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107-467: McConnell Air Force Base ( IATA : IAB , ICAO : KIAB , FAA LID : IAB ) is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita , a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas , United States. The airbase was named in honor of the brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell of Wichita, who had both been Air Force pilots and veterans of World War II . It

214-485: A 2008 measure to purchase the former General Motors Oklahoma City Assembly plant (located adjacent to the base) and lease it to Tinker for future expansion. Now known as Building 9001, the former GM plant houses many shops moved from the main maintenance building, 3001. In 1940 the War Department was considering the central United States as a location for a supply and maintenance depot. Oklahoma City leaders offered

321-512: A 480-acre (1.9 km ) site and acquired an option for 960 acres (3.9 km ) additional land. On 8 April 1941, the order was officially signed awarding the depot to Oklahoma City. The Midwest Air Depot was formally activated later in 1941. The depot was the site of a Douglas Aircraft factory producing approximately half of the C-47 Skytrains used in World War II . The site also produced

428-409: A Navy mission in joint operations. On 3 May 1999, a deadly tornado caused extensive damage to the northwest corner of the base and surrounding communities. For many days afterwards, Tinker personnel helped by providing shelters, search and rescue, and clean-up efforts. The Oklahoma Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul Technology Center (MROTC), a public-private partnership, was started in 2003. MROTC

535-512: A building floor space of over 15,200,000 square feet (1,410,000 m ). The base is bounded by I-40 on the north and I-240 on the south. With the City of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County owning several square miles of land adjacent to the base, Tinker is one of the few military bases in a major metropolitan area with sufficient room for expansion. Furthermore, Tinker is located in a community that supports expansion; Oklahoma County voters approved

642-423: A large number of aircraft including at least two Douglas C-54 Skymasters , a Douglas C-47 Skytrain , and many Boeing B-29 Superfortresses stored from World War II. In the first storm, "54 aircraft were destroyed, including 17 C-54 transports valued at $ 500,000 apiece. Also destroyed were 15 P-47 fighters and two B-29 bombers. About 50 other planes were damaged and about 100 vehicles were damaged or destroyed." In

749-550: 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

856-496: A number of A-20 Havocs . Production ceased in 1945. The first successful tornado forecast in history was issued on 25 March 1948 from Tinker, about three hours before a tornado hit the southeast corner of the base. A granite marker in the Heritage Airpark on the base commemorates the event. On September 29, 1957 Buddy Holly and The Crickets recorded "An Empty Cup", "Rock Me My Baby", "You've Got Love", and "Maybe Baby" in

963-414: A red, white and black "sharkmouth" on the nose of the aircraft; 563 TFS red and white stripes on the rudder, wingtips and stabilizers with a white band on the top of the vertical fin. When the finish on tactical jets was replaced by Southeast Asian Camouflaged, the squadrons carried the following tail codes: 561 TFS "MD"; 562 TFS "ME"; 563 TFS "MF", and the 4519th, (later 419th TFS).TFTS "MG". The mission of

1070-555: A result the B-1 equipped 28th Bomb Squadron was reassigned without equipment or personnel to the 7th OG at Dyess AFB , Texas on 1 October 1994. Its B-1 aircraft were transferred across the runway to the Kansas Air National Guard 127th Bomb Squadron and the 384th BG was inactivated on 30 September 1994. Throughout 1994, various KC-135R air refueling squadrons were reassigned from other units to the 22d ARW as follows: On 1 April 1994,

1177-687: A ring from the northeast around to the south and the west on an irregular radius of 20 to 50 miles from the base. This mission of deterrence dominated base activity for the next twenty-four years until 1986 when the 381st Strategic Missile Wing was inactivated. The removal of the missiles and of all Titan II ICBM systems began in July 1982 and was completed in June 1987. All of the missile silos in Kansas and Arkansas were demolished, and all but one of them in Arizona. In October 1962,

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1284-469: A second hangar for 767 for lease, and a third hangar designed to accommodate Boeing 707-300 class aircraft. The second of the public-private partnerships is Building 9001, originally known as the Tinker Aerospace Complex housed in the former General Motors Oklahoma City Assembly Plant located west of the runway on the south side of the base, north of I-240. A 50-year lease-purchase agreement

1391-483: A wheel load capacity of 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg). A parking apron with dimensions of 8,373 by 931 feet (2,552 by 284 m), and seven taxi strips were provided. Other facilities at the airport, however, were meager. The field could boast of only one hangar and three small warehouses. No facilities were available either for troop housing or troop messing. No fuel storage facilities existed, and all such supplies were handled by commercial contract. A lease between

1498-464: A year in honor of Wichita brothers Fred and Thomas McConnell, both Air Force pilots and World War II veterans. Fred was killed in a private plane crash in 1945, while Thomas died in a bombing raid on Bougainville Island in the South Pacific. Air Training Command was host at the base from 1951 through 1958, training B-47 aircrews. Strategic Air Command took control over the base on 1 July 1958 and

