Tulsa International Airport
Encyclopedia
Tulsa International Airport is a city-owned public-use airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located five miles (8 km) northeast of downtown Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

, a city in Tulsa County
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Tulsa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 603,403. Its county seat is Tulsa.-History of Tulsa County:The history of Tulsa County greatly overlaps the history of the city of Tulsa...

, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was originally named Tulsa Municipal Airport, when the city acquired it in 1929. It was given its current name in 1963.

The 138th Fighter Wing
138th Fighter Wing
The United States Air Force's 138th Fighter Wing is a fighter unit located at Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command , the wing flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter.-Mission:The federal mission of the...

 of the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

 is based at the co-located Tulsa Air National Guard Base
Tulsa Air National Guard Base
Tulsa Air National Guard Base is the home base of the Oklahoma Air National Guard 138th Fighter Wing.-Overview:The 138th Fighter Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard occupies on the Tulsa International Airport, located approximately northeast of downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. The unit currently...

.

The airport is the global maintenance headquarters for American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

.

During World War II, Air Force Plant No. 3 was built on the southeast side of the airport, and Douglas Aircraft manufactured several types of aircraft there. After the war, this facility was used by Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...

) and Rockwell International
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....

 (later Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

) for aircraft manufacturing, modification, repair, and research. IC Bus Corporation now assembles school buses in part of this building.

The Tulsa Air and Space Museum
Tulsa Air and Space Museum
The Tulsa Air and Space Museum is an aerospace museum located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is located in the northwest corner of the Tulsa International Airport property. Visitors to the museum can explore of exhibits highlighting Tulsa's aviation history. Historic exhibits, hands-on activities,...

 is on the northwest side of the airport.

History

Duncan A. McIntyre
Duncan A. McIntyre
On August 22, 1919, Duncan A. McIntyre,an early aviator and native of New Zealand, stopped in Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit an old army buddy. Originally intending to stay a short while on his way to Spokane, Washington, McIntyre decided that Tulsa was fertile ground for establishing an aviation business...

, an early aviator and native of New Zealand, came to Tulsa in 1919. He soon established a private airport on an 80-acre tract at the corner of Admiral Place and Sheridan Avenue. McIntyre Field had three hangars to house 40 aircraft and a beacon for landings after sundown.

McIntyre evidently closed his airport during the 1930s and became the manager of Brown Airport, another private facility. In 1940, McIntyre accepted a position with Lockheed and moved to California.

Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

 landed at McIntyre Field on September 30, 1927. He had been persuaded to visit Tulsa by William G. Skelly, who was then president of the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as a booster of the young aviation industry. In addition to being a wealthy oilman and founder of Skelly Oil Company, Skelly also founded Spartan Aircraft Company
Spartan Aircraft Company
The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company formerly known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company and reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The manufacturing plant was on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal...

. Lindbergh had already landed at Oklahoma City Municipal Airport
Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is located in southwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 6 miles from downtown and is the principal commercial airport of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area...

, Bartlesville
Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville is a city in Osage and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 43,070 at the 2010 census. Bartlesville is located forty-seven miles north of Tulsa and very close to Oklahoma's northern border with Kansas. It is the county seat of Washington County, in...

 Municipal Airport and Muskogee's
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....

 Hatbox Field. All of these were superior to the privately-owned McIntyre Field. Lindbergh pointed this out at a banquet given that night in his honor.

The initial municipal airport facility was financed with a so-called "stud horse note." This was a promissory note
Promissory note
A promissory note is a negotiable instrument, wherein one party makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other , either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms.Referred to as a note payable in accounting, or...

 similar to those used by groups of farmers or horse breeders who would collectively underwrite the purchase of a promising stud
Stud (animal)
A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 horse. The note would be retired with the stud fees paid for use of the horse. In the case of the Tulsa airport, the note would be paid from airport fees. Using this vehicle, Skelly obtained signatures from several prominent Tulsa businessmen put up $172,000 to buy 390 acres (178 hectares) of land for use as a municipal airport. It was dedicated and officially opened July 3, 1928. The city of Tulsa purchased the airport, then named Tulsa Municipal Airport, in 1929, and put its supervision under the Tulsa Park Board. Charles W. Short
Charles Short
Charles W. "Charlie" Short was the first airport manager at the Tulsa Municipal Airport . In the right place at the right time, Short was working for oil baron William G. Skelly when Skelly and others signed a "stud horse note" that provided the financing needed to acquire land and construct the...

 was appointed Airport Director in 1929, and remained in this position until 1955.

