Enid Woodring Regional Airport

Enid Woodring Regional Airport
Terminal and control tower
USGS 1995 orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Enid
ServesEnid, Oklahoma
Elevation AMSL1,167 ft / 356 m
Coordinates36°22′42″N 097°47′20″W / 36.37833°N 97.78889°W / 36.37833; -97.78889
Websitewww.enid.org/...
Map
WDG is located in Oklahoma
WDG
WDG
Location of airport in Oklahoma
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 8,613 2,625 Concrete
13/31 3,150 960 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Aircraft operations (year ending 4/24/2019)35,000
Based aircraft73

Enid Woodring Regional Airport (IATA: WDG, ICAO: KWDG, FAA LID: WDG) is a city-owned, public-use airport located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) southeast of the central business district of Enid, a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States.[1] It is also referred to as Woodring Airport and was formerly known as Enid Woodring Municipal Airport. This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2] It is mostly used for military training flights based at Vance Air Force Base.

Scheduled passenger flights on Great Lakes Airlines to Denver and Liberal were discontinued in August 2006. The service was subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. From the early 1950s well into the 1960s, the airport was served by Central Airlines.[3][4]

A new terminal building was built in 2019 and now contains the FBO service area, a Flight Planning Room, a Pilot Lounge, and conference room. There is also a restaurant in the terminal building. Outdoors is the Woodring Wall of Honor and Veterans Park, which honors Oklahoma veterans. Ceremonies are held annually on Memorial Day to honor fallen soldiers. A veterans museum at the site is open Thursdays through Saturdays.

History

Enid was the first city of Oklahoma to have a municipally owned airport.[5] The airport was dedicated in 1928, and built on 80 acres of land donated by a citizen backed by the American Legion, and Enid passed a $50,000 bond, making it the first city in Oklahoma to use bonds to fund an airport.[6]

I. A. Woodring

Enid's Airport was renamed Enid Woodring Municipal Airport on May 30, 1933, after Lieutenant Irvin A. (Bert) Woodring, born February 1, 1902, in Enid, Oklahoma. Irvin A. Woodring was one of the U.S. Army Air Corps' "Three Musketeers of Aviation" along with fellow pilots John J. Williams and William Lewers Cornelius.[7] The group performed aerobatics at the National Air Races. J.J. Williams died in practice at Mines Field, Los Angeles on September 11, 1928.[8] Charles Lindbergh, for whom the three had served as escorts, filled in following Williams death. Two weeks later, W. L. Cornelius died when his plane collided with another plane. On January 20, 1933, Bert Woodring fell 2,000 feet to his death over Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, when his Consolidated P-30 fighter exploded in mid-air.

Historical airline service

Enid Woodring Regional Airport was served by commercial airlines from 1949 through 2006 with flights to Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Wichita. Central Airlines was the first carrier beginning in 1949. In 1967 Central merged with Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) which continued service until 1979. Several commuter airlines then served Enid which included: Air Midwest (1979-1981), Metro Airlines (1981-1986), Lone Star Airlines (1986-1998), Midcontinent Airlines dba as Braniff Express (1989), feeder carrier for Braniff (1983-1990), Big Sky Airlines (1999-2002), Mesa Airlines (2002-2005), and Great Lakes Airlines (2005-2006).

Facilities and aircraft

Enid Woodring Regional Airport covers an area of 1,256 acres (508 ha) at an elevation of 1,167 feet (356 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 17/35 is 8,613 by 100 feet (2625 x 30 m) with a concrete surface; 13/31 is 3,150 by 108 feet (960 x 33 m) with an asphalt surface.[1]

For the 12-month period ending April 24, 2019, the airport had 35,000 aircraft operations, an average of 96 per day: 66% military, 32% general aviation, and 2% air taxi. At that time there were 73 aircraft based at this airport: 64 single-engine, 5 multi-engine, 3 jet, and 1 ultralight.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Woodring Airport (Enid, Oklahoma).
  • Woodring Wall of Honor
    Woodring Wall of Honor
  • Woodring Wall of Honor
    Woodring Wall of Honor
  • Statue of Liberty
    Statue of Liberty
  • A plane can be seen at Woodring Airport with the Enid skyline in the background.
    A plane can be seen at Woodring Airport with the Enid skyline in the background.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for WDG PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective October 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on 2012-09-27.
  3. ^ "Central Airlines, Effective June 5, 1950". Timetableimages.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "Central Airlines, Effective July 1, 1967". Timetableimages.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "Enid Woodring Airport: About Woodring". City of Enid, Oklahoma. Archived from the original on 2012-05-28.
  6. ^ Barron, Robert, "Enid has one of Oklahoma's oldest municipal airports", Enid News & Eagle, February 13, 2011.
  7. ^ "The IRVIN A. WOODRING Page of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website". Archived from the original on 2010-12-19. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  8. ^ "Chronicles of Oklahoma". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  • Essential Air Service documents (Docket OST-1997-2401) from the U.S. Department of Transportation:
    • Order 2002-7-2 (July 5, 2002): selecting Air Midwest, Inc., to provide essential air service at seven communities (El Dorado/Camden, AR; Jonesboro, AR; Harrison, AR; Hot Springs, AR; Enid, OK; Ponca City, OK; Brownwood, TX) for a two-year period at subsidy rates totaling $6,693,881 annually.
    • Order 2004-6-12 (June 17, 2004): requests interested persons to show cause why it should not terminate the essential air service subsidy eligibility of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Enid and Ponca City, Oklahoma, and Brownwood, Texas, and allow Air Midwest to suspend its subsidized services at those communities as of October 1, 2004, when the current rate term expires.
    • Order 2005-1-14 (January 25, 2004): selecting Air Midwest, Inc., to provide essential air service at El Dorado/Camden, Jonesboro, Harrison and Hot Springs, Arkansas, at a subsidy rate of $4,155,550 annually for a two-year rate term, selecting Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to provide essential air service at Enid and Ponca City, Oklahoma at a subsidy rate of $1,272,557 annually for allowing Air Midwest to discontinue its service there, if it chooses to do so.
    • Order 2006-7-25 (August 1, 2006): terminating the essential air service subsidy eligibility of Enid and Ponca City, Oklahoma, and allowing Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd., to suspend service at the two communities as of September 1, 2006, if it chooses.