Grant County International Airport

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For other uses, see Grant County Airport (disambiguation).

Grant County International Airport

IATA: MWH - ICAO: KMWH - FAA: MWH
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Port of Moses Lake
Serves		Moses Lake, Washington
Elevation AMSL		1,185 ft (361.2 m)
Coordinates		47°12′28″N, 119°19′13″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
14L/32R	13,503	4,116	Asphalt/Concrete/Grooved
4/22	10,000	3,048	Asphalt/Concrete/Grooved
9/27	4,500	1,372	Concrete/Grooved
18/36	3,307	1,008	Asphalt
14R/32L	2,937	895	Concrete

Grant County International Airport (IATA: MWH, ICAO: KMWH, FAA LID: MWH) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington, USA. This airport should not be confused with Grant County Airport located in Silver City, New Mexico.

Scheduled passenger flights on Big Sky Airlines to Boise and Portland were discontinued on September 1, 2006. The service was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

1 History
2 Today
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Larson Air Force Base, originally named Moses Lake Army Air Base, was activated on November 24, 1942 as a temporary World War II training center. Its first assigned mission was to train pilots for P-38's and later to train combat crews for the B-17 Flying Fortress.

Major Donald A. Larson, for whom the base was later renamed, was from Yakima, Washington. He was killed August 4,1944 on a fighter mission over Germany while attached to the 505th Fighter Squadron. He had flown 57 combat missions when his P-51D Mustang, 44-13881, with the nose-name "Mary Queen of Scotts" crashed near Ulzen, Germany. He is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, nine miles west of Liège, Belgium.

In 1945, base activity was curtailed to standby and for three years, was used to test two famous aircraft: the B-47 Stratojet and the B-50 Superfortress. Even though Larson was on standby, it was still playing a critical role in the development of the United States Air Force aircraft. In 1949, a B-47 took-off from Larson, heading east, and began a coast-to-coast speed race. The plane set a new record, completing the flight in just three hours and forty-five minutes, at an average speed of 607.2 miles per hour (977 km/h).

Main Gate Entrance to Larson AFB.

Larson reopened as a permanent installation in 1948 under the Air Defense Command. The mission of Larson based F-82, F-94 and later F-86 aircraft was to protect the secret Hanford Atomic Works and Grand Coulee Dam.

During 1952, Larson AFB was assigned to the Tactical Air Command and the 62d Troop Carrier Wing moved from McChord AFB, Washington. For the next eight years, the 62nd was very active, supporting DEW Line construction, mercy flights to Formosa and Africa. Larson next, in 1957, became a Military Air Transport Service base.

From 1955 to 1959, the Air Materiel Command Flight Test Center at Larson tested B-52 Stratofortress. Boeing built a huge hangar, 1,068 feet long, 372 feet wide, with clear spans of 217 feet and able to hold eight, monster sized, B-52 bombers under one roof.

Aerial view of Larson Air Force Base

The Strategic Air Command assumed command of Larson AFB in 1960 and established the 4170th Stregic Wing, later the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing as a part of Fifteenth Air Force. The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in 1961 as part of the 4170th Strategic Wing. There were three missile complexes consisting of three Titan 1's each. The complexes, one located at Royal City, Washington, one at Warden, Washington and another at Odessa, Washington, were deactivated in 1965 and the base closed in 1966.

Legendary World War II hero, Colonel Clyde W. Owen, was assigned, by SAC, as the Larson Base Commander. When Larson closed, Colonel Owen retired from the Air Force and became the first Director of the Port of Moses Lake, overseeing Larson’s transition to Grant County International Airport.

[edit] Today

With 4,700 acres (19.02 km²) and a main runway 13,500 feet (4115 m) long, it is one of the largest airports in the United States. Moses Lake is famous for good flying weather, as it is located on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, in the semi-arid desert of central Washington State.

Grant County International Airport is an alternate landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle.

The airport is now used for heavy jet training by Japan Airlines and the United States Air Force, and by Boeing as a testing facility. Most of the traffic at the airport is general and military aviation.

The main campus for Big Bend Community College is also located on the grounds.