The first terminal building was a nondescript, one-story wood and tar paper structure that looked like a warehouse. The landing strips and taxiways were simply mown grass. Still, it sufficed to handle enough passengers in 1930 for Tulsa to claim that it had the busiest airport in the world. The Tulsa Municipal Airport handled 7,373 passengers in February 1930 and 9,264 in April. This outpaced Croydon Field (London), Tempelhof (Berlin), and LeBourget (Paris) for the same months.

In 1932, the city inaugurated a more elegant Art Deco terminal topped with a control tower. Charles Short decorated the inside walls with a notable collection of early aviation photographs. This building served for nearly 30 years, until Tulsa opened a new terminal in 1961; on August 28, 1963 the facility was renamed Tulsa International Airport.

In January 1928, Skelly bought the Mid-Continent Aircraft Company of Tulsa and renamed it the Spartan Aircraft Company
Spartan Aircraft Company
The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company formerly known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company and reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The manufacturing plant was on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal...

. It first built a two-seat biplane, the Spartan C3
Spartan C3
The Spartan C3 was a three-seat open cockpit United States biplane of the late 1920s.The Spartan C3 was a three-seat open cockpit United States biplane of the late 1920s....

 at its facility near the new airport. Later it would also build a low-wing cabin monoplane for use as a corporate aircraft, and the NP-1, a naval training plane used in World War II. In 1929, Spartan also established the Spartan School of Aeronautics
Spartan School of Aeronautics
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology is a private college in Tulsa, Oklahoma that offers training in aviation and aircraft maintenance. Originally established to augment sales of Spartan Aircraft Company, it outlived its parent company and continues to train pilots and mechanics into the...

 across Apache street from the new Tulsa airport to train future fliers and support personnel.The Spartan School was activated as a U. S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) facility on August 1, 1939 as an advanced civilian pilot training school to supplement the Air Corps' few flying training schools. The Air Corps supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. Spartan furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls.

The 138th Fighter Wing
138th Fighter Wing
The United States Air Force's 138th Fighter Wing is a fighter unit located at Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An Air National Guard unit operationally-gained by the Air Combat Command , the wing flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter.-Mission:The federal mission of the...

 of the Air National Guard
Air National Guard
The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

 is based here. It was originally organized at the Tulsa airport in 1940 as the 125th Observation Squadron, then renamed when it deployed overseas during World War II.

In 1941, the Federal Government constructed Air Force Plant No. 3, adjoining the east side of the airport. The plant was operated by Douglas Aircraft Corporation to manufacture, assemble and modify bombers for the U. S. Air Force from 1942 to 1945. Production was suspended when World War II ended in 1945. The plant was reactivated in 1950 to produce the B-47 Stratojet and later the B-66. In 1960, McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...

, the successor to Douglas Aircraft Corporation, continued to use the facility for aircraft maintenanace. Rockwell International
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....

 leased part of the plant to manufacture aerospace products. McDonnell Douglas terminated its lease in 1996. Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

 bought Rockwell International's aerospace business in 1996, and took over much of the facility for aerospace manufacturing.

In June 1946, American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

 decided to build a maintenance and engineering base adjacent to the Tulsa Municipal Airport. According to the company, it is one of the largest private employers in Oklahoma.

The Tulsa Air and Space Museum
Tulsa Air and Space Museum
The Tulsa Air and Space Museum is an aerospace museum located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is located in the northwest corner of the Tulsa International Airport property. Visitors to the museum can explore of exhibits highlighting Tulsa's aviation history. Historic exhibits, hands-on activities,...

 (TASM) was established in 1998, on the northwest side of the airport property. The museum added the James E. Bertelsmeyer Tulsa planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...

 in 2006.

Facilities and aircraft operations

Tulsa International Airport covers an area of 4360 acres (1,764 ha) which contains three paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s:
  • Runway 18L/36R: 9,999 x 200 ft (3,048 x 61 m), Surface: Concrete
  • Runway 18R/36L: 6,101 x 150 ft (1,860 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 8/26: 7,376 x 150 ft (2,248 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete


In late 2010 the airport embarked on a major overhaul of the 1950s era terminal buildings. Concourse B (home to Southwest and United Airlines) has begun and will include major HVAC replacement along with the more noticeable design changes. These design changes include sky lights and raising the somewhat low ceilings in the concourse area. Improved passenger waiting areas and gate redesigns. Following completion of Concourse B, Concourse A will get an overhaul (home to American, Delta, and Continental/United).

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 129,014 aircraft operations, an average of 353 per day: 35% general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

, 26% air taxi
Air taxi
An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

, 25% scheduled commercial and 13% military. There are 167 aircraft based at this airport: 32% single-engine , 22% multi-engine, 31% jet, 2% helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 and 13% military.

