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Pueblo Memorial Airport

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Pueblo Memorial Airport

Pueblo Army Air Base
USGS 2006 orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Pueblo
ServesPueblo, Colorado
Elevation AMSL4,729 ft / 1,441 m
Websitehttp://www.flypueblo.com...
Map
PUB is located in Colorado
PUB
PUB
Location in Colorado
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8R/26L 10,498 3,200 Asphalt
8L/26R 4,690 1,430 Asphalt
17/35 8,310 2,533 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations182,119
Based aircraft120

Pueblo Memorial Airport (IATA: PUB, ICAO: KPUB, FAA LID: PUB) is a public airport six miles east of Pueblo, in Pueblo County, Colorado.[1] It is used for general aviation and by one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 4,345 passenger boardings in 2008,[2] 5,192 in 2009 and 11,641 in 2010.[3] The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a non-primary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2008/2009 (between 2,500 and 10,000 per year).[4]

The Pueblo Airport is a popular starting point for the growing population of cyclists in the city.[citation needed]

History

Built in 1941 as the Pueblo Army Air Base, it was used as an advanced flying school to train B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator four engine heavy bomber crews. It was under the command of the United States Army Air Forces Second Air Force 360th Army Air Force Base Unit. Known bomb groups which trained or based at Pueblo were:

  • 94th Bombardment Group (B-17) January - April 1943
  • 302d Bombardment Group (B-24) 30 September 1942 - 1 December 1942
  • 351st Bombardment Group (B-17) 1 March - 12 April 1943
  • 381st Bombardment Group (B-17) 5 April - 9 May 1943
  • 400th Bombardment Group (B-17) 2 May - 31 July 1943
  • 466th Bombardment Group (B-29) 25 July - 15 August 1945
  • 469th Bombardment Group (B-24) 1–7 May 1943
  • 471st Bombardment Group (B-24) 7 May 1943 - 28 January 1944
Pueblo Memorial Airport terminal

The history of the Air Base is preserved with the Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society and its Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum.[5]

In 1948 it was handed over to the City of Pueblo. In the 1960s the main east-west runway (8/26) was extended from 6,000' to 10,000' to accommodate jets.

Today, Pueblo Memorial Airport is home of the United States Air Force Initial Flight Training (IFT) program, which began operations on October 1, 2006. Doss Aviation, under contract with the USAF, conducts flight training for between 1300 and 1700 USAF trainees annually.[6]

Facilities

Pueblo Memorial Airport covers 3,872 acres (1,567 ha) at an elevation of 4,729 feet (1,441 m). It has three runways:[1][7]

  • 8R/26L is 10,498 by 150 feet (3,200 x 46 m), the primary runway.
  • 17/35 is 8,310 by 150 feet (2,533 x 46 m)
  • 8L/26R is 4,690 by 75 feet (1,148 x 23 m)

Runways 8R/26L and 17/35 are asphalt with a porous friction course overlay to improve surface drainage and increase aircraft braking action. Runway 8L/26R has a 3-4 inch asphalt overlay on 7 inches (180 mm) of Portland cement concrete.[7]

In the year ending January 1, 2011 the airport had 182,119 aircraft operations, average 498 per day: 95% general aviation, 3% air taxi, <1% airline, and 2% military. 120 aircraft were then based at this airport: 84% single-engine, 9% multi-engine, 6% jet, and 1% glider.[1]

Historical airline service

Four mainline airlines scheduled jets to the airport in the past. The original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) flew Boeing 727-200 and 737-200s to Denver, Trans World Airlines (TWA) Boeing 727-200s flew to St. Louis and America West Airlines Boeing 737-200s flew to Phoenix. Some of these flights stopped at Colorado Springs Airport en route. Allegiant Air operated McDonnell Douglas MD-80s non-stops to Las Vegas beginning in October of 2010; this ended on April 8, 2012.

Before jet service, the original Frontier Airlines had nonstop and direct flights to Denver and Santa Fe, NM with Convair 580s and flew direct to Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson and other cities in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Central Airlines Convair 600s flew nonstop to Denver and Amarillo and direct to Kansas City and other cities in Kansas.[8] The original Frontier Airlines acquired Central in October 1967. Continental Airlines served Pueblo in the early 1960s with Vickers Viscounts to Denver, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and El Paso. Later, Rocky Mountain Airways de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and DHC-7 Dash 7s flew nonstop or direct to Denver.

In early 2014 Great Lakes Airlines was the only passenger airline at Pueblo, flying Beechcraft 1900Ds to Denver. This was replaced by SkyWest Airlines (United Express) 30-seat Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias to Denver on April 1, 2014. SkyWest briefly flew Bombardier CRJ-200s to Denver after the EMB-120 retired from the fleet, but SkyWest left in spring 2015 and Pueblo now has no scheduled airline.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for PUB PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.
  2. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2008" (PDF, 1.0 MB). CY 2008 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. December 18, 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  3. ^ "Enplanements for CY 2010" (PDF, 189 KB). CY 2010 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  4. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  5. ^ Colo State's Pueblo Army Airbase Website
  6. ^ DOSS Initial Flight Screening Company Website
  7. ^ a b Pueblo Memorial Airport: General Information
  8. ^ timetableimages.com., July 1, 1967 Central Airlines timetable

Other sources

  • Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-1999-6589) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Order 2004-7-10 (July 15, 2004): selects Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Alamosa and Cortez, Colorado, for two years for annual subsidy rates of $1,083,538 and $853,587, respectively, and Mesa Air Group, Inc., d/b/a Air Midwest to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Pueblo, Colorado, for two years at a subsidy rate of $618,621 annually. Also authorizes Great Lakes Aviation to reduce its current Pueblo service to two round trips each weekday and each weekend, and set a final subsidy rate of $687,616 on an annual basis for that service until Air Midwest inaugurates its service at Pueblo.
    • Order 2005-11-26 (November 22, 2005): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service with 19-passenger B1900D aircraft at Pueblo, Colorado, for two years at a subsidy rate of $780,997 annually.
    • Order 2007-11-10 (November 15, 2007: selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to provide subsidized essential air service (EAS) at Pueblo, Colorado, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,057,128, for two years, beginning February 1, 2008.
    • Order 2009-11-15 (November 23, 2009): selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to continue to provide essential air service (EAS) at Pueblo, Colorado, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,299,821, for the two-year period from February 1, 2010, through January 31, 2012.
    • Order 2011-12-4 (December 13, 2011): re-selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. to continue to provide essential air service (EAS) at Pueblo, Colorado, at an annual subsidy rate of $1,592,276, for the two-year period from February 1, 2012, through January 31, 2014.

External links


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