- Durant Regional Airport
-
Eaker Field IATA: DUA – ICAO: KDUA – FAA LID: DUA Summary Airport type Public Owner City of Durant Serves Durant Elevation AMSL 699 ft / 213 m Coordinates 33°56′32″N 096°23′40″W / 33.94222°N 96.39444°W Website Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 17/35 5,001 1,524 Asphalt 12/30 3,000 914 Asphalt Statistics (2005) Aircraft operations 46,355 Based aircraft 21 Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] Durant Regional Airport - Eaker Field (IATA: DUA, ICAO: KDUA, FAA LID: DUA) is a public airport located three miles (5 km) south of the City of Durant, Oklahoma,[2] established in September 1943.[3] It is three miles (5 km) south of Durant's central business district, off of U.S. 69/75. Its field elevation is 698 feet (213 m).[4] The airport is home to Southeastern Oklahoma State University's Aviation Sciences Institute.
Contents
History
The airport is named in honor of SOSU alum General Ira Eaker. General Eaker was a 1917 graduate of Southeastern and served in both World War I and World War II. During WWII, General Eaker was commander of the Eighth Air Force in England and led several historic bombing missions against Nazi targets in occupied Europe and Germany.
The City of Durant named an airfield west of the town in honor of then Captain Eaker in the 1930s. The U.S. Navy built the current airfield as an auxiliary field during WWII and it became Durant Municipal Airport after the war. It was later renamed Eaker Field.[4]
Facilities and aircraft
Eaker Field covers an area of 840 acres (3.4 km2) and contains two runways designated 12/30 and 17/35. Runway 12/30 is 3,000 x 75 ft (914.4 x 22.9 m) and runway 17/35 is 5,001 x 100 ft (1,524.3 x 30.5 m), both with asphalt pavement.
For a 12-month period ending August 25, 2005, the airport had 46,355 aircraft operations, an average of 127 per day: 97.8% general aviation, 2.2% general aviation itinerant, 0.1% military. At that time there were 21 aircraft based at this airport: 17 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, and 1 jet.
Expansion
The Durant Industrial Authority is currently in the process of putting the new airport terminal building design for Eaker Field up for bid. According to city officials, the need for a terminal building is drived by the growing economy in Durant and surrounding areas. The terminal building will be approximately 8,000 sq ft (740 m2).[5]
The terminal design initially called for an air traffic control tower, but was later dropped due to the cost.
A new taxiway is also in the early bidding process for Eaker Field. The taxiway project will be done in two phases along runway 17/35. Phase 1 will cover about half of the distance, around 2,500 feet (760 m), and is set to be completed in 2010. Phase II will include the remaining footage of the runway.
References
- ^ FAA Airport Master Record for DUA (Form 5010 PDF).
- ^ "Eaker Field Airport (Durant, OK) [KDUA/DUA"]. FlightAware. http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KDUA. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- ^ a b "Eaker Field (DUA)". Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Aviation Sciences Institute. http://aviation.se.edu/airport/airport.html. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
- ^ Jamie Carrick (January 2009). "Councils discuss construction projects". Durant Daily Democrat. http://www.durantdemocrat.com/pages/full_story?page_label=home_top_stories_news&id=1572380-Councils-discuss-construction-projects&widget=push&article-Councils-discuss-construction-projects%20=&instance=home_news_lead&open=&.
External links
- FAA Terminal Procedures for DUA, effective 20 October 2011
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KDUA
- ASN accident history for DUA
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures for KDUA
Categories:- Airports in Oklahoma
- Buildings and structures in Bryan County, Oklahoma
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
