Phoenix Goodyear Airport (formerly Goodyear Municipal 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 ...

southwest of Goodyear, in

Maricopa County, Arizona Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

, United States. It was built during World War II as a naval air facility, NAF Litchfield Park, then upgraded to naval air station status and renamed NAS Litchfield Park. Its primary role after the end of World War II was storage and preservation of obsolete or excess

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

, U.S. Marine Corps and

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

aircraft. In 1968, all Department of Defense and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft preservation and storage was consolidated at the

Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center 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 ...

(MASDC) at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson and NAS Litchfield Park was slated for closure. Following the closure of NAS Litchfield Park in 1968, the city of Phoenix purchased the airport 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 ...

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

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil–military public airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport, and among the largest commercial airports in th ...

. The airport is not served by any airlines. The airport is, however, a major keep and maintenance spot, and the aircraft of many airlines, both domestic and international, can be spotted there. Phoenix-Goodyear Airport is a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants from its time as a military installation.

NAS Litchfield Park

Goodyear-Phoenix Goodyear Airport-Old Radar Tower-1941-2

Facilities

Phoenix Goodyear Airport covers 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 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. ...

. GYR has one

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 ...

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 ...

and one

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 ...

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

: * Runway 3/21 measuring * Helipad H1, measuring In 2020 the airport had 79,599 aircraft operations, average 218 per day: 94%

, <1% airline, 1% military and 4%

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 ...

. 215 aircraft were based at the airport: 183 single engine, 6 multi-engine, 19 jet, 6 military, and 1

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

Resident companies

Goodyear-Phoenix Goodyear Airport-Boneyard-1941

The airfield is home to several companies offering aircraft maintenance and commercial pilot training: * AerSale, Inc. operates a maintenance facility on the airfield which comprises maintenance, storage and disposal. The northern side of the airfield is used for storage and many

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 ...

Airbus A340 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with ...

and

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

s are visible from the road as they await their fate. * Airline Training Center Arizona (ATCA) was the training facility for the

Lufthansa Flight Training Lufthansa Aviation Training GmbH is the flight academy subsidiary of Lufthansa, that trains Lufthansa Group pilots as well as cabin and technical staff. The company has about 500 employees and has been in business for around 50 years. Operat ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

Airlines. Basic flight training for

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

student pilots was also conducted in

Grob G 120 The Grob G 120 is a two-seat training and aerobatic low-wing aircraft with a carbon composite airframe, built by Grob Aircraft. It is based on the Grob G 115TA training aircraft and is specially designed for military and civil pilots training ...

aircraft. * Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA) is the US name for

Oxford Aviation Academy CAE Oxford, part of CAE Inc., is an ab initio flight training network. It provides integrated aviation training and resourcing services. Professional airline pilots have been trained at the Oxford Aviation Academy flight school since 1961. OA ...

, a British company specializing in training airline pilots for United Kingdom,

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

and other

European airlines This is a list of airlines of Europe. European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta ...

. OAA moved to Falcon Field in October 2013 and is no longer based at KGYR. Both flight training schools, while regulated by 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 operating under their regulations, train students to JAA requirements as required for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. From 2014 CTC Wings aviation academy started to use the airport as training facility in addition to its center in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Operational statistics

Through December 31, 2020.

Gallery

File:NAF Litchfield Park aerial photo 1950.jpg, Aerial view in 1950 File:NAF Litchfield Park aircraft storage views 1959.jpg, Different aircraft types stored in 1959 File:SNJ-5B at NAF Litchfield Park 1960.jpeg, SNJs at Litchfield Park in 1960 File:FJ-4F retired at NAF Litchfield Park 1960.jpeg, FJ-4F in 1960 File:AJ-2 Savage retired at Litchfield Park.jpeg, AJ-2 in the 1960s File:A-1H VNAF at Litchfield Park c1961.jpeg,

VNAF The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...

A-1H in 1961 File:KGYROAA.JPG, Seen from

's former ramp looking north, the commercial parking and the OAA parking File:PA34-200T.JPG, A PA34 of Oxford Aviation Academy at

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

's ramp Image:Lufthansa Flugschüler und Bonanza F33.jpg, A former

Bonanza 33 File:RampGYR.JPG,

's airplanes Piper PA-28 Warrior, as seen from the apron File:Ford Trimotor landing at Phoenix-Goodyear Airport.jpg, A

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

landing at Phoenix Goodyear Airport during March 2017 file:Phoenix_Goodyear_Airport_from_Air_GYR.jpg, A recent view of Phoenix Goodyear Airport

References

External links

Phoenix Goodyear Airport
(official site)
Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR)
at

Arizona DOT The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's highway system, the agency is also involved with pu ...

airport directory
Air Traffic Activity System (ATADS)
(FAA Statistical Data) * * {{authority control Airports in Maricopa County, Arizona Post-World War II aircraft storage facilities Aircraft boneyards Superfund sites in Arizona Goodyear, Arizona World War II airfields in the United States Closed installations of the United States Navy