Fletcher Field is a public use airport in

Coahoma County, Mississippi Coahoma County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,151. Its county seat is Clarksdale. The Clarksdale, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Coahoma County. It is loc ...

, United States. It is owned by the Coahoma County Airport Board and located seven

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 (13 km) northeast of the central business district of

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

. This airport is included in the

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 ...

'' facility. There is 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.

Facilities and aircraft

Fletcher Field covers an area of 252 acres (102 ha) at an elevation of 173 feet (53 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 one

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 ...

designated 18/36 with an

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 ...

surface measuring 5,404 by 100 feet (1,647 x 30 m). For the 12-month period ending November 8, 2011, the airport had 36,203 aircraft operations, an average of 99 per day: 99.8%

and 0.2%

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 18 aircraft based at this airport: 78% 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 ...

, 11% multi-engine, and 11% jet.

History

Fletcher Field, was opened on July 5, 1942, and used by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a contract basic flying training airfield. It was operated by the 2154th Air Base Unit, Contract Elementary Flying School ( AAFFTC), Clarksdale School of Aviation. Students were trained on

Fairchild PT-23 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contempora ...

and

Boeing-Stearman PT-17 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known ...

trainers. Known sub-bases and auxiliaries assigned to the field were: * Clarksdale Auxiliary Field * Ellis Auxiliary Field (Undetermined Location) It operated until October 14, 1944, when the last class graduated. The equipment and aircraft at the base were declared excess and sold in November. The airfield was then turned over to civil authorities as an airport. Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas

References

External links

Fletcher Field
at Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce
Aerial image as of January 1998
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * *
{{USAAF Training Bases World War II Airports in Mississippi Buildings and structures in Coahoma County, Mississippi Transportation in Coahoma County, Mississippi 1942 establishments in Mississippi Airports established in 1942 Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Mississippi USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields

Facilities and aircraft

History

See also

References

External links