Airport and Terminal Planning; and Design." Architectural Record
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liBUililill j// / s Wichita FaHs Airport 'S!amsss&JF'^.t;^ftwmmmmmmmmmnmmlmmmmmaammm^n^^^^^1m^m WICHITA. F A ^I LI Z> A I P F 0 ?. a progis-r' of redevelopmeni for WICHITA FALLS Mh'MSIF-.'.L .'MRPORT WICHITA FALLS, T^/As James M. Groves .Architecture '^22 December 10, 197^ BB^F!! AC Special TharJ:s are tr. O-cler to 'L'. ••.-."' Joi-s-, ••, manager of V,'ichita Falls Munijiral Alrp-:.!!; -rni hi-: secretary/ Mrs. Louise Easter* Wltiicut tho-,r, -rich :t this work would not have be^n possih'.e. =9B ouTLi:"': I. Introduction A. General B. Reriof! C. Wichita Falls II. Wichita Falls Municipal Airport A. Histo-r-y B. General C. Manage r.ent D. Terminal Facilities E. Air Traffic Control G. Landing Area H. Future Plans III. Site A, Sheppard Air Force Base 3. Generctl C. Climate Table IV, Conors 1 -v.^iation V. Cor'X-rcial Aviation A, Contii.ental Air Lines B, Texas International Airlines C, Rio Air.-a:,'s, Inc. D, Air Cargo Growth F. (Ji.'rrv.nt Alrdlne Sei^vice G. Dectjnations and Originations VI, L-321-in Ccnvitrrations i.' . ^" J. J... » . ^ D. Support Facillti-.vs E. Equipncnt F. Move.-^.ents G. Graphics VII. Conclusion 1 Introduction mimi With an ever-important emphasis placed on air travel; airport design is becoming nore and more impor tant, larger airports have become well-known in the arch itectural iTiagizines; but seldom has a small airport appeared, The functional design of a small airport is i.?ipor- tant. The airport of Wichita Falls is in definite need of improvement and*or replacement. In the following chapters a sketch of Wichita Falls, followed by a narritive of Wichita Falls Municipal Air- poirt, and information on the existing site comprise the first section, REGION Rich in cattle, land, oil, and industry, the V/ich- ita Falls Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area en compasses 1,519 square miles in Wichita and Archer counties. Located along the Red River and bounded on the North by Oklahoma and on the South by Young County, the 2irea is about equidistant from the east and west boundaries of the State of Texas. Wichita County accupies an area of 6l2 square miles, and is located in the flat plains. Wichita FaQJs is equidistant from the cities of Oklahoma City and Dallas. WICHITA FALLS Wichita Falls is a major business, manufacturing, medical, ciiltural, and educatiorial center for a trade area of so-e 23 counties in northern Tixas and cruth- em Ol'Jaho.'-ia, ( See acco.-.parAnj char:s. ) Recent cc.-^.- pletion 01 r^a :•? An'o::ncad assures ar.ple ;:ater supply for another 30 years or r.ore, Manufactvczln;;^- i.nd'Js-jrles contribute consideiabiy zo the economy of '/.ichita Falls, employing ^-3000 v.or/.ers. Oil has figured greatly in the area's econoir.y, t^,e city still being a .-^.ajor independent oil production center. Industrial Developnent, Inc., lorned by business leaders in 1963» is developinr; tvro industrial parks, one of wnich is near I-tmicipal Air-port.. Industin.al divers"iication is sought; and me.jor plants such as Pittsbur\;h Plate Glass, Allis-ChalFiers, and several others have locat'-?! plants in Wichita Falls, stimulating the econo-^.y Agriculture and ranching are important to the ^'.-.-rthi Texas area. This is a registered beef cattle center as well as prxDducing wheat, cotton, and other grains. The ai>3a has a labor force of over 52,000 and has 2 an unemployment rate of 2.9^» These improvements add up to an ever chanrin.;^^ Wichita Falls, vith an airpoi-t that is virtually unchangec since 1959• LIEEII POPJL'TIO::: CITY (V' . i.citlTA :-Ar.L."3 YEAR •L. yji. ^ Lj:. ^ ±\, ' 19^0 45,1^-:^ 1950 t3.Cn2 i960 101,7.?. Source: U. S. Depc. rtment of Ceirsu s 1961 105.665 1962 110,000 1963 105.GOO 1964 109,000 1965 110,700 1970 129,600 I9S5 l^>'v,CCO Source: The Ecoror-.y of Wichita Falls, A r^rt c^' the 'A^ichita Falls Urban Transportation study -v the Texas Highway Department & Mi-l-.s-^ :-:.ern 'Jniversitv, f:»^r1 Wichita Falls Region 28 Counties, Texas and Oklahoma Jones Shackelford Stephens 'f^N^fl Transportation Location of V/ichita Falls, in road ."lies frc; the nearest county metropolitan areas of epaal or gr-ceater population with Air Ser/lce. 1 OKH-l^C AMA-22;^ - ,>.. LBii-211 ^iSPS -h X FTW-xx;IW-llS) ^)A L-13'^ ABI-I44 \ MAF-29O / _^ ^. Wichita raau Municioal Airport H! The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Wichita Falls voted for the sale of $375,000.00 in Air port Revenue Bonds and on June 1, 1964, consummated the transaction for the purchase of all interests of the former Wichita Falls Air Transport Company for the sum of $3^5,000.00. The City of Wichita Falls compledted negotiations for the purchase of the hangars and other improvements at Municipal