Durant Regional Airport–Eaker Field is three miles (5 km) south of

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation, and is the largest settlement on the reservation, ranking ahead of McAlester and Po ...

. It was established in September 1943. The airport is home to

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern or SE) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had a total enrollment of 5,376 in 2022. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an act designating Du ...

's Aviation Sciences Institute.

History

The airport is named for SOSU alum General

Ira Eaker General officer, General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to En ...

, a 1917 graduate of Southeastern who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During World War II, General Eaker was commander of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and led several historic bombing missions against targets in occupied Europe and Germany. The City of Durant named an airfield west of town in honor of then Captain Eaker in the 1930s. The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

built the current airfield as an auxiliary field during World War II and it became Durant Municipal Airport after the war. It was later renamed Eaker Field. The airport was served by Central Airlines from October 1949 until August 1954. Central initially operated only

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 produced by Beechcraft and has been in continuous productio ...

s but phased them out in 1950–1951 in favor of the

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the 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 ...

Facilities

Eaker Field covers and has one asphalt runway. Runway 17/35 is 6,800 x 100 ft (1,524.3 x 30.5 m). In 2005, the airport had 46,355 aircraft operations, average 127 per day: 97.8%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

, 2.2% general aviation itinerant, 0.1% military. 21 aircraft were then based at the airport: 17 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, and 1 jet.

Expansion

On February 11, 2011, Eaker Field opened a new, modern terminal building. The project was funded by the Durant Industrial Authority and by a grant provided by the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. The taxiway was also resurfaced for the first time since 194

The original design called for an control tower, air traffic control tower to be added, but that plan was later scrapped due to the cost.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Durant Regional Airport-Eaker Field Airports in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Bryan County, Oklahoma

History

Facilities

Expansion

See also

References

External links