Cheyenne Regional Airport (Jerry Olson Field) is a civil-military airport a mile north of downtown Cheyenne, in

Laramie County Laramie County is a county located at the southeast corner of the state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 100,512 or 17.4% of the state's total 2020 population, making it the most populous county in Wyoming, b ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

. It is owned by the Cheyenne Regional Airport Board. Cheyenne Regional Airport is the home of Cheyenne Air National Guard Base, the main operating base for the

Wyoming Air National Guard The Wyoming Air National Guard (WY ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Wyoming, United States of America. It is, along with the Wyoming Army National Guard, an element of the Wyoming National Guard. As state militia units, the units in t ...

(WyANG) and the Wyoming Army National Guard (WARNG).

History

The U.S. Post Office gave Cheyenne's aviation its first boost. With the introduction of airmail routes after World War I, Cheyenne civic leaders lobbied to establish Cheyenne as a stop. Buck Heffron piloted the first air mail flight to Salt Lake City on September 9, 1920. He flew a DH-4 that could barely get high enough to clear the mountains and had a maximum speed of . The pilot was one of the brave aviators who was guided by a few instruments, maps and landmarks. By the latter 1920s, Cheyenne had become an important crossroads for mail and passenger flights on a transcontinental route between San Francisco and New York as well as a north–south route from Cheyenne to Pueblo, Colorado. Cheyenne was chosen over Denver due to the mountain peaks exceeding 14,000 feet immediately west of Denver. The initial carrier operating on the transcontinental route was Boeing Air Transport. By the early 1930s, Boeing had merged with three other carriers to form

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. Cheyenne's airport saw its first paying passengers in the 1920s. The first was Elizabeth Brown, a female barber. She enjoyed a ride with World War I pilot, C.A. McKenzie, in a Curtis Oriole biplane. With the step up to the DC-3 in 1937, passengers enjoyed greater comfort and safety. Soon United DC-3s were flying Cheyenne passengers to both coasts and south to Denver. The Boeing/United Airlines Terminal Building, Hangar and Fountain, built for what would become

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

between 1929 and 1934, are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. During World War II the airport was a completion and modification center for B-17s. Captain Ralph S. Johnson was a test pilot for the then

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

, forerunner to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. The tail turret on the B-17 is known as the "Cheyenne" turret because it was invented at Cheyenne. United Airlines maintained its Douglas DC-3s at Cheyenne; in 1946 it had 1400 employees based locally. Until 1961 the airport was the training center for United Airlines stewardesses from across the country. The airport was visited by

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

, aboard the ''Spirit of St. Louis'', and Amelia Earhart. Many historic events are chronicled on the walls of the airport restaurant. One of the airport's celebrated visitors in recent times is child aviator

Jessica Dubroff Jessica Whitney Dubroff (May 5, 1988 – April 11, 1996) was a seven-year-old American trainee pilot who died while attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States. On day two of her quest, the Cessna 1 ...

, who lost her life when her small plane crashed after takeoff in terrible weather in April, 1996. Because of its high altitude, aircraft manufacturers test their new jetliners at Cheyenne. Recent tests have involved Embraer of Brazil's E-170 and E-190 aircraft as well as Boeing's

737-900 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

and 787 Dreamliner jets and most recently, the

Boeing 737 MAX The Boeing 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the Boeing 737, a narrow-body airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA), a division of American company Boeing. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) and competes with ...

. The airport terminal contains plaques of the inductees into the Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame. The 2013 inductee is Raymond A. Johnson, who lived primarily in Cheyenne after 1960.

Facilities

The field covers and has two

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

s: 9/27, 9,270 x 150 ft (2,825 x 46 m)

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

and 13/31, 6,690 x 150 ft (2,039 x 46 m)

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

. A new passenger terminal opened in 2018 which has three gates and room for one more in the future if needed. In the year ending January 1, 2017 the airport had 45,389 aircraft operations, average 124 per day: 45%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 49% military, 6%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) ...

and <1% airline. 70 aircraft are based at this airport: 43% single-engine, 51% multi-engine, 3% jet, and 3% helicopter, plus 13 military aircraft. Occasional charter flights ("casino or gamblers' flights") operated by Sun Country Airlines and IAero Airways go to Laughlin or

Wendover Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...

, Nevada using

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

aircraft. Frontier Airlines and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

use Cheyenne as a diversion airport on occasion for flights to Denver International Airport.

