Durant Regional Airport–Eaker Field

Eaker Field
IATA: DUAICAO: KDUAFAA LID: DUA
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Durant
Serves Durant
Elevation AMSL 699 ft / 213 m
Coordinates 33°56′32″N 096°23′40″W / 33.94222°N 96.39444°W / 33.94222; -96.39444
Website aviation.se.edu/...
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 5,001 1,524 Asphalt
12/30 3,000 914 Asphalt
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft operations 46,355
Based aircraft 21

Durant Regional Airport–Eaker Field (IATA: DUA, ICAO: KDUA, FAA LID: DUA) is three miles (5 km) south of Durant, Oklahoma. It was established in September 1943.[2] The airport is home to Southeastern Oklahoma State University's Aviation Sciences Institute.

History

The airport is named for SOSU alum General Ira Eaker, a 1917 graduate of Southeastern who served in World War I and World War II. During WWII, General Eaker was commander of the Eighth Air Force in England and led several historic bombing missions against targets in occupied Europe and Germany.

The City of Durant named an airfield west of town in honor of then Captain Eaker in the 1930s. The U.S. Navy built the current airfield as an auxiliary field during WWII and it became Durant Municipal Airport after the war. It was later renamed Eaker Field.[2]

For a year or two around 1951-52 Durant had scheduled airline flights—Central DC-3s.

Facilities

Eaker Field covers 840 acres (3.4 km2) and has two asphalt runways: Runway 12/30 is 3,000 x 75 ft (914.4 x 22.9 m) and runway 17/35 is 5,001 x 100 ft (1,524.3 x 30.5 m).

In the year ending August 25, 2005 the airport had 46,355 aircraft operations, average 127 per day: 97.8% general aviation, 2.2% general aviation itinerant, 0.1% military. 21 aircraft were then based at the airport: 17 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, and 1 jet.

Expansion

The Durant Industrial Authority is putting the new airport terminal building design for Eaker Field up for bid. The terminal will be about 8,000 sq ft (740 m2).[3]

The terminal design called for an air traffic control tower, but that was dropped due to the cost.

A new taxiway is in the early bidding process. The project will be done in two phases along runway 17/35. Phase 1 will cover about half of the distance, around 2,500 feet (760 m), and is to be completed in 2010. Phase II will include the remaining footage of the runway.

References

  1. FAA Airport Master Record for DUA (Form 5010 PDF).
  2. 1 2 "Eaker Field (DUA)". Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Aviation Sciences Institute. Retrieved 2009-02-21.
  3. Jamie Carrick (January 2009). "Councils discuss construction projects". Durant Daily Democrat.

External links

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