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71-579: Iowa City Municipal Airport ( IATA : IOW , ICAO : KIOW , FAA LID : IOW ), is two miles southwest of downtown Iowa City , in Johnson County, Iowa . It is the oldest civil airport west of the Mississippi River still in its original location. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a regional general aviation facility. The airport has no scheduled airline service;

142-435: A 806 ft displaced threshold. Both Runway 25 and Runway 30 have published RNAV instrument approaches, however no instrument approaches are available for Runways 7 or 12. No ILS/LOC approaches are available at IOW, and there are no plans at time of writing to install such a system. Runway 7/25 features PAPI pilot-controlled approach lighting as well as REIL lighting. All active runways have medium intensity edge lighting, which

213-983: A U of I graduate from the School of Art – Jenna Brownlee – completed a massive mural that commemorates and celebrates the rich 100-year history of aviation in Iowa City. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

284-619: A cow pasture owned by W.J. Benjamin – was becoming a popular landing spot for any young soul who was brave enough to take a bi-plane up into the sky. Benjamin's land was popular for local pilots, because – unlike much of Iowa City – it was flat as a pancake, and clear of trees and obstructions. December 30, 1919 , the U.S. Post Office Department in Washington, D.C. telegraphed Iowa City Postmaster Max Mayer to ask for information about this new airfield that had opened here in 1918. Mayer wired back... "Aviation field one and one half miles southwest of

355-675: A major renovation (2007), the Airport Commission and project architects largely preserved the historic spatial arrangement of rooms and hallways, as well as the sunlit staircase to the second floor. Without a doubt, Henry L. Fisk created a unique design that, today, makes it a worthy candidate for the National Register of Historic Places. The terminal's design is a rare surviving example of mid-20th Century American aviation architecture – similar to terminals at Cincinnati's Lunken Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport, both built in

426-595: A member of First Christian Church in Omaha, Nebraska , where he sang in the choir. The U.S. transcontinental mail route began operating in September 1920. But, since pilots did not fly after dark, the mail was transferred to a railcar to travel during the night. At dawn, a waiting plane would take the mail sacks and fly on. However, newly elected president, Warren Harding , and some Congressmen began to talk openly about ending federal airmail subsidies. Questions of safety of flying

497-445: A national hero. He saved the first continuous coast-to-coast airmail flight from certain failure! Having covered 830 miles in nine hours, Knight proved that the airmail could move, even in darkness and bad weather. Although he downplayed his role, he did concede once... "If you ever want to worry your head – just try to find Iowa City on a dark night with a good snow and fog hanging around." July 1, 1927 - Two important events - 1)

568-550: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

639-594: A small, torn section of road map. Newspaper reporters were waiting for Knight in Chicago, and his flight made front-page headlines nationwide. Knight admitted later that his broken nose, sub-zero temperatures, frozen wind and bumpy air made the flight especially brutal. The papers extensively wrote about "Jack Knight's Night Flight" making him the most famous pilot in the Pre-Lindbergh era. Fellow airmail pilot and friend, Slonnie Sloniger , always greeted him with "Jack Knight

710-784: A vacation cottage in Dune Acres, Indiana , on the shores of Lake Michigan. At the outbreak of World War II , Knight joined the Civil Aeronautics Administration working in airway development. That dove-tailed into a position with the Defense Support Corporation which procured material for the war effort. While working with a team in the Amazon jungle looking for sources of rubber, Knight contracted malaria . The malaria contracted in South America had weakened him to

781-474: A “landmark” for him to find Chicago. When the snow stopped, he encountered fog. Finally, with daybreak, the fog burned off and Lake Michigan was sighted. When Knight landed at Chicago's Checkerboard Field he was greeted by a throng of people who had gathered to see if the daring young pilot would finish his remarkable flight. His mail was relayed onto Cleveland and then New York, finally arriving 33 hours and 20 minutes after leaving San Francisco. Jack Knight became

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852-435: Is 5,002 by 100 feet (1,525 x 30 m); 12/30 is 3,900 by 75 feet (1,189 x 23 m). The airport has approved GPS and VOR Instrument approaches . In the year ending September 14, 2016 the airport had 19,287 aircraft operations, average 53 per day: 87% general aviation, 11% air taxi, and 1% military. In December 2017, 73 aircraft were based at the airport: 61 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, 7 jet, 1 helicopter, and 1 glider. There

923-499: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

994-514: Is also pilot controlled (via 122.8). Runways 25 and 30 are designated as left traffic pattern (TPA 1700 MSL), while Runways 12 and 7 have right traffic patterns to avoid overflight of the city. Fixed wing aircraft should caution that Runway 18/36 is inactive, and can only be used for helicopter operations. Runway 18/36 has not been maintained for well over a decade, and does have large sections of concrete removed. Aircraft landing at Iowa City should caution medical helicopter operations 1 mile north of