Historical airline service

In July, 1927, the

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

Aircraft Company began its own airline operating a route from San Francisco to Chicago with stops at Sacramento, Reno, Elko, Salt Lake City, Rock Springs, Cheyenne, North Platte, Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, and Iowa City. In 1931 Boeing's airline merged with three other carriers to form

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

which expanded the San Francisco-Chicago route to Toledo, Cleveland and New York (Newark Airport) creating a transcontinental route. It used

Boeing 247 The Boeing Model 247 is an early United States airliner, and one of the first such aircraft to incorporate advances such as all-metal ( anodized aluminum) semimonocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing, and retractable landing gear.

and Douglas DC-3 aircraft. Cheyenne remained a stop on this route into the 1950s. However, with better aircraft that could fly over the Rocky Mountains, Denver became the focal point for the transcontinental route rather than Cheyenne. In 1954 United

Convair 340 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inr ...

s flew Denver - Cheyenne - Scottsbluff, NE - North Platte, NE - Grand Island, NE - Lincoln, NE - Omaha - Chicago - Detroit - Philadelphia - New York Newark Airport and Denver - Cheyenne - Salt Lake City - Ogden - Elko - Reno - Sacramento - Oakland - San Francisco. By 1959 United had one roundtrip Convair 340 flight a day between Cheyenne and Denver. All United service to Cheyenne ended in 1960. In 1926, The Colorado Airlines began a southward route from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. Western Air Express acquired the airline in 1927 and later become

Western Airlines Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and ...

. The service lasted into 1934. Another carrier, Wyoming Air Service, began a northbound route from Cheyenne to Casper, Sheridan, and Billings in 1931. This route was extended southward from Cheyenne to Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo from 1934 through 1937. Western Airlines would later acquire Wyoming Air Service and operate a Denver-Cheyenne-Casper-Sheridan-Billings route which lasted until 1979. Various aircraft were used including the

, Douglas DC-3,

Douglas DC-6B The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...

Lockheed L-188 Electra The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...

, and finally upgrading to jets with the

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

by 1969. One 737 jet was operated in each direction every day and continued through the entire decade of the 1970s, making the "milk run" from Denver to Billings with three stops in Wyoming. During the 1960s Western modified the route to operate Los Angeles - San Diego - Phoenix - Denver - Cheyenne as well as extending the northward route from Billings onto Great Falls and Calgary. In 1947, Challenger Airlines began service with Douglas DC-3s, operating routes from Denver to Billings and Denver to Salt Lake City, making many stops, including Cheyenne. In 1950 Challenger was merged into the original

Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...

. Frontier continued to serve Cheyenne with direct flights to Denver, Billings, and Salt Lake City using DC-3s which were later upgraded to

Convair 580 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inroa ...

s, and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. By 1967 Frontier Convair 580s flew nonstop to Denver and direct to Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock, Salt Lake City, and Colorado Springs. By 1977 Frontier began flying

jets to Cheyenne, and by 1982 all Cheyenne flights were operating only to Denver or Laramie using 737s. As Frontier began enduring a hard financial burden, the jets were soon discontinued and the carrier reverted to using the Convair 580s under a new designation as Frontier Commuter. All service to Cheyenne was discontinued in January 1985. After airline deregulation in 1978, smaller regional and commuter airlines began serving Cheyenne with service primarily to Denver.

Rocky Mountain Airways Rocky Mountain Airways was an American commuter airline headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986 and was operated as a Continental Expr ...

began service in early 1979 flying de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and DHC-7 Dash 7s. After the collapse of Frontier in early 1985, Rocky Mountain Airways was the only airline flying Cheyenne to Denver with up to nine round trips daily using Twin Otters. Other carriers include Centennial Airlines operating flights to Denver, Billings, and Salt Lake City with

Beechcraft 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, derived from the earlier Be ...

aircraft in 1982; and Air Resorts, which briefly operated to Denver in 1985 using

Convair 440 The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner that Convair manufactured from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement for the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series made some inro ...

piston aircraft. In 1986,

Aspen Airways Aspen Airways was an airline carrier and regional affiliate of United Express and based in Hangar 5 in Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. Aspen ceased operations on April 1, 1990, when separate portions of the airline were acqu ...

began service to Denver using

s and began an affiliation with

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

by September of that year operating as

United Express United Express is the brand name for the regional branch of United Airlines, under which six individually owned regional airlines operate short- and medium-haul feeder flights. On October 1, 2010, UAL Corporation and Continental Airlines merged t ...

. In 1987 Rocky Mountain became affiliated with Continental Airlines and began operating as

Continental Express Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of the merger ...

with up to eight daily round trips to Denver using

Beechcraft 1900C The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With ...

s and ATR 42 aircraft. The

service by Aspen ended in 1989 but was reinstated by

Mesa Airlines Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air ...

in 1990. In the early 1990s

and

operated a combined total of up to thirteen departures a day to Denver with both airlines flying Beechcraft 1900Cs.

ended their service in 1995 after Continental Airlines discontinued their hub operation at Denver.

lost its designation as

in 1998 at which time

Air Wisconsin Air Wisconsin Airlines is a regional airline based at Appleton International Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin near Appleton. Air Wisconsin originally operated as one of the original United Express partners in 1985, and operated ...

