Spencer Municipal Airport

Spencer Municipal Airport[1] (IATA: SPW, ICAO: KSPW, FAA LID: SPW), also known as Northwest Iowa Regional Airport,[2] is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Spencer, a city in Clay County, Iowa, United States. It is owned by the City of Spencer.[1]

Spencer Municipal Airport

Northwest Iowa Regional Airport
Spencer Army Airfield
2006 USGS Orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Spencer
OperatorLeading Edge Aviation
ServesSpencer, Iowa
LocationRiverton Township, Clay County
Elevation AMSL1,339 ft / 408 m
Coordinates43°09′56″N 095°12′10″W
WebsiteSpencerIowaCity.com/...
Map
SPW
Location of airport in Iowa
SPW
SPW (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 6,001 1,829 Concrete
18/36 5,100 1,554 Concrete
Statistics
Aircraft operations (2016)15,090
Based aircraft (2018)37
Source: FAA,[1] airport website[2]

The airport is used by charter airlines including Plane Master Services and Nova Air. It has been served by Great Lakes Airlines. The airline was named after the nearby Iowa Great Lakes. The airline has since relocated to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

History

Activated in March 1942 as Northwest Iowa Regional Airport, the facility provided contract glider training to the United States Army Air Forces between 1942 and 1944. Training was provided by Hunter Flying Service. The airport was an all-way turf airfield with a 4,000' x 4,000' landing/takeoff area. The facility was used primarily to train C-47 Skytrain and Waco CG-4 unpowered glider crews in various types of towed and soaring flight, both day and night, and for servicing gliders in the field.

Northwest Iowa Regional was deactivated during 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. The property was declared surplus, turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945 and was eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) to become a civil airport, eventually renamed Spencer Municipal.

Facilities and aircraft

Spencer Municipal Airport covers an area of 812 acres (329 ha) which contains two concrete paved runways: 12/30 measuring 6,001 x 100 ft (1,829 x 30 m) and 18/36 measuring 5,100 x 75 ft (1,554 x 23 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2016, the airport had 15,090 aircraft operations, an average of 41 per day: 76% general aviation, 24% air taxi and less than 1% military. In November 2018, there were 37 aircraft based at this airport: 27 single-engine, 6 multi-engine, 2 jet and 2 ultralight.[1]

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for SPW PDF, effective November 8, 2018.
  2. Northwest Iowa Regional Airport Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine page at City of Spencer website
Other sources
  •  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
  • Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
  • Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
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