Caddo Mills Municipal Airport

Caddo Mills Municipal Airport (FAA LID: 7F3) is a city-owned public airport 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) southwest of the central business district of Caddo Mills, Texas, United States.[2][3] The airport has no IATA or ICAO designation.[4]

Caddo Mills Municipal Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Caddo Mills
ServesCaddo Mills, Texas
Location4246 FM1565, Caddo Mills, TX 75135[1]
Elevation AMSL541.6 ft / 165.1 m
Coordinates33°02′10″N 096°14′35″W
Map
7F3
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
13/31 4,000 1,219 Concrete
18/36 4,000 1,219 Concrete
Statistics (2015)
Aircraft operations14,000
Based aircraft17
Sources: Federal Aviation Administration[2] unless noted otherwise

The airport is used solely for general aviation purposes, but has a history as an auto racing venue.

History

The airfield built during World War II as an auxiliary training field[5] for the United States Army Air Forces.[6] After the end of the war, the airfield was transferred to the city of Caddo Mills for civil use.[5]

After the transfer of ownership, few aircraft used the airfield, and its disused runways became a popular site for races held by Dallas-area auto clubs.[7] In 1951, drag races hosted at the airport by the Chaparral Roadster Club were drawing thousands of spectators.[6] Soon afterwards, several other Dallas-area car clubs collaborated to form the North Texas Timing Association, which subsequently became affiliated with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), and the airfield became the first NHRA-sanctioned dragstrip in the region.[7] In July 1952, the Sports Car Club of America scheduled two 50 mi (80 km) road races at the airfield,[8] and the NHRA held its regional drag championships at the site in June 1956.[9] The North Texas Timing Association continued to host NHRA drag races at the site through at least 1960[10] but the organization eventually vacated the site in favor of permanent dedicated dragstrips.[7]

By 1997, the airfield was home to 7 hangars and 100 aircraft, but the two remaining runways had never been rehabilitated and had fallen into disrepair. That year, the city received an $843,000 grant to resurface the runways and add runway lighting, and gyroplane maker Air Command International announced that they would relocate all operations to the airport.[5]

In 2000, Armadillo Aerospace used the airport as a testing base for their experimental reusable rocket-powered lunar landing module. The airport's simultaneous remote location and close proximity to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex were major factors in the company's decision to conduct experiments there.[11]

In 2010, auto racing returned to the airport when an organization known as the Texas Speed Syndicate used a temporarily closed runway to host the Texas Invitational, a racing event styled after a street race over a 1,550 ft (470 m) course with a 60 mph (97 km/h) rolling start.[12] The event was last held in October 2017.[13]

Facilities

Caddo Mills Municipal Airport covers 651 acres (263 ha) at an elevation of 541.6 ft (165.1 m) above mean sea level and has two runways:

  • Runway 13/31: 4,000 x 150 ft. (1,219 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete
  • Runway 18/36: 4,000 x 75 ft. (1,219 x 23 m), Surface: Concrete[2]

For the year ending 31 December 2015, the airport had 14,000 aircraft operations, averaging 38 per day: 100% general aviation. 17 aircraft were then based at the airport: 100% single-engine.[2]

The Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum is located at the airport. The organization bills itself as the only museum dedicated to military drones.[14]

Accidents and incidents
  • 5 February 1967: A Carrollton, Texas man was killed when his homebuilt gyroplane overturned on landing at the airfield and was destroyed.[15]
  • 28 December 1985: A Cessna 172B, registration number N6876X, and a Pitts S-2B, registration number N5305A, collided in mid-air in the airfield traffic pattern. The Pitts pilot regained control and landed without injuries to himself or his passenger, but the Cessna crashed in a nearby field, killing both occupants. The accident occurred late in the afternoon when there was considerable sun glare in the traffic pattern; investigators found that the position of the sun made it difficult for occupants on the Cessna to see the Pitts, while "restricted visibility" made it difficult for the pilot of the Pitts to see the Cessna. The accident was attributed to the failure of both pilots to maintain visual separation from other aircraft. Contributing factors were sun glare, the failure of the Cessna pilot to correctly follow visual flight rules, and restricted visibility in the Pitts.[16][17]
  • 15 July 1998: While maneuvering over a runway during a test flight, the rotor blades of an Air Command Commander 147A gyroplane, registration number N147GY, struck the tail boom; the aircraft struck the ground in a nose-low attitude and was consumed in a post-crash fire, killing the pilot and sole occupant. The accident was attributed to "The pilot's failure to maintain rotor rpm while maneuvering, which resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the tail section of the gyroplane."[18]

References
  1. Google (8 May 2018). "Caddo Mills Muni Airport" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  2. FAA Airport Form 5010 for 7F3 PDF. Federal Aviation Administration, Effective 26 April 2018.
  3. "Texas Airport Directory - Caddo Mills, Caddo Mills Municipal (7F3)" (PDF). Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  4. "7F3 Caddo Mills [Muni], TX, US - Airport". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  5. Allen, Margaret (12 January 1997). "Caddo rehabs WWII-era airport: $843,000 in improvements expected to attract business". Dallas Business Journal. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  6. "3,000 Expected For Auto Races". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. 18 November 1951.
  7. Wolf, Andrew (6 May 2011). "Flashback Friday: Texas' First NHRA-Sanctioned Drag Strip". dragzine.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  8. "Sports Car Races Slated". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. 3 July 1952.
  9. "Hot Rod Group Here For Races". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. 7 June 1956.
  10. "Drag Races Today". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. 5 June 1960.
  11. Sasser, Chris (Winter 2010). "Home of the Armadillo: Tiny Caddo Mills' Airport is Home to an Unlikely Resident" (PDF). Austin, Texas: Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  12. Cox, Kevin (9 October 2017). "2017 Texas Invitational Day 1 Recap and Photo Gallery". streetracemag.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  13. "TI General Information". texasspeedsyndicate.com. Texas Speed Syndicate LLC. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  14. "AUVM". Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  15. Biffle, Kent (6 February 1967). "Carrollton Man Dies In Gyrocopter Crash". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas.
  16. "NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report FTW86FA027A". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  17. "NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report FTW86FA027B". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  18. "NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report FTW98FA310". National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
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