Cairns Army Airfield

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Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) Fort Rucker
Cairns Army Airfield, 18 Feb 1997
FAA diagram of runway area
IATA: OZR – ICAO: KOZR – FAA: OZR
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		United States Army
Serves		Fort Rucker
Location		Ozark, Alabama
Elevation AMSL		301 ft / 92 m
Coordinates		31°16′32″N 085°42′48″W / 31.27556, -85.71333
Website		www-rucker.army.mil
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
6/24	4,500	1,372	Asphalt
18/36	5,000	1,524	Asphalt
Source: Federal Aviation Administration^[1]

Cairns Army Airfield (IATA: OZR, ICAO: KOZR) is a military airport forming a part of Fort Rucker, in Dale County, Alabama, USA.^[1] It lies just south of the town of Daleville, which sits between it and the main post.

1 Overview
2 History
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Overview

Fort Rucker is the Home of Army Aviation, where all of the Army's Aviators as well as many international and civilian personnel begin their rotary-wing flight training.

Cairns has two hard-surface runways, with lengths of 4,500 and 5,000 feet (1,500 m). It is one of the busiest airfields in the Army, training large numbers of Army aviators both day and night. It was named after Major General Bogardus S. Cairns, a World War II veteran and later commanding officer of Ft. Rucker who was killed in a helicopter crash nearby in 1958.

Policing the skies over Cairns Army Airfield at Fort Rucker, Ala., is one of the toughest assignments an Army air traffic controller can receive.

In 1995 the tower handled 209,000 aircraft movements without incident, not bad considering much of the traffic involves rookie pilots. In an average day tower operators handle 800 to 1,000 movements. What makes Cairns unique is the density in which it operates. The airfield may be launching 70 to 120 aircraft in the morning and afternoon, and then 50 or 60 at night for training.

The Aviation Training Brigade consists of five battalions that conduct flight training at Fort Rucker at three training sites. 1st Battalion, 223d Aviation Regiment, Cairns Army Airfield and Knox Army Heliport conducts flight training in the CH-47, C-12 and conducts the Maintenance Test Pilot Courses, it also provides evaluations of flight training for contractors.

[edit] History

In September 1942, 1,259 additional acres south of Daleville were acquired for the construction of an airfield to support the training camp. It was a training airfield as part of the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force during World War II, then placed on inactive status with the war's end. The field was acquired by Fort Rucker in 1952. It was known as Ozark Army Airfield until January 1959, when the name was changed to Cairns Army Airfield.