Ellington Airport (Texas)

Established by the Army Air Service on 21 May 1917, Ellington Field was one of the initial World War I Army Air Service installations when aviation was in its infancy. It is named for 1st Lt. Eric Ellington, a U.S. Army aviator who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California in 1913.World War I Group, Historical Division, Special Staff, United States Army, Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War (1917–1919) Originally created as a training facility, Ellington Airport is currently used by military, commercial, NASA aircraft and general aviation sectors. Ellington Airport is one of the few airfields built for World War I training purposes still in operation today.

For additional history related to Ellington's status as a military airfield, see Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base.

The City of Houston annexed Ellington Field in the late 1960s."[https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Annexation/docs_pdfs/HoustonAnnexationHistory.pdf Annexations in Houston Or How we grew to 667 square miles in 175 years]." City of Houston Planning and Development Department. p. 39 of 62. Retrieved on February 21, 2017.

In January 2009, a name change from Ellington Field to Ellington Airport was approved by the Houston City Council.

{{cite news

| title = Ellington Field gets new name

| work = Houston Business Journal

| date = January 16, 2009

| access-date = August 8, 2009

| url = http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/01/12/daily51.html

}} In August 2011, the city announced that the facility would be renamed Ellington International Airport.McEver, Melissa. "[http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2011/08/12/major-expansion-set-at-ellington-airport.html?s=print Major expansion set at Ellington Airport]." Houston Business Journal. August 12, 2011. Retrieved on August 15, 2011. However, as of May 2013, it is still listed as Ellington Airport by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Houston Airport System.

In April 2014, Sierra Nevada Corporation signed an agreement with Houston Airport System officials to explore development of Ellington as a commercial spaceport. The ultimate goal of the agreement is to use Ellington as a landing site for the company's Dream Chaser spaceplane. A feasibility study found it would cost US$48 million to $122 million to equip Ellington for landing and launching small space vehicles on a regular basis. With federal approval in June 2015, Ellington Airport was granted a Launch Site License from the Federal Aviation Administration that established the airport as the 10th commercial spaceport in the United States.{{cite news

|title=Houston Airport System plans from spaceport approved by FAA

|work=fly2houston.com

|date=June 30, 2015

|access-date=July 1, 2015

|url=http://www.fly2houston.com/0/3922731/0/83280D83283/

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701225730/http://www.fly2houston.com/0/3922731/0/83280D83283/

|archive-date=July 1, 2015

}} On 17 October 2018, the city council approved Phase 1 funding of $18.8 million for improvements to streets, water, wastewater, electrical power distribution facilities and communications facilities on the site.{{Cite web|url=https://www.khou.com/article/tech/188m-for-phase-1-of-houston-spaceport-project-approved/285-605258095|title=$18.8M for Phase 1 of Houston spaceport project approved|website=KHOU|date=17 October 2018 |access-date=2019-01-29}}

In September 2017, the Lone Star Flight Museum moved from Galveston's Scholes International Airport at Galveston to Ellington, a move that had been in the works since the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008. The Museum built a brand new facility at Ellington to house its airworthy and static aircraft, as well as its Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. The facility is complete with training centers and administrative space, allowing the Museum to operate solely from Ellington.

Groundbreaking on Phase 1 was held in 2019 to include providing streets, water, wastewater, electrical power distribution facilities, and fiber optic and communications facilities necessary to attract future development.

File:EllingtonAirportHouston.JPG

File:WOHAirshow.jpg and Cold War -era US aircraft flying in formation during Wings Over Houston at Ellington Airport]]

Ellington Airport consists of three active runways (a {{convert|9001|ft|m|adj=on}} ILS CAT I runway, an {{convert|8001|ft|m|adj=on}} runway, and a {{convert|4609|ft|m|adj=on}} runway).

