University of Illinois Willard Airport

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University of Illinois
Willard Airport
IATA: CMI - ICAO: KCMI - FAA: CMI
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Serves Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
Elevation AMSL 754 ft (229.8 m)
Coordinates 40°02′21″N, 88°16′41″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 6,500 1,981 Concrete
14L/32R 8,100 2,469 Concrete
14R/32L 3,817 1,163 Asphalt
18/36 5,299 1,615 Concrete

University of Illinois Willard Airport (IATA: CMIICAO: KCMIFAA LID: CMI) is an airport owned and operated by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign located in Tolono Township, just south of Savoy, Illinois, a small village that is part of the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area. It serves the greater Champaign-Urbana area and most of East Central Illinois. The airport is also served by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. It was named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard.

Typical Regional jet at Willard airport.
Typical Regional jet at Willard airport.

Visitors from around the world frequently fly into Champaign-Urbana in order to collaborate with researchers at the university or to conduct business with companies in the university's research park.[citation needed] However, many airlines have chosen to serve Central Illinois through the Bloomington-Normal airport instead. Due to the lack of U.S. immigration and customs facilities, no international flights are offered, and the additional price airlines charge to fly to Willard Airport compared to a major hub like Chicago's O'Hare Airport ensures that budget-minded travellers use surface transport to reach Champaign County.

Willard Airport is home to the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation, which is a major research facility at the university. It has the distinction of being one of the few University-owned research airports. The Institute of Aviation is ranked amongst the top 10 programs in the nation, and the Institute's facilities have won numerous prestigious awards.

Contents

[edit] Trivia

Willard Airport received its 15 minutes of fame on January 28, 1998. President Bill Clinton was in Champaign-Urbana for a speaking engagement at Assembly Hall and arrived at Willard Airport on Air Force One. Due to the breaking story, news media descended on Champaign-Urbana. After the engagement, just prior to takeoff, the Boeing 707 acting as Air Force One got stuck in the mud, the taxiway not being designed for aircraft as wide as the Boeing 707. After about an hour of being stuck, a backup Airforce One descended upon Willard Airport. The backup was SAM26000 which was the same 707 that took John Kennedy to Dallas. The trip on SAM26000 marked the last time it carried a sitting president. Several months later it was retired to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson. Many news broadcasts that evening carried live video feed of the Presidential aircraft stuck at Willard Airport. [1]

[edit] Facilities

Willard Airport covers 1,799 acres and has four runways:

  • Runway 4/22: 6,500 x 150 ft. (1,981 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete
  • Runway 14L/32R: 8,100 x 150 ft. (2,469 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete, ILS equipped.
  • Runway 14R/32L: 3,817 x 75 ft. (1,163 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 18/36: 5,299 x 150 ft. (1,615 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] References

[edit] External links


University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Academics

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Athletics

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