1065-425: Is an airport terminal building, an aircraft maintenance shop, two corporate hangar buildings, a multi-plane hangar with attached office area, and five buildings with 60 individual hangars (T-hangars). The FBO at Iowa City is Jet Air. Full line services are available, as well as flight training, charter services, and aircraft maintenance. Jet maintains a fleet of newer Cessna 172S and 172R for rental and training. There

1136-600: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

1207-595: Is credited with saving the airmail service from political decommission. "Jack Knight's Night Flight" made him the most famous pilot in America in the era prior to Charles Lindbergh . Knight was born March 14, 1892, in Lincoln Center, Kansas , as James Herbert Brockett. After his mother died in 1893, he and his sister were raised by their aunt and uncle in Buchanan, Michigan . Knight took on their last name, and also picked up

1278-518: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1349-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1420-428: Is no tie down or handling fee at this location. There is also a self serve 100LL pump located at the main ramp available 24/7. The Iowa City CTAF and UNICOM are on a combined frequency of 122.80. The airfield does have a ASOS Weather System installed on site (Located in the center of the field), which can be reached 24/7 on frequency 128.075 or by calling 319-339-9491. Runway 25 is the designated calm wind runway, and has

1491-532: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

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1562-630: Is the FBO of the airport, and under their management, the airport is thriving once more - now, the third largest general aviation airport in Iowa! In addition to partnerships with the University of Iowa, the airport provides a full array of services – medical flights, pilot training, aircraft repair, sales and charter services. In 2018, the Iowa City Airport celebrated its centennial birthday. Five years later (2023),

1633-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

1704-561: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

1775-506: The Airmail Service Otto Praeger devised a plan to demonstrate airmail's potential. They would have mail flown across the country completely by air, without using the railroad, and chose George Washington's birthday February 22, 1921, for the all-air cross-country test. This flight would not be an easy task for the pilots flying in unprotected cockpits as it would be difficult for pilots to find visual landmarks at night. On

1846-526: The Airport Terminal & Administration Building was more than adequate in the early days of the Jet Age, and with only Ozark Airlines flying in and out of Iowa City until 1972, the terminal was plenty sufficient once all air passenger service headed north to Cedar Rapids. Today, the exterior of the administration building at the lowa City Municipal Airport remains remarkably intact. Though the interior received

1917-500: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . James H. Knight James Herbert "Jack" Knight (March 14, 1892 – February 24, 1945)

1988-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

2059-489: The United States, headed toward Chicago, where they planned to exchange mail and reverse course. Both westbound pilots were forced down by snowstorms before reaching Chicago, and one eastbound pilot crashed in Nevada. The other eastbound pilot made it safely to North Platte, Nebraska, where pilot Jack Knight was waiting to take over the mission. About midnight, near Kearney, Nebraska, Knight encountered snow. Landing at Omaha by

2130-411: The airport and could see the plane lining up for landing. In the -12°f (-24°c) stopover, Knight left the engine running for fear it wouldn't restart, drank some coffee, ate a ham sandwich, refueled, and departed at 6:30AM for the final 200 miles to Chicago. At 8:40AM, Knight reached Chicago's Checkerboard Field. His all-night flight had covered 830 miles and he had found his way using a basic compass and

2201-661: The airport at the University of Iowa. Iowa City ’s Municipal Airport – which opened in 1918 – is the oldest airstrip west of the Mississippi River that's still in its original location – with many of the early pioneers of flight landing here – including Wiley Post, Jack Knight, Charles Lindbergh, and Will Rogers. Excitement about air travel grew exponentially following Captain Thomas S. Baldwin ’s October 13, 1910 flight over Iowa City, and it's been suggested that – between 1910 and 1911 – some 46 flights were made around Iowa by 23 different aviators! In Iowa City, an open plot of farm land –

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2272-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

2343-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

2414-473: The airport, with a big part of those plans including a new Administration Building that would house United's office needs while also serving as the airport's main Terminal . In 1950, a local, well-known architect – Henry L. Fisk – was contacted. For much of his twenty-eight professional years in Iowa City (1934-1962), Fisk was Iowa City's only registered architect. Serving as the local architectural consultant for

2485-555: The closest airline airport is The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids , about 19 miles (31 km) northwest. In the 1920s Iowa City was on the original transcontinental air route, flown by Boeing Air Transport, a United predecessor. On March 1, 1959, United was replaced by Ozark, which pulled out of Iowa City in April 1970. The airport covers 450 acres (180 ha) at an elevation of 683 feet (208 m). It has two concrete runways: 7/25

