- St. Louis Downtown Airport
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St. Louis Downtown Airport 
IATA: CPS – ICAO: KCPS – FAA LID: CPS Summary Airport type Public Owner Bi-State Development Agency Serves Greater St. Louis Location Cahokia, Illinois Elevation AMSL 413 ft / 126 m Coordinates 38°34′15″N 090°09′22″W / 38.57083°N 90.15611°W Website Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 12R/30L 7,001 2,133 Asphalt 12L/30R 3,800 1,158 Concrete 5/23 2,799 853 Asphalt Statistics (2005) Aircraft operations 170,000 Based aircraft 281 Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] St. Louis Downtown Airport (IATA: CPS, ICAO: KCPS, FAA LID: CPS) is a public-use airport located in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, one mile (2 km) east of the central business district of Cahokia, in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is owned by the Bi-State Development Agency. The airport is located less than 3 miles from the Gateway Arch Riverfront and is used by many business aircraft visiting the St. Louis region. Airport services include two full-service 24-hour fixed base operators, an instrument landing system, an FAA air traffic control tower, and its own dedicated Index B aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) service.[1]
The St. Louis metropolitan area is also served by Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri; MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Belleville, Illinois; St. Louis Regional Airport in Alton, Illinois; and Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri.
Contents
Facilities and aircraft
St. Louis Downtown Airport covers an area of 1,013 acres (410 ha) which contains three paved runways: 12R/30L measuring 7,001 x 100 ft. (2,133 x 30 m), 12L/30R measuring 3,800 x 75 ft. (1,158 x 23 m) and 5/23 measuring 2,799 x 75 ft. (853 x 23 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2005, the airport had 170,000 aircraft operations, an average of 465 per day: 97% general aviation, 2% air taxi and 1% military. At that time there were 281 aircraft based at this airport: 62% single-engine, 21% multi-engine, 12% jet and 5% helicopter.[1]
Historic Hangar #2 houses the Greater Saint Louis Air & Space Museum [1] and the airport is still home to the nation's oldest flight school, Parks College of Engineering and Aviation's Center for Aerospace Sciences, which holds CAA Flight School Certificate #1.
History
The airport opened in 1929 as Curtiss-Steinberg Airport. In 1940 it was renamed Curtiss-Parks Airport, followed by Parks Metropolitan Airport later that same year.
Taken over by the United States Army Air Force on 1 August 1939 as a basic (level 1) pilot training airfield. Assigned to USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command). Parks Air College conducted contract basic flying training. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned. Inactivated 12 March 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
The airport closed in 1959 and reopened six years later as Bi-State Parks Airport. It was renamed St. Louis Downtown-Parks Airport in 1984 and received its current name in 1999. Today, it is the third busiest airport in Illinois.
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.- 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.
- Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
External links
- St. Louis Downtown Airport (official web site)
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 20 October 2011
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for CPS
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for CPS
Public transportation in Greater St. Louis Public Transit Agencies Missouri: Bi-State Development Agency • St. Charles Area Transit Illinois: Madison County Transit • St. Clair County Transit DistrictLocal and express bus service Bus rapid transit St. Louis Bus Rapid TransitLight rail St. Louis MetroLink: (List of stations) Red Line • Blue LineStreetcar Streetcars in St. Louis • Delmar Loop Trolley • St. Charles City StreetcarParatransit Commuter rail St. Louis Commuter RailIntercity rail Airport Lambert-St. Louis International Airport • MidAmerica St. Louis Airport • Spirit of St. Louis Airport • St. Louis Downtown Airport • St. Louis Regional Airport • Creve Coeur AirportOther Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri • Gateway Arch • Eads BridgeItalics denote lines or service which are planned, or not operating at this present time
Army Air Forces Training CommandFlying Training Flying Schools Eastern Flying Training Command · Central Flying Training Command · Western Flying Training CommandSpecialized Schools Bombardier · Contract Flying · Glider Training · Gunnery · Navigator
Technical Training Eastern Technical Training Command · Central Technical Training Command · Western Technical Training CommandCategories:- USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Missouri
- Bi-State Development Agency
- Airports in Illinois
- Airports in Greater St. Louis
- Airports established in 1929
- Transportation in St. Clair County, Illinois
- Aerospace museums in Illinois
- Museums in St. Clair County, Illinois
- Buildings and structures in St. Clair County, Illinois
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