Pryor Field Regional Airport

Coordinates: 34°39′15″N 086°56′43″W / 34.65417°N 86.94528°W / 34.65417; -86.94528

Pryor Field Regional Airport
IATA: DCU – ICAO: KDCU – FAA LID: DCU
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Decatur/Athens Airport Authority
Serves		Decatur, Alabama
Location		Limestone County, Alabama
Elevation AMSL		592 ft / 180 m
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
18/36	6,107	1,861	Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations			167,701
Based aircraft			144
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Pryor Field Regional Airport (IATA: DCU, ICAO: KDCU, FAA LID: DCU) is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northeast of the central business district of Decatur and south of Athens, in Limestone County, Alabama, United States. It is owned by Decatur/Athens Airport Authority.^[1]

Situated next to Calhoun Community College, the airport serves the western portion of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area and most of the Decatur Metropolitan Area. Pryor Field is currently the busiest regional airport in Alabama.^[2]

Facilities and aircraft

Pryor Field Regional Airport covers an area of 200 acres (81 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (18/36) measuring 6,107 x 100 ft (1,861 x 30 m).^[1]

For the 12-month period ending May 3, 2006, the airport had 167,701 aircraft operations, an average of 459 per day: 91% general aviation, 7% military and 2% air taxi. There are 144 aircraft based at this airport: 79% single engine, 14% multi-engine, 3% jet aircraft, 3% helicopters and 1% gliders.^[1]

History

Opened in October 1941 with 4,600' x 4600' square all-direction turf runway. Began training United States Army Air Corps flying cadets under contract to Southern Airways, Inc. & Southern Aviation Training School, Inc. Assigned to Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central FLying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. had five local auxiliary airfields for emergency and overflow landings. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned.

Inactivated on December 28, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. Declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on September 30, 1945. Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport.

In January 2010, the pilot training site was designated a historic landmark and added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.^[3][4]

See also

	United States Air Force portal
	Military of the United States portal

• Alabama World War II Army Airfields

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} FAA Airport Master Record for DCU (Form 5010 PDF), effective July 5, 2007
2. ^ "Rivers, rails, roads, and air". Decatur Daily. October 1, 2006. http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/061001/hub.shtml. 
3. ^ Haskins, Shelly (January 19, 2011). "World War II pilot training center at Pryor Field named a state landmark". Huntsville Times. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/01/world_war_ii_pilot_training_ce.html. Retrieved January 20, 2011. 
4. ^ "Pryor Field designated as a historic landmark". The News-Courier (Athens, AL). January 20, 2011. http://enewscourier.com/local/x233965371/Pryor-Field-designated-as-a-historic-landmark. Retrieved January 20, 2011. 

• Shaw, Frederick J. (2004). Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy. Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force. 
• Manning, Thomas A. (2005). History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Randolph AFB, TX: Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC.  ASIN=B000NYX3PC

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• FAA Terminal Procedures for DCU, effective 20 October 2011
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for DCU
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for DCU