Indianapolis Executive Airport is a public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

at 11329 E. State Road 32, five miles north of Zionsville, in

Boone County, Indiana Boone County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 70,812. The county seat (and the county's only incorporated city) is Lebanon. History In 1787, the fledgling United States defined the Northwest Territory, ...

, United States. The airport is owned by the Hamilton County Airport Authority. It is northwest of downtown

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and is a

reliever airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever a ...

for

Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis International Airport is an international airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of downtown Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. The ...

. In 2020, the airport was categorized as a "National" airport 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 ...

. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter

location identifier A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for staffed air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programm ...

for the

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

and for

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

, but Indianapolis Executive Airport is TYQ to the FAA and has no IATA code. It was formerly Terry Airport .

History

Campbell Aviation began developing Indianapolis Executive Airport (TYQ) as Terry Airport in 1957 with a

bituminous 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 ...

runway configured in a north–south direction and a turf runway configured in a northeast–southwest direction. It was certified by the State of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in 1958. The airport included 10 T-hangars and an administration building. A few years later, 26 more T-hangars were added. In 1965, the Campbells sold the airport to the Van Sickles. In 1978, the north–south runway (Runway 18–36) was lengthened to , widened to , and three aircraft turnarounds were constructed. Other improvements included installing

High Intensity Runway Lights Runway edge lighting are used to outline the edges of runways during periods of darkness or restricted visibility conditions. These light systems are classified according to the intensity they are capable of producing: * High intensity runway l ...

(HIRL), Visual Approach Slope Indicators (VASI-2) for both runways, and an

Instrument Landing System In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

, including a

Non-Directional Beacon A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are ...

(NDB). Three large hangars were also added. The airport was classified as a reliever to

in the 1980s, which opened the door for the facility to get government funding from the FAA and the state of Indiana. In 1986, TYQ received its first federal grant for construction to install underdrains for Runway 18-36 and acquire of land for approach protection. In 1987 and 1988, other grants were received to reconstruct, widen, and groove the primary runway, which resulted in a DWL (dual wheel loading) strength for the runway. Under this grant, of land were acquired, an aircraft apron was constructed, and a partial parallel taxiway was added. In the early 1990s, TYQ received three more grants for extending the runway to its current length of and acquiring an additional of land. The airport did not receive further grants until 2001 when it mitigated wetland impacts and graded the runway safety area. In 2003, the airport was purchased by Hamilton County and the Hamilton County Airport Authority began receiving a series of grants for reimbursement for that purchase.

Facilities and aircraft

Indianapolis Executive Airport covers ; 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 ...

, 18/36, which is 5,500-by-100 feet (1,677 by 30 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 wi ...

. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2019, the airport had 41,810 aircraft operations, an average of 115 per day: 95%

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 ...

and 5%

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) an ...

. In January 2022, there were 89 aircraft based at this airport: 63 single-engine, 7 multi-engine, 16 jet and 3 helicopter. First Wing Jet Center is the airport's full service

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

. Taft Aviation manages the airport's T-hangars. The airport is also host to Beck's Hybrids corporate aviation department. The

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

maintains a squadron at the airport.

Eagle Composite Squadron

Indianapolis Executive Airport hosts a squadron for the Civil Air Patrol. Eagle Composite Squadron is a squadron who's main weekly meeting location is TYQ. Members of the squadron meet starting at 18:00 and ending at 20:30 every Tuesday. Meetings are categorized based on what Tuesday of the month it is. Eagle has been awarded numerous

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

level awards, including Squadron of Merit (SOM) for the years 2022 and 2021. Contrary to many other squadrons in the Indiana wing, Eagle is typically lead by the cadets of the squadron (aged 12 - 21) instead of the senior members. Cadets lead meetings, host weekend and volunteer events, and teach other cadets during their weekly meetings. As of October 2022, Eagle Composite Squadron has 58 members.

References

External links

First Wing Jet Center.
the

(FBO)
Aerial photo
from

Indiana Department of Transportation The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, List of numbered ...

*
Eagle Composite Squadron

{{Airports in Indiana Transportation in Indianapolis Airports in Indiana Transportation buildings and structures in Boone County, Indiana