Willow Run Airport

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Willow Run Airport (YIP)
IATA: YIP - ICAO: KYIP
Summary
Airport type		public
Operator		Wayne County Airport Authority
Serves		Ypsilanti, Michigan
Elevation AMSL		716 ft (218 m)
Coordinates		42°14′16.539″N, 83°31′49.472″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
5L/23R	6,653	2,028	Paved
5R/23L	7,526	2,294	Paved
9L/27R	7,293	2,223	Paved
14/32	6,912	2,107	Paved
9R/27L	6,511	1,984	Paved

Willow Run Airport (IATA: YIP, ICAO: KYIP) is an airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan, that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation clients. No commercial passenger services are available at the airport. The airport has five runways, a continuously staffed FAA control tower, and US Customs operations.

1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Willow Run Airport was built during World War II along with the Willow Run plant, where the Ford Motor Company produced B-24 bombers for the US Government. Bomber production ceased at the plant after the war, and it was converted into a passenger terminal. Commercial passenger traffic was moved from Detroit City Airport, making Willow Run Detroit's primary airport.

In 1946 Warren Avis founded Avis Airlines Rent a Car Systems at Willow Run Airport. It was the first rental car operation at an airport location.

The Federal Government sold the airport to the University of Michigan in 1947 for $1.00. Terms of the sale required that the university operate the airport as a research facility, and the Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (later renamed Willow Run Research Center) was founded. For a time, the university housed part of its student population in the apartments previously used by plant workers.

In 1956, there were seven commercial passenger carriers operating out of Willow Run. Commercial service began to shift to the nearby Detroit Metro Airport during the late 1950s, and by 1967 it had ceased altogether.

In 1977, the University of Michigan sold the airport to Wayne County for $1.00.

Kalitta Air, an international cargo airline run by Connie Kalitta, is currently based at Willow Run Airport. Connie's nephew Doug Kalitta, also an NHRA racer, bases his operation, Kalitta Charters, at the airport.

The Yankee Air Museum opened on the airport grounds in 1981. A fire in October of 2004 destroyed the museums building and most of its artifacts. The static display aircraft like the B-52 an other aircraft that were too large to be on display inside the hangar were undamaged. In 2005 the museum moved to the other side of the airport where they are rebuilding their displays and gathering more WWII memorabilia.