2556-491: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

2627-507: The door for today's Eastern Iowa Airport. While Ozark Airlines replaced United (1959-1970), by 1972, when the U.S. Postal Service moved all of their airmail service to Cedar Rapids, all commercial passenger air service in Iowa City had come to an abrupt end. It's at that point when E.K. Jones helped transition the Iowa City Airport from commercial aviation into the general aviation airport it is today, offering services like flight instruction, charter services, and maintenance. Today, Jet Air Inc.,

2698-919: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

2769-499: The first day when Boeing Air Transport took over the San Francisco to Chicago airmail route (CAM 18 – Contact Air Mail Route 18) for the U.S. Post Office. Under the terms of this agreement, Boeing assumed the responsibility not only to deliver the airmail, but to run the Iowa City airport as well, which meant both maintaining and improving the airport facility. 2) the date of the first commercial passenger flight into Iowa City. The event

2840-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

2911-431: The flight to Des Moines, Iowa . Following more fires and other landmarks across Iowa, Knight flew the next leg through Des Moines, Iowa , where snow prevented a landing, and then another 120 miles to Iowa City . At Iowa City, everyone had gone home believing the planes had been grounded due to the weather. The airport night-watchman was the only one there and heard the plane coming. He set out two railroad flares to mark

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2982-474: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

3053-593: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

3124-399: The guy who saved the night mail", as if it were all part of his name. Though Knight was a hero, the feat was a team victory as two other pilots continued on to New York. All together, seven pilots had taken part in the transcontinental flight, taking 33 hours 20 minutes to fly 2,629 miles (3,652 kilometers). Impressed by the feat and by the wide public acclaim, Congress at last appropriated

3195-482: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

3266-444: The late 1930s – yet also embracing a post WWII modern design that became highly popular with the advent of the Jet Age (1950's). As early as 1929, competition for passenger air service amongst Iowa cities was growing in intensity. While Iowa City was the leader across Iowa since the very beginning, other communities like Cedar Rapids and Des Moines were chomping at the bit – wanting to take air traffic away from Johnson County. After

3337-448: The leg from Cheyenne, Wyoming , to North Platte where Knight was waiting, but Knight was delayed while a damaged tailskid was repaired. Knight departed for Omaha, Nebraska , at 10:44pm not knowing that the relief pilot scheduled to meet him in Omaha was stuck in a snowstorm in Chicago. That same storm had also stopped the other westbound pilot, whose mail was being loaded onto a train. Knight

3408-550: The light of burning gasoline drums placed along the runway, Knight found that his relief pilot had not arrived. By this time, the snowfall had become a blizzard. After refueling his plane, Knight took off for Chicago at 2 a.m. with only a road map to guide him over terrain he had never crossed before. As he got closer to Iowa City, the Smith Field watchman set out railroad flares to help him land. Knight quickly refueled and took off again, heading toward Lake Michigan, which would serve as

3479-412: The lights of Omaha" he stated about that first leg. Landing at Omaha after 1:00AM on the 22nd, Knight learned that he was the only pilot still flying, as the east bound leg had also been grounded by the snowstorm. However, after warming himself, Knight chose to continue the flight, despite the threatening storm and the fact that he had never flown east of Omaha. Knight departed at 2:00AM for the next leg of

3550-559: The mail were not without merit. In the prior three years 17 airmail service pilots had died in crashes traced to mechanical or weather-related causes. Airmail pilots at the time virtually flew by the seat of their pants. Their instrument panel only included a magnetic compass for navigation which oscillated from north to south in rough weather. They also flew dangerously low in bad weather, skimming rivers, railroad tracks, and towns at treetop level in order to see where they were going. Consequently, Postmaster General Burleson and his Chief of

3621-529: The morning of February 22, 1921, two mail planes left Hazelhurst Field on Long Island, New York, heading west, while two other planes left Marina Field on San Francisco 's Presidio flying east. Relay planes waited at the regularly scheduled stops in between. Knight was waiting in North Platte, Nebraska , to continue the east-bound leg with a broken nose he received from a crash the week before in his de Havilland DH-4 B mail plane. Fellow pilot Frank Yeager flew

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3692-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

3763-684: The needed funds for the beleaguered airmail service. After becoming a household name, Knight worked with the Postal Service and local civic leaders to set up a system of navigational beacons and emergency landing strips. Knight ended up the top airmail pilot with over 417,000 miles flown in the airmail service when it was disbanded on September 1, 1927, and put out for bids to the private sector. He then went on to work for Boeing Air Transport which became United Airlines in 1934. Knight continued with United, eventually flying DC-3 passenger flights and later becoming Vice-President of Safety. Knight had

3834-438: The new Iowa City Press-Citizen building in downtown Iowa City (1937), Fisk was also well known around town for his modern residential designs. Wanting something sleek and modern, the Airport Commission approved Fisk's design, so in April 1952, McCreedy Construction began its work. Projected at a cost of $ 130,000, the south wing was a restaurant that could seat 30 people. The north wing was reserved for offices and United Air Lines

