Spencer Municipal Airport , also known as Northwest Iowa Regional Airport, is a public 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 three miles (5 km) northwest 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 Spencer

Spencer, Iowa

Spencer is a city in the state of Iowa , and the county seat of Clay County . It is located at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The population was 11,233 in the 2010 census, a decline from 11,317 in the 2000 census. Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair,...

, a city in Clay County

Clay County, Iowa

-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 16,667 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,062 housing units, of which 7,282 were occupied.-2000 census:...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, United States

United States

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

. It is owned by the City of Spencer.

The airport is not served by any commercial airlines at this time but it was once the home of Great Lakes Airlines

Great Lakes Airlines

Great Lakes Airlines , is an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters are located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with hubs at Denver International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, McCarran...

. The airline was named after the nearby Iowa Great Lakes

Iowa Great Lakes

The Iowa Great Lakes are a group of natural glacial lakes in Dickinson County in northwestern Iowa in the United States. The three principal lakes of the group are Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, and East Okoboji Lake. They are the largest natural lakes in the state of Iowa. The largest, Spirit...

. The airline has since relocated to Cheyenne

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

, Wyoming

Wyoming

Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

.

History

Opened in March, 1942. Provided contract glider training to the United States Army Air Forces, 1942-1944. Training provided by Hunter Flying Service. An all-way turf airfield with a 4,000' x 4,000' landing/takeoff area. Used primarily C-47 Skytrain

C-47 Skytrain

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...

s and Waco CG-4

Waco CG-4

The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4 by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service....

 unpowered Gliders. The mission of the school was to train glider pilot students in proficiency in operation of gliders in various types of towed and soaring flight, both day and night, and in servicing of gliders in the field.

Inactivated during 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. Declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945. Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Spencer Municipal Airport covers an area of 812 acres (328.6 ha) which contains two concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 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...

s: 12/30 measuring 6,000 x 100 ft (1,829 x 30 m) and 18/36 measuring 5,100 x 75 ft (1,554 x 23 m).

For the 12-month period ending August 16, 2007, the airport had 15,300 aircraft operations, an average of 42 per day: 75% 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...

, 24% 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 36 aircraft based at this airport: 78% single-engine, 14% multi-engine, 6% ultralight and 2% jet.