Francis S. Gabreski Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Francis S. Gabreski Airport
New York Air National Guard

---

image-width = 300
caption = Francis S. Gabreski Airport, 8 Apr 1994
IATA = FOK
ICAO = KFOK
FAA = FOK
type = Public / Military (ANG)
owner = County of Suffolk
operator =
city-served = Westhampton Beach, New York
location =
elevation-f = 67
elevation-m = 20
coordinates = nowrap|coord|40|50|37|N|072|37|54|W|region:US-NY_type:airport
website =
r1-number = 6/24
r1-length-f = 9,000
r1-length-m = 2,743
r1-surface = Asphalt/Concrete
r2-number = 1/19
r2-length-f = 5,000
r2-length-m = 1,524
r2-surface = Asphalt/Concrete
r3-number = 15/33
r3-length-f = 5,000
r3-length-m = 1,524
r3-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2006
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 434,223
stat2-header = Based aircraft
stat2-data = 107
footnotes = Source: Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA-airport|ID=FOK|use=PU|own=PU|site=16408.*A, effective 2007-12-20]

Francis S. Gabreski Airport airport codes|FOK|KFOK|FOK is a county-owned public-use airport located three miles (5 km) north of the central business district of Westhampton Beach, in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, United States. It is approximately convert|80|mi|km east of New York City.

Known as Suffolk County Air Force Base until 1969, then Suffolk County Airport until 1991, when it was renamed in honor of Col. Francis S. Gabreski, a flying ace in World War II who was the commander of the 52nd Fighter-Interceptor Wing at the base from 1964 through November 1967 when he retired.

The airport is a general aviation facility utilized by corporate businesses, private aviation and air taxi services. The 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air National Guard (ANG) is also based here.

History

In 1943, the United States government built the airport for use as an Air Force Base during World War II. Initially a sub-base of Mitchel Field in Long Island, it was assigned later to First Air Force, Suffolk County Army Airfield's host unit was the 437th Army Air Force Base Unit and was used for air defense of the New York City area and for flying antisubmarine patrols along the Atlantic coast. After the war it was given to Suffolk County as a civil airport.

In 1951 the airport was reclaimed by the United States Air Force due to the Korean War National Emergency and was leased as an Air Defense Command (ADC) base. Suffolk County AFB was assigned to the Eastern Air Defense Force.

The initial USAF unit assigned to Suffolk County AFB was the Connecticut Air National Guard 103rd Fighter-Interceptor Wing which was Federalized and brought into active duty on 1 June 1951. Its 118th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron flew F-47N Thunderbolts. The unit remained only briefly as it was replaced by the ADC 45th and 75th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons in November 1952 which flew F-86 Sabre jet aircraft as part of the 23d Fighter-Interceptor Group.

In 1955, the 23d was reassigned to Presque Isle AFB in Maine and was replaced by the newly-activated 52d Fighter-Interceptor WIing which flew under various designations from Suffolk County AFB until 1969, with the 2d and 5th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons flying F-94 Starfire, F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger interceptors. Assigned in 1963 to the New York Air Defense Sector, the base was deactivated in 1969 as part of the general drawdown of Aerospace Defense Command and released back to Suffolk County.

Military operations were reintroduced in June 1970, when the 102nd Air Refueling Squadron (102 ARS) under the 106th Air Refueling Group (106 ARG) of the New York Air National Guard relocated here after the closing of Naval Air Station Floyd Bennett Field. In 1972, the unit's mission changed from "Air Refueling" to "Fighter Interceptor", with the new mission of controlling the skies along the northeast U.S. coast. In 1975, the designation and mission changed again to "Aerospace Rescue and Recovery", later shortened to "Air Rescue" and then simply "Rescue.". The current names 102nd Rescue Squadron (102 RQS) and 106th Rescue Wing (106 RQW) were assigned in 1995. Today, the 106 RQW provides search and rescue services using HC-130 Hercules aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. The rescue wing was featured in the book and movie of "The Perfect Storm" which details the crash of one of the wing's HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters while conducting search and rescue operations from the airport during the 1991 Halloween Nor’easter.

Air Force One was occasionally based at the airport in the summers of 1998 and 1999 during weeklong visits by Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton during extended stays at the Georgica Pond home of Steven Spielberg in East Hampton (village), New York.

Facilities and aircraft

Gabreski Airport covers an area of 1,451 acres (587 ha) which contains three paved runways. Runway 6/24 measures 9,000 x 150 ft (2,743 x 46 m), making it among New York's longest after JFK International Airport and Stewart International Airport. The airport has two additional runways (1/19 and 15/33), each measuring 5,000 x 150 ft (1,524 x 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 434,223 aircraft operations, an average of 1,189 per day: 97% general aviation, 3% military and <1% air taxi. At that time there were 107 aircraft based at this airport: 79% single-engine, 6% multi-engine, 2% jet, 2% helicopter, 2% glider and 10% military.

Two fixed base operators provide aviation services to airport users: [http://www.lijet.com Long Island Jet Center] and [http://malloyaireast.com/ Malloy Air East] .

The Suffolk County Police Aviation Section bases a Law Enforcement and MEDEVAC helicopter at the airport. The base is staffed from 7AM to 11PM by two Police Officer pilots as well as a Flight Paramedic employed by Stony Brook University Hospital. The airport is patrolled by the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office.

ee also

* New York World War II Army Airfields

References

* Aerospace Defense Command publication, The Interceptor, January 1979 (Volume 21, Number 1).

External links

* [http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/webtemp1.cfm?dept=43&ID=1078 Francis S. Gabreski Airport] at Suffolk County web site
* [http://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/airfields/adc.html Suffolk County Air Force Base (ADC)]
* [http://www.nysuff.ang.af.mil/ 106th Rescue Wing] of the New York Air National Guard
*PDF| [https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/divisions/operating/opdm/aviation/repository/air_dir/fok.pdf New York State DOT Airport Diagram]
*FAA-diagram|00996
*US-airport-ga|FOK