AIRPORT

Dubuque Airport

AIRPORT. In 1928 articles of incorporation were filed with the Iowa Secretary of State for the Iowa Airport Company Inc. The president was William McBoyle. The articles detailed plans of the company headquartered in Dubuque to engage in establishing "flying fields," the buying and selling of airplanes, the transportation of passengers, and in aerial photography and advertising. In May, 1928 work on Dubuque's first municipal airport, located north of the city along Sageville Road, was announced as nearly finished. (1) Swamp land at the south end of the field had to be filled and high lines to the north had to be removed. Parking space was being provided to "allow autoists to view antics of the machines from their machines." (2)

Dubuque first airport, established by McBoyle's company, opened that year at NUTWOOD PARK on land the city leased from INTERSTATE POWER COMPANY. The site proved useful and entertaining with flying demonstrations by daredevils like Lincoln BEACHEY. The development of the airport was carried out with the help of William J. Mackenzie, airport specialist with the United States Department of Commerce, following in inspection of the site and a review of the vicinity. He made recommendations of a different location when air transportation made a change necessary. (3)

The field, leased for five years to William McBoyle, was avoided by pilots who generally found no service and the grounds not mowed. Snow posed special problems. Planes not equipped with landing skis were often signaled not to attempt to land. (4) The lease with three years to run was surrendered to the Chamber of Commerce who paid a financial settlement. (5)

The second lease was awarded to the twelve young enthusiasts of DUBUQUE AIRWAYS INC. (6) Concerned about the condition of the field, the men hired Dewitt Collins as manager, instructor and pilot. The twelve businessmen purchased Collins' two-passenger, open cockpit Waco 90 before purchasing a four passenger Stinson Detroiter, known as "Miss Dubuque," for charter. A glider club was also planned. (7)

Nutwood Park airfield

Nutwood Park proved a poor location for an airport. Surrounded on the east and west by hills, all landings had to be attempted from the north or south regardless of wind. High-tension telephone lines on the north and a swamp and tall smokestack on the south increased the danger. The facility had one runway, a 1,320-foot sod strip.

In 1933 the Dubuque City Council purchased 162 wild and woody acres of CITY ISLAND for $10,000. Unemployed men, recruited by the Civil Works Administration during the GREAT DEPRESSION, leveled trees, ripped out stumps and slashed away underbrush. After extensive grading, two runways, each 2,600 feet long and 100 feet wide, were constructed of MACADAM and cinder surface. The new airport was reached by a road linking the site to the foot of East 16th Street.

Operations at the City Island airport began in June 1934, when two Dubuque Airways planes were flown to the site from Nutwood Park. With no hangars or gas tanks, planes had to be tied down at night. Nutwood Park's metal hangar was later dismantled and rebuilt at the new site; a new hangar with an office was constructed within one year. Electricity was supplied by a portable gas-powered generator. There were "His" and "Her" outhouses.

Business at the City Island airport was not brisk. Lewis Boxleiter, Collins' successor as airport manager, applied for a low-flying permit and inspected high transmission lines when foul weather prevented linemen from driving over snow-drifted roads. Each spring because of floods the planes had to be flown to high ground in Waterloo, Iowa, or Galena, Illinois. In 1938 sixty-four days of business at the City Island airport were lost due to flooding. The airport flooded from March 31 until April 17 in 1939. It was submerged again on April 28.

In 1939 Dubuque was visited by T.E. Flaherty, acting regional airport engineer for the Civil Aeronautics Administration. A solution to the flooding of the airport seemed urgent since Dubuque seemed likely be placed on an airmail and passenger route. Petitions for a Chicago (Illinois)-Cheyenne (Wyoming) route through Dubuque, Mason City and Sioux City had been filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission. Flaherty told city officials that other cities were quickly constructing suitable sites for airports realizing that being left off a route could doom a city's development. A $100 million appropriations bill to help cities construct airports was to be introduced in Congress. (8)

Flying around the Dubuque area in an airplane owned by the Telegraph Herald, Flaherty stated that the elimination of obstacles to landing was essential. Long runways were needed. He recommended that the city not be concerned with building an airport ten miles from the city. Travel time, he reminded them, was cut with automobiles and was only a concern within the city limits. (9)

Flying instruction began in earnest in January 1940, with the start of the Civilian Pilots Training Program. After the start of WORLD WAR II, operations at the airport were temporarily halted and city police were assigned to guard the site. (10) A new hangar was constructed. The navy's objection to the city's inadequate airport led the Chamber of Commerce to conduct a survey as a first step in establishing a first-class airport for the city.

