Esler Field, also known as Esler Regional Airport , is a military and public use

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

Rapides Parish, Louisiana Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides ...

, United States, near the City of Pineville. It is located 10

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s (12

statute mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

s, 19

kilometre The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ex ...

s) northeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

, The airfield is owned by the

Louisiana Army National Guard The Louisiana Army National Guard (French: Garde nationale de Louisiane) is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the ...

and is the home of Army Aviation Support Facility #2 (AASF#2). This airport is included in the FAA's

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a ''

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 ...

'' airport. It has no scheduled

commercial airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...

service at present but was served by

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

in the past with mainline passenger jet service.

History

World War II

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1919, the Army had abandoned

Camp Beauregard Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main t ...

and turned the property over to the state of Louisiana, which returned it to the United States; however, interest in the military utilization of Camp Beauregard increased significantly in 1939 when war began in Europe. The United States needed a training ground for American troops. In 1940 the land was returned to the War Department for use as a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

training area. That area included the now-abandoned Camps Claiborne and Livingston and what has become Esler Regional Airport. Construction of the airport, originally called Camp Beauregard Army Field, for the

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 ...

began in 1940. In the summer of 1940 and throughout 1941 the area was used for the

Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held in 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of Shreveport to the nort ...

. The Air Corps used the airfield extensively during the maneuvers, with the

67th Observation Group 67 may refer to: * 67 (number) * one of the years 67 BC, AD 67, 1967, 2067 * ''67'', a 1992 song by Love Battery from the album ''Between the Eyes'' * 67 (rap group), a drill music group from London See also * 67th Regiment (disambiguation) * 67 ...

stationing the

107th Observation Squadron The 107th Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Michigan Air National Guard 127th Wing. It is assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan and is equipped with the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. The squadron is a de ...

at the airfield between 28 October 1940 and 14 December 1941. In addition, the 109th Observation Squadron used the airport from 27 February 1941 until 18 December 1942 flying light observation planes. The airfield was renamed Esler Army Airfield in 1941 to honor Lt. Wilmer Esler, a pilot who became the first casualty of the airfield when his plane crashed on April 11, 1941. Esler AAF was assigned to

Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in E ...

III Air Support Command The III Tactical Air Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. It was disbanded on 24 October 1945. The command was established in 1941 as the 3rd ...

. The 333d Air Base Group was the host unit at the airfield, being activated on 1 February 1942. The first unit assigned for training at Esler was the

12th Bombardment Group 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria, South Africa See also * 12 (disambiguation) Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC * ...

, arriving for

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

training on 21 February 1942. The unit remained at Esler until July until being deployed to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and being assigned to

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

. In December 1942, the mission was changed to training Reconnaissance units, and Esler was reassigned directly to Third Air Force. The 347th Army Air Force Base Unit became the host unit at the station. Reconnaissance groups receiving training at the airfield were: * 74th Reconnaissance Group, 13–28 December 1942 *

71st Reconnaissance Group 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

, 24 January-31 March 1943 *

69th Reconnaissance Group The 69th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force that was part of Air Combat Command, the group was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota where it was a tenant of the 319th Air Base Wing. The group served i ...

, March–December 1943 *

77th Reconnaissance Group The 77th Aeronautical Systems Wing (77 ASW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Its World War II predecessor unit, the 77th Reconnaissance Group ...

, 13 September-14 November 1943 In late 1943, Esler was again reassigned within Third Air Force, to the

I Tactical Air Division The I Tactical Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force, based at Biggs Field, Texas. It was inactivated on 22 December 1945. History General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) reorganize ...

, to become a close air support training field. The Division moved its headquarters to the field in April 1944. The

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

-equipped 372d Fighter Group trained at Esler in March and April 1944. With the departure of the 372d, the 353d Army Air Force Base Unit took over training for replacement pilots, and unit training ended. On 20 April 1945, the 353d BU was redesignated as the 353d AAF BU (Maneuver Station), and Esler supported various training maneuvers at Fort Polk, providing simulated tactical air support to Army units. On 1 August 1945, the airfield was again reassigned directly to Third Air Force. With the end of the war, inactivation of Esler Field began on 7 September 1945. However, the Air Force's inactivation was quite slow, with the airfield being put on standby status 31 January 1946. The 353d was redesignated as a Standby Unit, but not inactivated, keeping a skeleton force of 6 officers and 50 civilians assigned to the base until 31 May 1946 when the base was finally closed. The airfield remained Federal property until the 1950s when it was finally ceded to the Police Jury as surplus property. A small civilian airport opened after return to civil control.

Historical airline service

In the 1970s, the airport had scheduled passenger airline service provided by several air carriers including

which operated mainline jet aircraft from Esler. According to the February 1, 1976 edition of the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight sta ...