{{cite web

| url = http://www.fly2houston.com/CIPEFD

| title = Program Overview: Ellington Field

| publisher = Houston Airport System

| access-date = March 7, 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070313002329/http://www.fly2houston.com/CIPEFD

| archive-date = March 13, 2007

}}

The airport supports the operations of the United States military, NASA and a variety of general aviation tenants.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.fly2houston.com/EllingtonAbout

| title = About Ellington Field

| publisher = Houston Airport System

| access-date = February 24, 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070302010555/http://www.fly2houston.com/EllingtonAbout

| archive-date = March 2, 2007

}}

The field is a base for NASA's administrative, cargo transport and high-altitude aircraft, which also includes NASA's fleet of T-38 Talon jets bailed to the agency from USAF, Gulfstream Shuttle Training Aircraft, and a former USN C-9 nicknamed the "Weightless Wonder VI" which replaced the former USAF NKC-135 aircraft known as the Vomit Comet, a zero-g trainer.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/161111main_ellington_aircraft_fact_sheet.pdf

| title = Ellington Field Aircraft

| publisher = National Aeronautics and Space Administration

| access-date = February 24, 2007

}}

The only three WB-57F aircraft (used for atmospheric research and reconnaissance) still flying in the world today are housed at Ellington.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2002/20020709crystalface.html

| title = Study of Cloud Ice Crystals May Improve Climate Change Forecasts

| publisher = Goddard Space Flight Center

| date = July 16, 2012

| access-date = February 24, 2007

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060929230101/http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2002/20020709crystalface.html

| archive-date = September 29, 2006

}}

The Texas Air National Guard, Texas Army National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard also maintain a presence at the base. The Coast Guard facility known as Coast Guard Air Station Houston operates 3 Eurocopter MH-65C "Dolphin" Short-Range Recovery (SRR) helicopters for search and rescue (SAR) and port security roles. Several flight schools reside at the airfield. Ellington Field is also home to the largest flying club in Texas and the annual "Wings Over Houston" airshow.

Ellington Field once had scheduled commercial air service: Continental Express flights between Ellington Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in north Houston ended in 2004. Prior to the cessation of commercial air service, the route flown between Bush Intercontinental and Ellington Field was the shortest fixed-wing route flown in the United States at only {{convert|25|nmi|km|abbr=on}}. Flight times were as short as six minutes, depending on direction of departure. To this day, Ellington Field serves as a reliever airport for both Bush Intercontinental and the William P. Hobby Airport, and handles diverted aircraft from those two airports during bad weather events and peak traffic times. A terminal aerodrome forecast is produced for the airfield 365 days a year at 20Z, 04Z, and 12Z by the 26th Operational Weather Squadron, a USAF weather squadron.

Ellington Field covers an area of {{convert|2362|acre|km2|abbr=on}} at an elevation of {{convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}} above mean sea level.

It has three runways with concrete surfaces:

• Runway 4/22 is {{convert|8001|x|150|ft|m|abbr=on}}
• Runway 17R/35L is {{convert|9001|x|150|ft|m|abbr=on}}
• Runway 17L/35R is {{convert|4609|x|80|ft|m|abbr=on}}

For the 12-month period ending 31 December 2022, the airport had 115,958 aircraft operations, an average of 317 per day: 74% general aviation, 15% military, 9% air taxi, and 2% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 95 aircraft based at this airport: 32 single-engine, 30 jet, 8 multi-engine, and 25military.

The Lone Star Flight Museum, which was located at Scholes from 1985 until 2017, maintains a fleet of airworthy warbirds including: North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber, Douglas A24 Banshee (Decorated as an SBD-5 Dauntless), Vought F4U Corsair, General Motors (Eastern Aircraft) TBM Avenger, Grumman F6F Hellcat, General Motors FM-2 Wildcat, North American AT-6 Texan, Beech AT-11 Kansan, Cessna AT-17 Bobcat, Stinson L-5, Douglas DC-3, and Stearman PT-17.

The Air National Guard maintains ARFF equipment for use mainly on military aircraft, however they also respond to private emergencies.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goang.com/careers/emergency-management-and-response/fire-protection.html|title=Fire Protection}}

• List of airports in Texas

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Portal|Texas|Aviation}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{Official website|http://www.fly2houston.com/ellington-airport/}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070314002833/http://web.houstonairportsystem.org/efd_masterplan/main.html Houston Airport System - Ellington Airport Master Plan]
• [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/ellington.htm Ellington Field] at GlobalSecurity.org
• [http://www.wingsoverhouston.com/ Wings Over Houston Airshow]
• {{FAA-diagram|00197}}
• {{FAA-procedures|EFD}}

{{US-airport-ga|EFD}}

{{Airports Owned by the City of Houston}}

{{Spaceport|state=collapsed}}

Category:Airports in Houston