Cox Field is an airport seven miles east of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, in Lamar County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is owned by the city of Paris but is operated and maintained by J.R. Aviation, the airport's

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, ...

(FBO).

History

The airport opened in August 1943 as Cox Army Airfield and was used by

Second Air Force The Second Air Force (2 AF; ''2d Air Force'' in 1942) is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended ...

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 ...

, primarily for liaison pilot training. The 157th Liaison Squadron was based here from March to May 1944. From 15 May to 8 October 1944 advanced liaison pilot training was conducted by the 163d liaison squadron, who prepared pilots as combat replacements for AAF liaison squadrons operating overseas. From October 1944 onward, the airfield was used by the

Air Technical Service Command The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

as an aircraft maintenance and supply depot. At the end of the war the airfield was not needed by the military and was turned over to the local government for civil use.

Historical airline service

Mid-Continent Airlines Mid-Continent Airlines was an airline which operated in the central United States from the 1930s until 1952 when it was acquired by and merged with Braniff International Airways. Mid-Continent Airlines was originally founded as a flight school a ...

began landing at Paris in 1947 as a stop on a route between Houston and Tulsa using

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

aircraft. In 1952 Mid-Continent merged into

Braniff International Airways Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was an airline in the United States that once flew air carrier operations from 1928 un ...

which lengthened the route northbound from Tulsa all the way to Minneapolis with multiple stops including Kansas City and Omaha. Braniff soon discontinued service by 1953.

Central Airlines Central Airlines was a passenger airline (the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) called it a "local service" air carrier) in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas from 1949 to 1967. It was founded by Keith Kahle in 1944 to oper ...

began service in 1950 with

Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. The six-seater, single-engined aircraft is still being produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous prod ...

s, followed by

s on flights to Dallas, Kansas City, and St. Louis, all making stops en route. Central merged into the original

Frontier Airlines 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 ...

in 1967 which continued service using

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 ...

aircraft until January, 1977. SMB Stage Lines served Paris from 1968 until early 1975 with flights to Dallas and Tulsa using

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 ...

airliners. There was no service at Paris from 1977 until 1979 when

Metro Airlines Metro Airlines, originally Houston Metro Airlines, was a commuter airline that was originally headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States,. Metro subsequently moved its headquarters to north Texas. The airline had an operational base located ...

began flights to Dallas/Fort Worth using

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

aircraft. Metro's service ended in 1984 and Eagle Commuter succeeded providing flights to DFW for a period in 1985. Exec Express began service in 1987 with flights to DFW using

Piper Navajo The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engined aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also license-built in a number of Latin American countries. Tar ...

and

airliners. Exec Express changed its name to Lone Star Airlines in 1991 and service continued using

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

s until 1997. Paris, TX has not seen scheduled air service since then.airline timetables from timetableimages.com

Facilities

Cox Field covers at an elevation of 547 feet (167 m). It has three runways: 3/21 and 14/32 are each 4,624 by 150 feet (1,409 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 wi ...

and 17/35 is 6,002 by 150 feet (1,829 x 46 m) asphalt. It has one concrete

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 ...

40 by 40 feet (12 x 12 m). In the year ending April 30, 2007 the airport had 8,050 aircraft operations, average 22 per day: 93%

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and 3% military. 50 aircraft were then based at the airport: 86% single-engine, 8% multi-engine, 4% jet and 2%

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 ...

References

External links

Cox Field
page at City of Paris website
Aerial image as of 2 February 1995
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 ...

'' * {{Authority control Airports in Texas Buildings and structures in Lamar County, Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command Transportation in Lamar County, Texas Former Essential Air Service airports Airports established in 1943 1943 establishments in Texas

History

Historical airline service

Facilities

See also

References

External links