began

service between Cheyenne and Denver using

Dornier 328 The Dornier 328 is a turboprop-powered commuter airliner. Initially produced by Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH, the firm was acquired in 1996 by Fairchild Aircraft. The resulting firm, named Fairchild-Dornier, manufactured the 328 family in Oberpfaffen ...

aircraft. Air Wisconsin was quickly replaced by

Great Lakes Airlines Great Lakes Airlines was an American regional airline operating domestic scheduled and charter services. Corporate headquarters were in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with a hub at Denver International Airport. As of November 2013, Great Lakes Airlines ...

in late 1998 as the United Express airline at Cheyenne using

Beech 1900D The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With ...

aircraft. Great Lakes then lost its designation as United Express in 2002 but continued serving Cheyenne under its own branding and a code-share with United. Great Lakes, the only carrier serving Cheyenne, moved its headquarters to the airport and also established an aircraft maintenance base on the field. Some flights to Denver operated with a larger

Embraer 120 The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a twin-turboprop 30-passenger commuter airliner designed and manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The EMB 120 began development during 1974. While initially conceived as a modular series of ...

Brasilia aircraft; however, the company shut down on March 26, 2018 which left Cheyenne with no air service. In 1996, upstart carrier

Western Pacific Airlines Western Pacific Airlines, or WestPac, was an airline which operated in the United States from 1995 to 1998. A low-cost carrier, it was formed in 1994 under the name Commercial Air, later changed to Western Pacific, and began operating schedul ...

began serving Cheyenne by way of their feeder carrier Mountain Air Express using

prop aircraft. Initially flights went to Colorado Springs but were changed to Denver in 1997. The carrier ended service later in 1997 and Western Pacific went out of business in early 1998.

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

established nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth on July 15, 2010 operated by

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

using

Embraer 145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

regional jets. The service however did not become profitable and ended on April 3, 2012. After the collapse of Great Lakes Airlines in 2018, the city of Cheyenne revisited with American and reinstated American Eagle service to Dallas/Fort Worth beginning on November 4, 2018, this time operated by SkyWest Airlines using

Bombardier CRJ100/200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) p ...

regional jets. Service began with one daily flight but was expanded with a second flight during the summer of 2019. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020 and the associated drop in air travel, all American Eagle service was discontinued. The city of Cheyenne continued to work with SkyWest Airlines and reinstated service to Denver as

using CRJ-200s beginning on November 12, 2020 (SkyWest operates for both American Eagle and United Express). Service was suspended on April 16, 2021 for runway upgrades and returned on November 1, 2021 with two daily flights to Denver. Service will again be suspended from April 1, 2023 through August 31, 2022. As can be seen, there was a significant drop in air travel and air service beginning in the late 1990s. This is believed to have been caused by a trend in the general public preferring to first drive to a larger airport, such as Denver, rather than fly from a smaller hometown facility. This has been the case at most smaller cities around the United States, many of which have lost all air service.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Cargo

Cheyenne Air National Guard Base

Cheyenne ANGB occupies approximately 77 acres of leased land on the Cheyenne Regional Airport. Within this area was once the facilities of the former United Airlines Modification Center and former stewardess training center for UAL. The host wing is the

153d Airlift Wing The 153d Airlift Wing (153d AW) is a unit of the Wyoming Air National Guard, stationed at Cheyenne Air National Guard Base, Wyoming. If activated to federal service, the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command. Ove ...

(153 AW) of the

, currently flying the

C-130H Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

theater airlift aircraft. The 153 AW is operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC), and given its proximity to F. E. Warren AFB, was chosen as the first "Active-Associate" unit in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

and the Air National Guard. As an Active-Associate unit, from 1 July 2006 until 1 September 2015, the 153 AW incorporated both a traditional Air National Guard C-130 airlift squadron, the 187th Airlift Squadron (187 AS), and a full-time active duty Regular Air Force C-130 airlift squadron, the

30th Airlift Squadron The 30th Airlift Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the 19th Airlift Wing. It was the first active-duty associate unit attached to an Air National Guard wing, working with the 187th Airlift Squadron at Cheye ...

(30 AS). Both squadrons shared the same C-130H aircraft. With the inactivation of the 30AS, the 153 AW is once again a traditional Air National Guard unit.

Accidents and incidents

On April 11, 1996, seven-year-old

, along with her father and flight instructor, died when her general aviation aircraft crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne Regional in a storm. Dubroff was attempting to be the youngest person to fly across the United States.

References

External links

Airport website
* * *

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne, Laramie County, WY: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **{{HAER , survey=WY-83 , id=wy0376 , title=Cheyenne Airfield, 200 East Eighth Avenue , data=7 , link=no Buildings and structures in Cheyenne, Wyoming Regional Airport Transportation in Laramie County, Wyoming Airports in Wyoming Historic American Engineering Record in Wyoming

History

Facilities

Historical airline service

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Cargo

Cheyenne Air National Guard Base

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

External links