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22-644: KLBB may refer to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (ICAO code KLBB). KLBB may also refer to a number of different radio stations in the United States Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport ( IATA : LBB , ICAO : KLBB , FAA LID : LBB ) is five miles north of Lubbock , in Lubbock County, Texas , United States. Originally Lubbock International Airport , it

44-663: A 15-minute program titled Silent Wings: The Story of the World War II Glider Program. Visitors then move on to the Timeline, Hangar and Combat Galleries. Photographs and artifacts include a fully restored WACO CG-4A glider, TG-4 trainer, airborne equipment, a small barracks rendition from the Lubbock Army Air Field, and a living exhibit: the British Horsa Glider restoration project. Silent Wings offers

66-2176: A Denver-Amarillo-Lubbock-Austin-Houston route. By 1976 all scheduled passenger airline flights at Lubbock were jets: Braniff Boeing 727-100s and Boeing 727-200s , Continental 727-200s and Texas International Airlines Douglas DC-9-10s . A 1976 OAG lists nonstop jets to Lubbock from Albuquerque, Amarillo, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth ( DFW ), El Paso, Midland/Odessa and Wichita Falls and direct jets from Colorado Springs, Corpus Christi, Denver, Houston ( IAH ), Lawton, Los Angeles ( LAX ), Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Tulsa. Braniff Boeing 727s flew direct from Lubbock to New York Newark Airport , Washington D.C. National Airport and Nashville. Southwest Airlines began serving Lubbock on May 20, 1977, as an intrastate airline with Boeing 737-200s to Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby Airport , San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Harlingen. By 1978 Southwest had added nonstop 737 jet flights to El Paso in addition to nonstop jets to Dallas Love Field and Houston Hobby Airport and direct jets to other Texas cities. Flights to Albuquerque were added in 1983. In 1983 Muse Air McDonnell Douglas MD-80s briefly flew nonstop to Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby Airport and Los Angeles ( LAX ). Muse Air later merged into Southwest Airlines. Braniff declared bankruptcy and shut down in 1982. Continental and Texas International merged in late 1982 then Continental left Lubbock in 1983 after declaring bankrupty as well. The late 1970's and early 1980's also saw several commuter airlines; Crown Air flew to Clovis and Albuquerque, NM. Air Midwest flew to Roswell, Hobbs, and Carlsbad, NM as well as Oklahoma City. Mesa Airlines also flew to Roswell, Hobbs, and Carlsbad. Permian and Trans Central Airlines both flew to Amarillo and Midland/Odessa. American Airlines began serving Lubbock in 1981 and Delta Air Lines in 1982, both flying nonstop to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) and Amarillo, American with 727-200s and Delta with 737-200s. Delta left Lubbock in 2005 when they discontinued their hub operation at DFW. Aspen Airways started flying Convair 580s direct from Denver via Amarillo in 1983. This service

88-446: A large apron and a control tower. Several large hangars were also built. Buildings were utilitarian and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Some hangars had steel frames and the occasional brick or tile brick building could be seen, but most support buildings had concrete foundations and frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. The base

110-943: A multi-stop route between Albuquerque and Dallas. Pioneer merged into Continental Airlines in 1955 and then Trans-Texas Airways took over the Albuquerque to Dallas route in 1963. By then Continental was flying nonstop to Dallas, Albuquerque, and El Paso however the flight to Tulsa still made stops at Wichita Falls, Lawton, and Oklahoma City. Flights to Houston stopped at Midland/Odessa and San Antonio. Airline jets arrived in 1965 on Braniff International Airways and 1966 on Continental Airlines. In spring 1966 Braniff BAC One-Elevens flew nonstop to Dallas Love Field and Amarillo, in addition to Lockheed L-188 Electra and Convair 340 flights, while Continental Douglas DC-9-10s flew nonstop to Dallas Love Field and El Paso in addition to Vickers Viscount flights. Trans-Texas Airways became Texas International in 1969 and began jet service with DC-9's on

132-647: A need for the airport as a training airfield. After its requisition by the Air Force, it was assigned to the World War II Army Air Forces Flying Training Command , Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command). The airport was renamed South Plains Army Airfield and a rapid period of construction was begun to convert the civil airport into a military training airfield. Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and

154-537: A permanent glider home, the city of Lubbock, where a majority of the pilots had originally trained, offered to provide a new site for the museum. The pilots agreed to the new location, and the Terrell site closed in January 2001. The following October, the former South Plains Army Air Field site opened the new Silent Wings Museum with the restored CG-4A glider as the centerpiece of the exhibits. The museum features in its theater

176-735: Is 2,891 by 75 feet (881 by 23 m) asphalt . In the year ending May 31, 2022 the airport had 92,881 aircraft operations, average 254 per day: 55% general aviation , 17% air taxi , 14% airline, and 14% military. 156 aircraft were then based at this airport: 100 single-engine, 35 multi-engine, 19 jet, and 2 helicopter . Silent Wings Museum The museum is located on the site of World War II South Plains Army Air Field, where glider pilots were trained between 1942 and 1945, and after which time they were required also to command skills in powered flight. The giant "silent wing" gliders flew soldiers and supplies largely undetected behind enemy lines because they had no engine noise. The Lubbock site

