Arkansas International Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Arkansas International Airport
nativename =
nativename-a =
nativename-r =

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image-width = 300
caption = Arkansas International Airport, 25 March 2001

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image2-width = 300
caption2 = City of Blytheville, Arkansas showing Arkansas International Airport northeast of town
IATA = BYH
ICAO = KBYH
FAA = BYH
type = Public
owner =
operator = Gosnell Regional Airport Authority
city-served =
location = Blytheville, Arkansas
elevation-f = 254
elevation-m = 77
coordinates = coord|35|57|52|N|89|56|38|W|type:airport|display=inline
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 18/36
r1-length-f = 11,602
r1-length-m = 3,536
r1-surface = Asphalt/Concrete
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
footnotes = :"For the military use of this facility before 1992, see Eaker Air Force Base"Arkansas International Airport Airport codes|BYH|KBYH|BYH is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Blytheville, a city in Mississippi County, Arkansas, USA.

Facilities

Arkansas International Airport covers convert|1100|acre|km2|0 and has one runway:
* Runway 18/36: 11,602 x 150 ft (3,536 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete

It consists of convert|1500000|sqft|m2 of available space, which makes it the second largest industrial complex in Arkansas. The complex consists of commercial, community, recreation, educational, garage, industrial, office, residential, and warehousing facilities, which makes it very open for many uses.

Because it was an air force base, it has room and facilities that are not available in many other complexes. Some of these extra functions include full length parallel runways, five million square feet of tamp space and 6 full size hangars. These full size hangars are large enough to accommodate a DC-10 or a Boeing 747. Facilities also include a full airplane maintenance and test hangar, with enough space to maintain the planes listed above. These buildings add up to approximately convert|300000|sqft|m2.

The airport has the longest runway in the state of Arkansas. It is approximately convert|11600|ft|m in length. The airport also has very reasonable seasonal climate conditions, which makes it convenient for year-round travel. The airport can accommodate up to 50 aircraft, and has large hanger and storage areas for maintenance and repair needs.

The airport also accommodates deployment and pick-up of National Guard troops, as well as training grounds for military flight training maneuvers.

History

Arkansas International Airport was developed from the closed Eaker Air Force Base, after its closure by the United States Air Force on 15 December 1992.

The facility secured a lease with USA Floral, a major floral distributor based near Washington, D.C., that needed a southern locale for its regular flights to South America to import flowers. USA Floral was expected to create hundreds of jobs in Blytheville. [cite web | url = http://memphis.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/1999/02/22/story7.html | title = Arkansas Aeroplex Bringing New Businesses to Blytheville | publisher = "Memphis Business Journal" | date =1999-02-19 | accessdate = 2006-09-29]

The Arkansas Archaeological Society hosted a training program at the former air base from 2004-2006. Archaeologists have been studying the Mississippian culture that lived in the region, focusing on the years 900-1600.

See also

* Blytheville Air Force Base
* Arkansas World War II Army Airfields

References

* [http://www.aeroplex.dina.org/aip/default.html Arkansas Aeroplex: The Arkansas International Airport]
*FAA-airport|ID=BYH|use=PU|own=PU|site=00901.*A

Notes

External links