Roswell International Air Center

Infobox Airport
name = Roswell International Air Center

---

IATA = ROW
ICAO = KROW
FAA = ROW
type = Public
owner = City of Roswell
operator =
city-served = Roswell, New Mexico
location =
elevation-f = 3,671
elevation-m = 1,119
coordinates = nowrap|coord|33|18|06|N|104|31|50|W|region:US_type:airport
website =
r1-number = 3/21
r1-length-f = 13,001
r1-length-m = 3,963
r1-surface = Asphalt/Concrete
r2-number = 12/30
r2-length-f = 7,425
r2-length-m = 2,263
r2-surface = Asphalt/Concrete
r3-number = 17/35
r3-length-f = 9,999
r3-length-m = 3,048
r3-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 43,990
stat2-header = Based aircraft
stat2-data = 46
footnotes = Source: Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA-airport|ID=ROW|use=PU|own=PU|site=14719.*A, effective 2007-12-20]

Roswell International Air Center (RIAC) airport codes|ROW|KROW|ROW, also known as Roswell Industrial Air Center, is a city-owned public-use airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Roswell, a city in Chaves County, New Mexico, United States.

History

From 1941 to 1967, the facility was known as Roswell Army Airfield during World War II, and Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War. At the time of its closure, it was the largest base of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. Roswell International Air Center was developed after the closure of Walker Air Force Base on 30 June 1967.

Walker AFB was named after General Kenneth Newton Walker, a native of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico. He was killed during a bombing mission over Rabaul, New Britain, Papua, New Guinea. on January 5 1943. Though intercepted by enemy fighters, his group scored direct hits on nine Japanese ships. General Walker was last seen leaving the target area with one engine on fire and several fighters on his tail. For his actions, General Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943. The base was renamed in his honor on January 13 1948. Walker Hall, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, home of the College of Aerospace Doctrine Research and Education, is also named after the general.

In 1966, the Air Force announced that Walker AFB would be closed. This was during a round of base closings and consodations as the Defense Department struggled to pay the expenses of the Vietnam War within the budgetary limits set by Congress.

It is also known for the Roswell UFO incident, an event that supposedly happened on 4 July 1947. It is alleged that a "flying disk" crashed during a severe thunderstorm near RIAC at Corona, New Mexico.

Facilities and aircraft

Roswell International Air Center Airport covers an area of 5,029 acres (2,035 ha) which contains three paved runways:
* Runway 3/21: 13,001 x 150 ft. (3,963 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
* Runway 12/30: 7,425 x 200 ft. (2,263 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
* Runway 17/35: 9,999 x 100 ft. (3,048 x 30 m), Surface: Asphalt

For the 12-month period ending October 31 2007, the airport had 43,990 aircraft operations, an average of 120 per day: 51% general aviation, 31% military, 18% air taxi and <1% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 46 aircraft based at this airport: 76% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, 4% jet and 2% helicopter.

Airline and destinations

* American Airlines
** American Eagle (Dallas/Ft. Worth)

Other uses

The RIAC is also home to a fireworks factory; a plastic manufacturer; Novabus Inc. has a bus factory located there; a candy manufacturer and the Roswell Municipal Airport. Eastern New Mexico University has a campus located there, and various aircraft repair and refurbishing companies have many airliners stored on site.

RIAC also is the home of the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center.

A New Mexico National Guard unit also uses some of the buildings of the facility.

References

External links

* [http://www.roswell-usa.com/city/airport.htm Roswell Industrial Air Center] at City of Roswell web site
*FAA-diagram|00354
*US-airport|ROW