TSTC Waco Airport

TSTC Waco Airport (IATA: CNW, ICAO: KCNW, FAA LID: CNW) is a public use airport located eight nautical miles (9 mi, 15 km) northeast of the central business district of Waco, a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. Before 1968, it was known as James Connally Air Force Base. The airport is owned by Texas State Technical College.[1] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2]

TSTC Waco Airport

(formerly James Connally AFB)
USGS 2006 orthophoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTexas State Technical College
ServesWaco, Texas
Elevation AMSL470 ft / 143 m
Coordinates31°38′16″N 097°04′27″W
Map
CNW is located in Texas
CNW
CNW
Location of airport in Texas
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 8,600 2,621 Asphalt
17R/35L 6,291 1,917 Concrete
Statistics (2010)
Aircraft operations71,800
Based aircraft11

The facility is currently used as an industrial airpark operated by Texas State Technical College System for their aviation programs, and is noted for being the largest airport in the United States owned by an educational institution.[3]

History

Military Use
Main article: James Connally Air Force Base

The airport opened May 5, 1942, as Waco Army Air Field and was the headquarters of the Army Air Force Central Instructors' School during World War II. It was deactivated after the war in 1945 but was reactivated in 1948 as a pilot training base under the Air Training Command. It was named for Colonel James T. Connally who had been killed in Japan in 1945. The airport was initially called Connally Air Force Base but the name evolved to also include his first name.

In 1957, the base became a support facility for the headquarters of Twelfth Air Force (12 AF) located in nearby Waco and concurrently concentrated on providing navigator flight training under the cognizance of the Air Training Command.

In 1968, as part of a nationwide reduction in air force bases and naval air stations to stay within congressional funding limits while continuing to prosecute the war in Vietnam, James Connally AFB was closed. All navigator training was consolidated at Mather Air Force Base, California, and the 12th Air Force was relocated to Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas. At this point, the facility was conveyed to the State of Texas by the General Services Administration (GSA).

Civilian Use
George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and Barney at the airport

The airport and the base facilities were used as a technical school while General Dynamics remained as a tenant performing modification work on various military aircraft. The General Dynamics facility was later closed.

Electrospace Systems opened a hangar at the facility; its operations were later sold to Chrysler and renamed Chrysler Technologies Airborne Systems. Chrysler subsequently sold the operation to Raytheon which renamed the facility Raytheon Aircraft Integration Systems. In 2002, Raytheon sold the facility to L-3 Communications and it is currently known as L-3 Communications Platform Integration Division.[4]

During his presidency, George W. Bush flew in and out of the airport on Air Force One during visits to his home at the Prairie Chapel Ranch.[5] On these trips, the president would typically fly on a Boeing VC-137 (until its retirement in 2001) or a C-32, due to the minimum runway length requirements of the primary presidential transport aircraft, the VC-25.

In 1991, TSTI was renamed Texas State Technical College (TSTC).

Facilities and aircraft

TSTC Waco Airport covers an area of 2,200 acres (890 ha) at an elevation of 470 feet (143 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 17L/35R is 8,600 by 150 feet (2,621 x 46 m) with an asphalt surface; 17R/35L is 6,291 by 80 feet (1,917 x 23 m) with a concrete surface.[1]

For the 12-month period ending August 21, 2010, the airport had 71,800 aircraft operations, an average of 196 per day: 76% general aviation and 24% military. At that time, there were 11 aircraft based at this airport: 91% single-engine and 9% multi-engine.[1]

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for CNW PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. "2021–2025 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 5.32 MB). Federal Aviation Administration. September 20, 2020.
  3. "Texas State Technical College Programs Aircraft Pilot Training". TSTC.
  4. "Corporate history of L-3 Communications Integrated Systems Waco Aircraft Modification Center". L-3 Communications. Archived from the original on 2009-12-20.
  5. "High Flier: TSTC's Impact on the Waco Economy". Archived from the original on 2019-08-12.
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