Skydive Houston Airport is a privately owned, private 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 in unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 Waller County, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

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

. It is four nautical mile

Nautical mile

The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...

s (7 km) south of the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Waller

Waller, Texas

Waller is a city in Texas, United States, partly in Waller County and partly in Harris County within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 2,092 at the 2000 census. The Waller area is located along U.S. Highway 290 forty-one miles northwest of Downtown...

 and is northwest of Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. It was formerly known as Skylake Airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Skydive Houston Airport covers an area of 55 acres (22.3 ha) at an elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 of 235 feet (72 m) above mean sea level and has two 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...

s. Runway 17/35 has a 4,190 x 50 ft (1,277 x 15 m) treated 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...

 pavement. Runway N/S has a 3,030 x 53 ft (924 x 16 m) turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 surface.

For the 12-month period ending February 24, 1995, the airport had 15,500 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...

 aircraft operations, an average of 42 per day. At that time there were 50 aircraft based at this airport: 88% single-engine

Aircraft engine

An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...

, 8% multi-engine, 2% helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 and 2% glider

Glider aircraft

Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...

.

Information as of July 7, 2008: Runway 17/35 is closed, with "X's" marked on the asphalt. Turf runway is used by all aircraft at this time. There is a high concentration of skydiving activity with a 3 miles (4.8 km) radius of the airport for 7 days a week, morning to sundown. The airport is the location of a skydiving school that has a unique Accelerated Free Fall Academy for those wanting to become skydivers. Skydive Houston is home to one Cessna 182, a Super Twin Otter, and a helicopter on standby. Unicom is 122.9. There is no fuel or any other aviation businesses at the airport. It is an aviation community, but there are no known EAA

Experimental Aircraft Association

The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 160,000 members and about 1,000 chapters worldwide....

, USUA

USUA

The United States Ultralight Association is a non-profit organization that endeavors to support ultralight aviation and ultralight aircraft...

, ASC or other clubs in operation at Skydive Houston.