Ohio University Airport or Gordon K. Bush Airport , also known as Snyder Field, is a public-use airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located on State Route 32/U.S. 50 in the village of Albany

Albany, Ohio

Albany is a village in Athens County, Ohio, United States. The population was 808 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Albany is located at ....

, about ten miles (16 km) southwest of city of Athens

Athens, Ohio

Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

, in Athens County

Athens County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 62,223 people, 22,501 households, and 12,713 families residing in the county. The population density was 123 people per square mile . There were 24,901 housing units at an average density of 49 per square mile...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The airport is owned by Ohio University

Ohio University

Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...

 in Athens, not to be confused with
Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 in Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, which owns the Ohio State University Airport

Ohio State University Airport

Ohio State University Airport is a public airport located six miles northwest of the central business district of Columbus, a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. It is owned and operated by The Ohio State University in Columbus, not to be confused with Ohio University in Athens, which...

 (IATA/FAA: OSU).

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier

Location identifier

A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for manned air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programming, weather reports, and related services.-ICAO...

 for the FAA

Federal Aviation Administration

The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...

 and IATA

International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

, Ohio University Airport is assigned UNI by the FAA and ATO by the IATA (which assigned UNI to the airport on Union Island

Union Island

Union Island is part of the nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It the southernmost island of the Grenadines. It lies 90 kilometers southwest of Barbados and is within view of the islands of Carriacou and the mainland of Grenada, which lie directly south.Clifton and Ashton are the two...

 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....

).

History

Athens County's first airport was located just a few miles east of Athens on U.S. 50. The Rowland Family used to own that airport until Ohio University purchased it in 1943. The airport at the time was used for civilian aviation and the university's flying program. In the 1960s, the Athens Bypass was in planning stages and would have gone through the airport's land. With this, the university decided to look for a new location.

The university finally chose a location just west of Albany and the airport was constructed in the early 1970s and opened around 1972. The airport boasted a 4200 feet (1,280.2 m) runway and a couple of hangars. The airport was renamed for university trustee and aviation supporter, Gordon K. Bush. In order to bring economic expansion to Athens County, major construction began on the airport in 2002 with the construction of the C. David Snyder Terminal and the extension of the runway to 5600 feet.

Facilities and aircraft

Ohio University Airport covers an area of 308 acres (124.6 ha) which contains one asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 paved runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

 (7/25) measuring 5,600 x 100 ft. (1,707 x 30 m).

The airport offers fuel services, pilot snooze room, flight training, and mechanics on site.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 51,600 aircraft operations, an average of 141 per day: 99% general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

, <1% air taxi

Air taxi

An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

and <1% military. There are 48 aircraft based at this airport: 88% single-engine, 10% multi-engine and 2% jet.

Aviation Program

The aviation program started training pilots in 1939. Today the students can train in state-of-the-art glass-paneled aircraft. The aircraft were purchased in the summer of 2004. The chairman of the program is B.J. Galloway, he is also an Associate Professor, teaching students from basic private pilot to flight instructors. The chief flight instructor is Ron Faliszek. Mr. Faliszek also trains students in classrooms providing some of the ground school education before the students enter a plane. The training aircraft consist of 7 Piper Warrior 3's, 2 Piper Arrow 3's, 2 Cessna 152's, and 1 Beachcraft Baron. The students willlearn private pilot through multi-engine instructor on these planes.