198-658: Is the eighth-busiest airport in Texas. Lubbock International is first among the smaller Texas cities (behind both Dallas airports, both Houston airports, San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso). Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is a hub for FedEx and UPS feeder planes to cities around the South Plains. The airport opened in November 1937 as South Plains Airport . In 1942 the United States Army Air Forces indicated

220-522: The USAAF's primary glider, consisting of little more than a wooden and fabric shell, equipped with radio, wheels, and brakes. Glider pilots trained at South Plains flew these craft in combat during the Normandy Invasion , Operation Market-Garden , and also Operation Varsity , the airborne invasion of Germany. By late 1944 Flying Training Command ended all glider instruction, and control of South Plains AAF

242-545: The glider was purchased, restored, and completed in time for the glider pilots' annual reunion in Dallas . After that reunion, plans were made and steps were taken to build a museum to house the CG-4A. The first Silent Wings Museum opened to the public on November 10, 1984, in Terrell , east of Dallas. By 1997, the need for a more permanent museum home was realized. Responding to the need for

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264-502: The museum and of the nearby Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport . In 1971, former pilots of the U.S. Army Air Force banded together to form the National World War II Glider Pilots Association, Inc. Their mission was to establish a forum for glider pilots to interact socially and to provide the framework for the preservation of the history of the U.S. glider program. One of its first goals

286-411: The public in late 2021. Braniff Airways , later to be Braniff International Airways , Continental Airlines , and Pioneer Air Lines all began scheduled passenger flights to Lubbock by 1945. Braniff began with an Amarillo-Lubbock-Dallas route, Continental with a multi-stop route between El Paso and Tulsa, and Pioneer with a multi-stop route between Amarillo and Houston. Pioneer later added flights on

308-447: The service to Memphis ended in 2012. American Eagle , operating on behalf of American Airlines, began supplementing American's service to DFW in 1990 and began nonstop flights to Phoenix in 2016. The airport covers 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) at an elevation of 3,282 feet (1,000 m). It has three runways : 17R/35L is 11,500 by 150 feet (3,505 by 46 m) concrete ; 8/26 is 8,003 by 150 feet (2,439 by 46 m) concrete; 17L/35R

330-471: Was activated on September 11, 1942, as the South Plains Flying School. The mission was ground and flying training of glider pilots. Glider training was performed by the 848th School Squadron (Special), with overall training being under the 64th Two-Engine Flying Training Group of the 80th Flying Training Wing . Aircraft assigned were Douglas C-47 Skytrains and Waco CG-4A gliders. The CG-4A was

352-451: Was initially chosen for the Army's glider school because of its dry climate, warm weather, mostly clear skies, and good will in the local community. The arid climate surroundings of the South Plains generally tend to create upward air currents and relatively few low-cloud formations, both of which are conditions deemed desirable in civilian gliding. The glider training area is now within the scope of

374-433: Was later replaced with Embraer 145 regional jets operated by Continental Express. Continental merged into United Airlines in 2012 and United Express continues the service to Houston. Northwest Airlink , operating on behalf of Northwest Airlines began nonstop service to Memphis in 2009 with Bombardier CRJ100/200 regional jets. Northwest was merged into Delta Air lines in 2010 marking a return to Lubbock for Delta however

396-693: Was later upgraded with BAe 146-100 jets and began operating as United Express in cooperation with United Airlines by 1986. The United Express service to Denver was transferred to Mesa Airlines through much of the 1990's and has been operated by several other regional carriers since then. In 1987 America West Airlines began flying Boeing 737-200's nonstop from Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Midland/Odessa however this service ended in 1991. Continental Express , operating on behalf of Continental Airlines, began direct flights to Denver in 1990 with one stop at Amarillo. This service ended in 1994. Continental returned in 1996 with nonstop flights to Houston and this service

418-401: Was renamed in 2004 for former Texas governor Preston E. Smith , an alumnus of Texas Tech University . The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 classifies it as a primary commercial service airport. Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 520,181 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2019, and 487,000 in 2018. The airport

440-661: Was returned to the local government for civil use. A civilian terminal was constructed on the southwest corner of the airfield for commercial airline activity and used through the 1950s and 1960s. The current airline terminal was opened about 1976. The original terminal now houses the Silent Wings Museum dedicated to World War II glider pilots. Major renovations to the terminal building began in 2019, featuring an expanded TSA screening area, refreshed check-in counters, gates, waiting areas, restrooms, concessions, rental-car desks and more. Many of these improvements began to open to

462-501: Was to locate and restore a WACO CG-4A (See CG-4 Hadrian ) glider for public display and viewing. Several former glider pilots living in the Dallas area learned of just such a glider sitting on top of a tire store in Fresno, California . After World War II, the giant, bulky aircraft had been purchased as military surplus, placed on top of the building, and subsequently used as advertising. In 1979,

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484-472: Was transferred to the Air Service Command at Tinker Field , Oklahoma . Under Air Service Command, South Plains became a maintenance and supply depot for excess aircraft that could not be accommodated at Tinker. After the war ended, in 1946 and 1947, South Plains was used as a storage facility for excess aircraft prior to their reclamation. Military use of South Plains ended on December 1, 1947, and it

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