American Airlines Maintenance Facility

It is the headquarters for all Maintenance and Engineering activities at American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

 worldwide, and is the maintenance base for the airline’s fleet of MD-80, Boeing 757
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...

, and Boeing 737
Boeing 737 Next Generation
The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG, is the name given to the -600/-700/-800/-900 series of the Boeing 737 after the introduction of the -300/-400/-500 Classic series. They are short- to medium-range, narrow-body jet airliners...

 and some Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...

 and Boeing 777
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...

 aircraft – a combined total of nearly 600 airplanes. It employs over 6,400 people, including over 4,700 licensed aircraft and jet engine mechanics. According to the company, it is one of the largest private employers in Oklahoma.

The Base occupies about 260 acres (1.1 km²) and 3300000 square feet (306,580 m²) of maintenance “plant” at the Tulsa Airport. Each year, the base performs major overhaul work on about 80% of American’s fleet. It also does aircraft maintenance for other carriers on a contract basis.

Tower

  • Tulsa Tower 121.2 Runways (18L-36R, 8-26) 118.7 (18R-36L)
  • ATIS
    Automatic Terminal Information Service
    Automatic Terminal Information Service, or ATIS, is a continuous broadcast of recorded noncontrol information in busier terminal areas. ATIS broadcasts contain essential information, such as weather information, which runways are active, available approaches, and any other information required by...

     124.9
  • Ground 121.9
  • Clearance Delivery 134.05

Runways

  • ILS
    Instrument Landing System
    An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...

    • 36R 110.3
    • 18L 109.7
    • 18R 111.1
    • 26 114.4 (DME
      Distance Measuring Equipment
      Distance measuring equipment is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals....

      )
    • 8 114.4 (DME)

Airlines and destinations

Tulsa International Airport consists of two passenger concourses (A and B). The airport offers non-stop service to 16 domestic destinations/airports.

Cargo

In addition to cargo service provided by commercial air carriers, TUL is also served by:
  • FedEx Express
  • UPS Airlines
    UPS Airlines
    UPS Airlines is an American cargo airline owned by United Parcel Service Inc. . The company is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Its home airport is located at Louisville International Airport...

  • Ameriflight
    Ameriflight
    Ameriflight LLC is an American cargo airline with its headquarters in Hangar 1 on the grounds of Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California. It is the largest United States FAA Part 135 cargo carrier, operating scheduled and contract cargo services to destinations in 30 US states, Canada, Mexico, and...


Airport management

  • Jeff Mulder, A.A.E. – Director of Airports
  • Alexis Higgins – Deputy Director of Marketing
  • Jeff Hough – Deputy Director of Engineering and Facilities
  • Ken Miller – Deputy Director of Operations
  • Carl Remus – Deputy Director of Administration and Finance

Industrial Land Development

Tulsa Airport Authority, in 2008, has begun a new Industrial Land Development project. Aerospace is one of the Oklahoma's largest industry clusters with 400 companies that directly or indirectly employ more than 143,000 people with a payroll of $4.7 billion and an industrial output of $11.7 billion. Tulsa is ranked 8th nationally for the size of its aerospace engines manufacturing cluster and 20th for its defense-related cluster.

TUL's central location in the south is easily accessible by a multi-modal transportation network. With a total of 4000 acres (16.2 km²) and 14,000 on-airport employees, Tulsa is a large center of aviation activity. Six sites totaling over 700 acres (2.8 km²) of real estate will be developed. Each of the sites can be divided in to smaller lots to meet any organization's individual needs.

HP Enterprise Services Building

The HP Enterprise Services (formerly EDS
Electronic Data Systems
HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems,...

) Building hosting some of Sabre
Sabre (computer system)
Sabre Global Distribution System , owned by Sabre Holdings, is used by more than 55,000 travel agencies around the world with more than 400 airlines, 88,000 hotels, 24 car rental brands, and 13 cruise lines...

's datacenter servers is located at the Tulsa Airport. The company applied a reflective material on the roof to reduce heat gain, thereby reducing the air conditioning power consumption. In front of this building is a 6-foot sculptured penguin, which was a fund-raiser campaign for a penguin exhibit in the Tulsa Zoo
Tulsa Zoo
The Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum is a zoo and living museum located in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA. The Tulsa Zoo is owned by the city of Tulsa and is part of the Tulsa Parks Department. The zoo is located in Mohawk Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the United States...

.

See also

  • Oklahoma World War II Army Airfields
    Oklahoma World War II Army Airfields
    During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established numerous airfields in Oklahoma for training pilots and aircrews of AAF fighters and bombers or as major maintenance and supply centers....


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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