In February 1942, the Dubuque Airport became the first in Iowa to receive its war emergency designation from the Civil Aeronautics Administration. This ensured that the airport would remain open but that it had have armed guards around-the-clock, a complete alarm system, and clearance officials. (11)

On November 4, 1942, Dubuque voters approved a special levy for the development of a new airport. Land was purchased south of the city in March 1943, for the planned $2.5 million facility. City manager Albin Anton RHOMBERG, Fred W. WOODWARD of the TELEGRAPH HERALD, and Msgr. M. J. Martin, president of LORAS COLLEGE obtained a $600,000 appropriation from the Civil Aeronautics Administration for a class-4 airport after working with Senator Guy M. Gillette.

The Dubuque airport in the early 1950s.

Grading, started in 1944, was completed in 1946. Construction work, which included two "T" hangars, was completed in 1948. The City Island airport was closed in September 1948. The Dubuque Municipal Airport was dedicated October 24th.

The needs of the Dubuque Municipal Airport to handle the traffic expected by 1970 was the subject of a report written in 1962 by the Airport Commission. Among the conclusions were that a control tower and new terminal building should be built in 1966 with gradual improvements of hangar facilities between 1964 and 1973. The study, carried out by Commonwealth Associates, Inc. of Jackson, Michigan, also recommended installing an instrument landing system in 1979 and approach lighting in 1972. The cost of the improvement program would be about $1.23 million with $683,500 provided by the federal government. The study was based on the idea that Dubuque would be serviced by two and possibly four airlines by 1978. In 1962 only Ozark Air Lines serviced the city. (12)

On September 6, 1988, the name of the airport was changed from the Dubuque Municipal Airport to the Dubuque Regional Airport to more accurately describe the service area and aid in marketing.

The airport was owned by the city of Dubuque and operated as a department of city government. An Airport Commission board appointed by the city council oversaw the airport operation with an airport manager hired to run the day-to-day operations.

Dubuque residents were encouraged in 1991 to express their opinions on the airport and its operation. A survey to be completed was included in an issue of the Telegraph Herald in late September that was part of a study of the airport by an Annandale, Virginia consulting firm that specialized in airport operation. The $20,000 study, paid for by the city, would determine whether officials would try to attract more airlines. In addition to the newspaper survey, 700 surveys had been sent to area businesses, and passengers waiting for planes were contacted in waiting areas. (13)

The Dubuque airport received $945,000 in 1992 to fund a master plan and the construction of a facility to house the aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment and personnel, airport maintenance crews and storage of equipment and supplies. The city of Dubuque provided a ten percent match to the Federal Aviation Administration grant. (14)

In 1995 the airport commissioned a study which found that 48% of Dubuque travelers flew from out-of-town airports with nearly 25% of these using Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Stopping that "leakage" meant working with airlines to keep fares as low as possible and attempting to attract a third carrier into Dubuque. The latter effort was assisted by Senator Tom Harkin who attached added landing rights at O'Hare to a transportation appropriations bill. The Department of Transportation awarded the slots to Great Lakes Aviation, the parent company of UNITED EXPRESS AIRLINES which then chose to base an operation in Dubuque. This gave Dubuque service of American Eagle, Northwest AirLink, and United Express by April, 1997. (15)

