/airport/services.htm. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ AIAA, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Topping, p. 240.
- ^ AIAA, p. 4.
- ^ Topping, p. 324.
- ^ Soumitro, Sen. "Purdue dedicates Niswonger Aviation Technology Building". http://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2009b/090925CordovaNiswonger.html. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ Holsapple, Matt. "Purdue Airport recognized as aviation historical site". http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html3month/2005/050615.Petrin.airport.html. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- ^ National Air Traffic Controller's Association – Local LAF. "Lafayette Tower Information". Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ^ "Pilot Responsibilities When Conducting Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO)". http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/lahso.html. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
- Bibliography
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2005). "Historic Aerospace Site: Purdue University Airport, West Lafayette, Indiana" (PDF). http://www.aiaa.org/Participate/Uploads/05-0443westlafayette.pdf. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- Topping, Robert W. (1988). A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. ISBN 0-911198-95-4.
[edit] External links
- Purdue University Airport, official site
- Key Events in the History of the Purdue Airport
- National Air Traffic Controllers Association LAF HOMEPAGE
- FAA Airport Diagram for LAF (PDF), effective 9 Feb 2012
- FAA Terminal Procedures for LAF, effective 9 Feb 2012
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KLAF
- ASN accident history for LAF
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures
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