(OAG), Delta was operating eight flights a day from the airport at this time with

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpor ...

and

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

mainline jetliners.Feb. 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide (OAG), North American edition Destinations served on a nonstop or direct, no change of plane basis by Delta included Atlanta (ATL), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), New Orleans (MSY), Washington, D.C. (DCA), Baton Rouge (BTR) and Shreveport (SHV). According to various Delta timetables from the 1970s, the airline also flew direct, no change of plane jet service at different times over the years from Esler to New York City (Kennedy (JFK) and Newark (EWR) airports), Philadelphia (PHL), Baltimore (BWI), Tampa (TPA), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Charlotte (CLT), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS) and Reno, NV (RNO).

Texas International Airlines Texas International Airlines Inc. was a United States airline, known from 1940 until 1947 as Aviation Enterprises, until 1969 as Trans-Texas Airways (TTa), and as Texas International Airlines until 1982, when it merged with Continental Airlines. ...

(formerly known as

Trans-Texas Airways Trans-Texas may refer to: * Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC), a transportation network in the planning and early construction stages in the U.S. state of Texas * Trans-Texas Airways, a former a United States airline, known as Texas International Texa ...

, TTa) also served the airport at this time with

Convair 600 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 ...

turboprop aircraft with flights to Houston (IAH), Jackson, MS (JAN), Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX, (BPT) and Monroe, LA (MLU). In 1984, Best Airlines was serving Esler with nonstop

Douglas DC-9-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

jet service to Atlanta, GA (ATL), Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) and Gulfport, MS (GPT). Also during the 1980s, the airport was served by

Royale Airlines Royale Airlines was a regional airline with headquarters on the grounds of Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV) in Shreveport, Louisiana. Operations Royale operated scheduled passenger flights in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florid ...

, a regional airline that was based in Shreveport, Louisiana, with flights operated with twin turboprop aircraft including the

Grumman Gulfstream I The Grumman Gulfstream I (company designation G-159) is a twin-turboprop business aircraft. It first flew on August 14, 1958. Design and development After first rejecting an idea to develop the Grumman Widgeon as an executive transport, the comp ...

(G-159) which was a regional airliner version of Grumman's successful propjet business aircraft. Royale operated nonstop service to Houston, Texas (serving IAH on behalf of

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started o ...

operating as the

Continental Connection Continental Connection was a brand name under which several commuter airline carriers and their holding companies operated services marketed exclusively by Continental Airlines. As such, all Continental Connection banner carrier services were ope ...

) and also flew as an independent air carrier nonstop to Baton Rouge (BTR), Lafayette (LFT), Lake Charles (LCH), Monroe (MLU), New Orleans (MSY) and Shreveport (SHV) in Louisiana as well as to Jackson, Mississippi (JAN) with direct one stop service being operated to Memphis, Tennessee (MEM).departedflights.com, Nov. 1, 1984 Royale Airlines system timetable; Jan. 1, 1987 Royale Airlines system timetable route map

A new role for Esler

In 1996, Esler Regional Airport became lifeless and quiet with an uncertain future after airport services including all scheduled passenger airline flights for central Louisiana were moved to the England Industrial Airpark and Community, the location of the former

England Air Force Base England Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Louisiana, located northwest of Alexandria and about northwest of New Orleans. Originally known as Alexandria Army Air Base, on 23 June 1955 the facility was renamed England Ai ...

which is now known as Alexandria International Airport (AEX). But the abandoned Esler presented the

Louisiana National Guard The Louisiana National Guard is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Army; ...

with a golden opportunity to expand the area available to conduct its training. On June 1, 2001, the Rapides Parish Police Jury transferred the airport's management to the

in a 99-year lease. Today, Esler is the site of numerous training exercises. About 60 percent of the airport's operations are military and the rest are civilian. Although Esler doesn't offer private jet passenger services it does provide both military and civilian aircraft fuel services through its civilian contractor Million Air Interlink Inc. While Alexandria International Airport is central Louisiana's primary airport and the leader of aviation services in the area, Esler is the area's secondary airport. The airport's runways can handle the heavy weight of most airline traffic, such as 137-passenger-capacity

Boeing 737 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 un ...

s, 224-passenger-capacity

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...

s and the

C-17 Globemaster The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...

s that are the primary cargo plane of the Air Force and weigh 169,000 pounds each.

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers an area of 2,161 acres (875 ha) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of 112 feet (34 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. It has two

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 ...

paved

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 concrete, as ...

s: 9/27 is 5,999 by 150 feet (1,828 x 46 m) and 14/32 is 5,601 by 150 feet (1,707 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending March 26, 2009, the airport had 8,300 aircraft operations, an average of 22 per day: 77%

and 23%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. At that time there were 27 aircraft based at this airport: 44% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, 4% jet and 52%

References

External links

*
{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II Airports in Louisiana Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Louisiana Buildings and structures in Rapides Parish, Louisiana