Airport from the estate of the late Ful- cher Armstrong on June 1, 1964. The purchase of the airport facilities by the City was accomplished by the issuance and sale of Airport Revenue Bonds totaling $375,000.00 The income from the airport is pledged to the repayment of these bonds over a 20-year period with sufficient revenue anticipated to pay the annual debt service, maintenance and operating expenses of the air port. The acquisj.tion of the airport and other impor tant improvements has been arranged so that with the pre sent airline service, and future proposed level of service, the operation of Municipal Airport by the City is expected to be a self-sustaining operation, providing a public facility at no expense to the taxpayer. MANAGEMENT The airport is currently managed by Mr. Walt Cowser, a retired Colonel from Sheppard. He is an officer of the city, appointed by the Mayor, and approved by the Board of rf-MtM •¥ GENERAL The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport is located on the South boundry of Sheppard Air Force Base under the terms of a ^^-yeax joint use agreement between the city and the Department of the Air Force dated May 15, 1959. The Air Force built the present terminal building, aircraft parking ramp and leased the City 50'73 acres, which make up the Civil Terminal Area, in exchange for title to the City's former airport site, Kell Field. The Civil Terminal Area is connected to the landing area of Sheppard by means of taxi ways and all types of civil aircraft vrith two-way radio are permitted to use the field. All field maintenance and lighting is provided by the Air Force with the City paying a nominal use charge based on the number of scheduled commercial landings only, HISTORY The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport had, since its beginning, been operated on a sub-lease arrangement by the late Fulcher Armstrong. However, with the passing of this aviation pioneer, civic officials determined that in order for this community to have assurance of ade quate air services and facilities, the City should have direct control and operation authority over its airport and inprovements. ^MAHItm Aldermen, Consult the additional chart for further infcrma- tiOHe TERMINAL FACILITIES The Wichita Falls Municipal Airport is located on a 50o73 acre tract on the south edge of Sheppard Air Force Base approximately five (5) miles north-northeast of the City. The land and the passeriger terminal building are leased from the Air Force while the City owns the tkrree general service hangars, aircraft maintenance shops, fuel storage tanks, and offices which make up the general a\'iation and airline terminal buildings, and the hangars, are leased to various tenants engaged in aviation or related business (see accomping list). The Civil Terminal area was completed and occupied early in I96O and presently provides the following facilities: The main terminal building is of masonry construc tion and contains 6,507 square feet of floor area. This building houses the passenger lobby, airline ticket count ers, and indoor air cargo and frei^t storage area, and a restaurant capable of feeding up to 60 patrons. A second building of concrete block, adjacent to the No, 1 hangar, houses the offices, stores and shops for the Fixed Base Operator, the Faa Communications and the U. S. Weather Bureau. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL FACILITIES Air traffic arriving or departing the Wichita Falls uium Air Terminal use the airfield complex of i^^r.eppard Air Force Base. However, all air traffic, civilian and mi litary, is controlled by the Federal Aviation Agency which manages and staffs the control tower and the approach control. The present tower was completed and occupied in April I96O; it is 95 feet in height and was con- tructed at a cost of $208,500. The approach Control facility is also located in the tower and adequate space is available to include the Radar Approach Control (RAPCON) when it becomes operative later this year. Thirteen (I3) controllers and a supervisor operate this facility on a 24-hour basis. Air traffic count recorded by the control tower shows an average of 8,909 operations per month (40^ civilian and 60^ military). The records further reveal tha- the two recent high activity months were September I965 and October I965, with 11,817 and 12,55^ operations respect ively. Operations recorded by Sheppard Tower during calendar year I965 totaled 123,835, Radio communications between the tower and civilian aircraft are available on the common civilian frequencies, (119.1 mc-VFR) (Approach control-118.2 mc) (121.5 mc-Emergency), LANDING AREA Sheppard Field's two runways provide Wichita Falls Tmrr-y.- l' 5) • with one of the largest and most adequately equipped air ports in the country.