Other changes included the primary runway repair in 1996 at a cost of $2.8 million. In 1997 the sign "Dubuque AirService" signified that the city was in charge of the airport's fixed-based operation. The city assumed control of the fueling and hangaring services in 1993 and in four years saved taxpayers an estimated $280,000. New construction during the 1990s included an aircraft rescue and fire fighting building, a fire-fighting vehicle, water wells, and underground fuel tanks. Officials anticipated in the near future a $14 million project to rehabilitate and extend the airport's secondary runway. Once construction was completed, this runway would become the airport's primary runway. This was due to it being better suited to the prevailing winds and the topography surrounding the airport making this runway a more direct path. (16)

The Dubuque Regional Airport received the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “Airport Safety Enhancement Award” many times. In 1997 the airport held the nation's record with six consecutive years of perfect safety regulation compliance---two years ahead of any other city. In 2004 that record had reached fourteen consecutive years. In 2007 the City of Dubuque announced its intention to construct a larger terminal building, but no time line was given for the completion of the project.

In October, 2013 the building structure of the new Dubuque Regional Airport terminal was completed, but interior work remained. The project was funded in part by the Federal Aviation Administration through the Airport Improvement program trust fund which is created through taxes on passenger tickets and aviation fuel. The Iowa Department of Transportation provided funds collected through aircraft fuel tax and aircraft registration fees. The airport needed to provide $5.2 million of non-federal resources to match the federal grants and development elements not eligible for federal funding. This local portion is generated by passenger facility fees, customer facility charges and general revenue funds. (17) The first large capital improvement project for the airport in decades, the terminal building was only a portion of the changes planned for completion in late 2016.

The planned $39 million, 33,000 square-foot terminal would triple the space of the existing facility with a design that would allow for future expansion. Parking amenities, and airplane taxi spaces were also to be increased. (18)

In 2015 there were 51,172 FAA-sanctioned operations at the Dubuque Regional Airport making it the second-busiest airport in the state. (19)

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Sources:

1. "Dubuque Airport is Incorporated," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, May 30, 1928, p. 9. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_apFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Gr0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4427,5869836&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

2. Advantages of the Dubuque Airport Demonstrated," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, May 27, 1928, p. 6. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-qpFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Gr0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4139,5360162&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

3. "Dubuque Airport Finds Defender," Telegraph Herald, June 16, 1929, p. 24. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nXlFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wrwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2521,5098485&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

4. "Clear Snow From Dubuque Airport," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, Feb. 19, 1929, p. 25. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yolFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sbwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3650,2171206&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

5. "Dubuque Airport is in New Hands," Telegraph Herald and Times Journal, Jan. 3, 1930, p. 10. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9bNFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=P70MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5428,2896206&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Goettler, William. "Engineer Offers Tips for Dubuque Airport," Telegraph Herald, May 28, 1939, p. 2. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XelBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FaoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4290,5491436&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

9. Ibid.

10. "Activities Resumed at Dubuque Airport," Telegraph Herald, Dec. 12, 1941, p. 2. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hFxFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ELwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3395,4180865&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

11. "Local Airport Gets War OKED," Telegraph Herald, Feb. 17, 1942, p. 3. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5TpFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lLsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4533,5476882&dq=dubuque+airport&hl=en

12. "Airport Future Charted," Telegraph Herald, September 23, 1962, p. 1

13. Hanson, Lyn. "Opinions on Airport Targeted," Telegraph Herald, September 26, 1991, p. 1

14. Bergstrom, Kathy. "Dubuque Airport to Receive $945,000," Telegraph Herald, April 2, 1992, p. 3A. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19920402&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

15. McDermott, Brad. "New Runway to Expand Service," Telegraph Herald, October 5, 1997, p. 6F. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19971005&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

16. Ibid.

17. Grierson, Robert A. "New Airport Passenger Terminal Facility," The Golden View, September 2013, p. 1 and p. 7

18. Jacobson, Ben. "Airport Project Right on Schedule," Telegraph Herald, Sept 10, 2013, p. 1

19. "2015: A By-The-Numbers Review of the Year in the Tri-States," Telegraph Herald, January 3, 2016, p. 2