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Gainesville Regional Airport

Coordinates: 29°41′24″N 082°16′18″W / 29.69000°N 82.27167°W / 29.69000; -82.27167
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29°41′24″N 082°16′18″W / 29.69000°N 82.27167°W / 29.69000; -82.27167

Gainesville Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGainesville-Alachua County Authority
LocationGainesville, Florida
Elevation AMSL152 ft / 46 m
Websitewww.gra-gnv.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 7,504 2,287 Asphalt
7/25 4,158 1,267 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations133,881
Based aircraft131
Gainesville RAP is located in Florida
Gainesville RAP
Gainesville RAP
class=notpageimage|
Location of Gainesville Regional Airport, Florida

Gainesville Regional Airport (IATA: GNV, ICAO: KGNV, FAA LID: GNV) is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northeast of the central business district of Gainesville, a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Gainesville, FL and operated by the Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority.[1] It was formerly known as J.R. Alison Airport.[2]

Within the past 12 months, the Airport has undertaken and substantially completed several largescale projects that include the refurbishment of its primary runway, piping of an open ditch parallel to that runway, and completion of Phase 1 of the Terminal Renovation project. Three passenger boarding bridges, covered walkways that connect the terminal building to the aircraft, have been installed, and the Authority has commissioned the design of Phase 2 of the Terminal Renovation which will go out for bids later this year. Eclipse Aviation, maker of the Eclipse 500, has opened its first factory service center in Gainesville, which will support more than 1,000 jet aircraft.

Facilities and aircraft

Gainesville Regional Airport covers an area of 1,650 acres (668 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 11/29 measuring 7,504 x 150 ft (2,287 x 46 m) and 7/25 measuring 4,158 x 100 ft (1,267 x 30 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 133,881 aircraft operations, an average of 366 per day: 84% general aviation, 8% air taxi, 7% military and 1% scheduled commercial. There are 131 aircraft based at this airport: 83% single-engine, 9% multi-engine, 4% jet and 4% helicopter.[1]

Gainesville regional airport is served by one FBO, University Air Center. Previously there were two, Gulf Atlantic Airways and Flight Line. Flight Line's contract with the airport authority expired and Gulf Atlantic became University Air Center. University Air Center provides a pilots lounge with TV, snack machines, aircraft rentals and charters, and fuel.

Airlines and destinations

Airport Interior, West Lobby
AirlinesDestinations
American Eagle operated by Executive Airlines Miami [starts October 1]
Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines Atlanta
US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines Charlotte

History

Emblem of Air University
Emblem of Air University

Construction of the airport began in April 1940 as a Works Project Administration project. In 1941 initial construction was completed. Upon conclusion of the construction by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the facility was known as the Alachua Army Airfield and was used by the Army Air Corps and the Army Air Forces.

On 2 March 1942, the Gainesville City Council established the name of the airfield as the John R. Alison Airport. John R. Alison was a local citizen and graduate of the University of Florida who served with valor and distinction in World War II. He was selected to serve as an observer in England and later served in Russia training Russian flyers.

Alachua AAF was assigned to the Air University Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) tactical combat simulation school in Central and Northern Florida.

Headquartered at Orlando Army Air Base, the school's mission was to develop tactics and techniques of aerial warfare and to establish technical and tactical proficiency requirements for combat units to effectively engage and defeat enemy air forces. This was done with a wide variety of aircraft, including heavy strategic bombers; tactical fighters; medium and light bombers; reconnaissance and dive bombers, based at different airfields of the school.

Squadrons assigned by the AAFSAT were:

In mid-1943, Third Air Force at Drew Field near Tampa began using Alachua as a group training base, assigning several air commando fighter squadrons to the airfield for training prior to their deployment to the China-Burma-India theater:

At the end of the war, the airfield was declared surplus in September 1945 and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 1 October 1946. The War Assets Administration deeded the facility to the city of Gainesville in 1948 as a civil airport. At that time, the field was known as the John R. Alison Airport and also as the Gainesville Municipal Airport. The city operated, maintained, and improved the airport over the years as the Gainesville Municipal Airport.

In order to recognize the role the airport carries in meeting the regional demands for aviation services, the airport was renamed the Gainesville Regional Airport in October 1977. The airline passenger terminal was dedicated to John R. Alison in 1979.

In 1986, the State Legislature passed a bill that established the Airport as the Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority. The Airport Authority, which consists of nine board members, five selected by the City of Gainesville, three by the Governor and one by Alachua County, continues to oversee the Airport to date.

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  • Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975
  • Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0912799129.
  • Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for GNV PDF, effective 2007-10-25
  2. ^ GIS Monitor newletter, February 6, 2003
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