Grider Field

{{Further|31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)}}

File:Grider Field - Postcard.jpg

The airfield opened on March 22, 1941,{{cite news |last=Ellis |first=Dale |date=September 20, 2020 |title=Old airfield had a vital role in WWII |url=https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/sep/20/old-airfield-had-a-vital-role-in-wwii/ |work=Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |publisher=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

|access-date=January 27, 2022}} with 6,300' x 6,380' open turf field. Under contract to the Pine Bluff School of Aviation, U.S. Army Air Corps aviation cadets trained there during World War II. It was named for John McGavock Grider of Osceola and assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) Gulf Coast Training Center, later known as Central Flying Training Command, as a primary pilot training airfield.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Grider Army Air Field |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |date=February 6, 2019 |last=Bearden |first=Russell E. |publisher=Central Arkansas Library System |location=Little Rock, Arkansas |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/grider-army-air-field-5761/ |access-date=January 25, 2022}} It had five auxiliary airfields assigned for emergency and overflow landings. Primary training was conducted with Fairchild PT-19s. It also had PT-17 Stearmans and P-40 Warhawks. Flexible gunnery training was taught as well. The 2559th Army Air Forces Base Unit was inactivated on November 30, 1944, with the post-World War II drawdown of the USAAF Training Command's pilot training program.

Grider Field was declared surplus and turned over to the Corps of Engineers on September 30, 1945. Transferred to the War Assets Administration, it returned to its former status an airport. Chicago and Southern DC-3s served the city from 1949 until 1953, when Trans-Texas took over. Texas International served the airport until 1975.

File:Grider Field barracks April 1942.jpg

Grider Field covers {{convert|850|acre|ha}} at an elevation of 206 feet (63 m). Its single runway, 18/36, is 5,998 by 150 feet (1,828 x 46 m). In November 2007 it was announced that Grider Field would undergo renovation and modernization. In the year ending January 31, 2022, it had 8,900 aircraft operations, average 24 per day: 95% general aviation, 3% air taxi, and 1% military. 30 aircraft were based at the airport: 24 single-engine, 4 multi-engine and 2 helicopter.

An original 2559th Army Air Forces Base Unit barracks is being painstakingly restored to its Pine Bluff School of Aviation era condition using historic records, oral history and authentic materials. When restoration is complete, the building will be a museum that houses a burgeoning collection of World War II aviation artifacts and memorabilia.{{cite news |author= |date=March 29, 2021 |title=Pine Bluff airport born from war preparations |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/mar/29/pine-bluff-airport-born-from-war-preparations/ |work=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |access-date=January 27, 2022}}

==See also==

• List of airports in Arkansas

{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}

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• {{cite web |url=https://www.explorepinebluff.com/post/grider-field |title=Remembering Historic Grider Field |author= |date=March 24, 2021 |publisher=Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission |access-date=January 25, 2022}}
• {{cite book |last=Drummond |first=James |date=2001 |chapter=Chapter 4: Primary Flight Training – Grider Field, Pine Bluff, Arkansas |title=Reminiscence of my Service during World War II |url=https://484th.org/PDFs/Drummond.pdf |location=Bozeman, Montana |pages=21–31}}
• Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas {{OCLC|71006954|29991467}}
• Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. {{OCLC|57007862|1050653629}}
• {{cite news |last=Worthen |first=John |date=November 28, 2011 |title=PB airport taking off on upgrades |url=https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2011/nov/28/pb-airport-taking-upgrades-20111128/ |work=Arkansas Democrat-Gazette |access-date=January 25, 2022}}

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; Government

• {{Official website}}
• {{Facebook|id=Pine-Bluff-Regional-Airport-Grider-Field-930523020302720|name=Grider Field}}

; General information

• [http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=11&lat=34.1747&lon=-91.9376&w=600&h=1000&lp=---+None+--- Aerial image as of 16 February 1994] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001045756/http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=11&lat=34.1747&lon=-91.9376&w=600&h=1000&lp=---%20None%20--- |date=October 1, 2012 }} from USGS The National Map
• {{FAA-procedures|PBF}}
• {{US-airport-ga|PBF}}

{{AR-Airports}}

{{Pine Bluff, Arkansas}}

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Category:1941 establishments in Arkansas

Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Arkansas

Category:Airports established in 1941

Category:Airports in Arkansas

Category:Buildings and structures in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Category:Government buildings in Arkansas

Category:Transportation in Jefferson County, Arkansas

Category:USAAF Central Flying Training Command

Category:USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields

Category:Works Progress Administration in Arkansas