3905-671: The nick-name "Sky" as a child. He worked in Chicago as a mechanical engineer before joining the United States Army Air Service in 1917 to help fight in World War I . Knight became a pilot instructor at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas , and was discharged with the rank of first lieutenant in 1919. After the war ended, he took a job as an airmail pilot based in Nebraska . Knight was

3976-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

4047-533: The only stop during the very first air mail flight between Chicago and Omaha – transporting 400 pounds of U.S. mail and a slab of beef needed for a big Omaha banquet honoring General John Pershing. On the return trip, the pilot, Walter J. Smith , had the privilege of flying a live 10-pound piglet – an Iowa hog – to be served at a banquet at the Congress Hotel in Chicago! In May 1920, just five months after he flew that first airmail flight in and out of Iowa City, Smith

4118-572: The plane was crashing! In 1928 , Paul B. Shaw came to Iowa City to take over operations of the Iowa City Airport. In 1939 , Shaw began the CAA Civilian Pilot Training Program and the first class includes State University of Iowa coed Sally Johnson. Between 1939 and 1944 , long-time aviator Shaw and his team helped train 2,500 pilots in the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School at the Iowa City airport. As World War II ended ( 1945 ), and America's greatest generation returned home from

4189-400: The post office. West of river on Red Ball Highway. Seven-tenths of a mile from street car. City phone in farm house. Transportation available at post office. Property of W. J. Benjamin. Field 440 yards square. Four way landing, no trees or brush. No building for airplane. Temporary markings only. Wire markings desired. Aviators report field first class." On January 8, 1920 – Iowa City became

4260-501: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

4331-497: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

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4402-502: The train-delivered mail. Still, the concept of delivering mail by air was proven by these early flights. Five months later, on February 22 & 23, 1921 , Smith Field – the Iowa City airport – was designated as a fuel stop on the first transcontinental day/night air mail attempt. This flight tested the feasibility of flying the mail around the clock, in all weather conditions – and very nearly ended up in disaster. Two westbound pilots and two eastbound pilots took off from opposite coasts of

4473-504: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

4544-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

4615-399: The war, Iowa City was growing quickly. Beginning in 1946 , United Air Lines committed to making Iowa City one of its primary Midwestern stops with daily flights to and from Chicago and Omaha. The United States Post Office , of course, continued to use the Iowa City Airport as its eastern Iowa hub for its ever-increasing volume of airmail. In October 1949, plans were well underway to update

4686-520: The war, United Airlines committed to making Iowa City one of its major midwestern stops, but in the late 1950s, the Iowa City City Council made a fatal decision by rejecting a funding option that had been requested by United. The vision was to enlarge the Iowa City airport - making it possible for larger jets to fly in and out of the city, but when the community leaders soured on the idea, United decided to take its business to Cedar Rapids - opening

4757-420: Was able to begin using theirs by late January 1953. The middle section on the first floor was used, of course, as a passenger waiting room, while the second floor was open – to be used for large group activities. The building was completed by April 11, 1953 , at a total cost of $ 145,500. The dedication was held on Flag Day – Sunday, June 14, 1953 . Located at the center of the airport – 1801 Riverside Drive –

4828-411: Was an American pilot who made the first overnight transcontinental air mail delivery. Knight was part of an airmail relay team that flew 2,629 miles across the United States on February 22–23, 1921 in an effort to show that the airmail service was much faster than the railroads. When all the other pilots were weathered-in or broken-down, Knight flew extra relay sections through the night in snow and fog and

4899-409: Was covered “from inside the plane” by Jane Eads – a 20-year old reporter, and the sole passenger, from The Cook County (Chicago) Herald newspaper. The flight from Maywood, Illinois – Iowa's first commercial airline passenger flight – was on a single-engine Boeing mail and passenger biplane. The trip was uneventful – although Eads confessed later that during the landing in Iowa City, she actually thought

4970-411: Was killed in a plane wreck – an all-too-common fate for early airmail pilots. Shortly thereafter, the Iowa City Airport was renamed “Smith Field” in his honor. The first full-transcontinental air mail flights began on September 8, 1920 – with Iowa City being the one stop for fuel between Chicago and Omaha. These flights were only attempted in daylight hours, however, and provided little advantage over

5041-429: Was unaware that he was the only pilot left flying and that the future of airmail could depend on him. Through the cold night he was able to see signal fires lit by post office employees, airfield managers, and even local farmers. "I felt as if I had a thousand friends on the ground, Lexington , Kearney , Grand Island , Columbus , Fremont slipped by, warm glows of well-wishers beneath the plane's wing. And then, I saw

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