1605-499: 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

1712-576: Is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma , adjacent to Del City and Midwest City . The base, originally known as the Midwest Air Depot, is named in honor of Oklahoma native Major General Clarence L. Tinker , the first Native American major general. Tinker

1819-606: 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 ,

1926-600: 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

2033-518: 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

2140-493: Is extended around these facilities. The first of the public/private partnerships is The Oklahoma Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Technology Center (MROTC), managed by Battelle Oklahoma, owned by Oklahoma Industries Authority (OIA), and partners with the Department of Defense to provide a national center for technical solutions to aging commercial and military aircraft. The MROTC is a 370-acre (1.5 km ) MRO facility, on

2247-474: Is home to major Department of Defense , Air Force and Navy units with national defense missions. The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex is the largest air logistics center in the Air Force Materiel Command. It provides depot maintenance, product support, services and supply chain management, and information support for 31 weapon systems, 10 commands, 93 Air Force bases and 46 foreign nations. It

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2354-513: 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

2461-611: Is managed by Battelle Oklahoma and owned by Oklahoma Industries Authority (OIA), a public trust housed in the offices of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. The first hangars were completed in 2007. Tinker celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the E-3 Sentry from 29 June to 1 July 2007. Past and present airmen were invited to swap stories and learn about the latest upgrades. On 13 May 2008, Oklahoma County voters voted in favor of $ 71.5 million in general obligation bonds,

2568-532: 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

2675-476: Is the 72nd Air Base Wing (72 ABW) which provides services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and its tenant organizations. The Wing and Installation Commander of Tinker Air Force Base is Colonel Abigail L. W. Ruscetta. Tinker Air Force Base is named in honor of Major General Clarence L. Tinker . An Osage from Pawhuska, Oklahoma , he received his wings in 1921. He

2782-549: Is the contracting office for the Air Force's Contract Field Teams program. The Air Logistics Complex includes the 76 Aircraft Maintenance Group, the 76 Propulsion Maintenance Group, the 76 Commodities Maintenance Group, the 76 Software Engineering Group and the 76 Maintenance Support Group. Combined, these groups provide depot-level maintenance, repair and overhaul of KC-135, B-52, E-3, E-6, and B-1 aircraft, as well as engines, components, support equipment, and associated software for

2889-545: Is the headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command 's (AFMC) Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC), which is the worldwide manager for a wide range of aircraft, engines, missiles, software and avionics and accessories components. The commander of Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) is Lieutenant General Stacey T. Hawkins and the commander of the OC-ALC is Brigadier General Brian R. Moore. The host unit at Tinker

2996-473: Is the home of Air Mobility Command 's 22nd Air Refueling Wing (22 ARW), Air Force Reserve Command 's 931st Air Refueling Wing (931 ARW), and the Kansas Air National Guard 's 184th Wing (184 W). McConnell's primary mission is to provide global reach by conducting air refueling and airlift where and when needed. McConnell Air Force Base was known during the first part of its existence as

3103-416: 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

3210-445: The 23d Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at McConnell initially with three F-105 (561st, 562d, 563d) squadrons. The 4519th Combat Crew Training Squadron was activated on 1 August 1967 with F-105B/D/F/G aircraft, then was inactivated on 16 October 1969, being replaced by the 419th TFS. Squadron markings on the natural metal / silver lacquered aircraft included the following: 561 TFS – black/yellow checkerboarding on rudder; 562 TFS –

3317-479: The 384th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) began its tour at McConnell AFB in December 1972 and took control of the 91st ARS. On 30 September 1973, a second KC-135A refueling squadron, the 384th ARS was activated on the base, making McConnell an air refueling hub for SAC. In early 1983, the 384 ARW's leadership learned that it would be the first wing to receive the upgraded KC-135R . The 91st and 384th ARW were both upgraded to

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3424-556: The 388th Tactical Fighter Wing was reactivated at McConnell with four ( 560th , 561st, 562d , 563d ) fighter squadrons. The wing initially flew the North American F-100C Super Sabre , but was replaced in 1963 by the Republic F-105D/F Thunderchief . On 4 July 1963, Tactical Air Command became responsible for the base with the 388 TFW as host unit. On 21 July 1964, the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing

3531-604: The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is one of two Air Force Reserve flying units in the state of Oklahoma and administratively reports to Fourth Air Force (4 AF). The wing operates twelve KC-135R "Stratotanker" air refueling aircraft at Tinker and is operationally gained by Air Mobility Command (AMC). As an associate unit, the 507 ARW also operates the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) British Aerospace 125 -800 aircraft (ex-USAF C-29A) in

3638-606: The B-47 Stratojet bomber at Boeing made the airport a desirable location for the Air Force to conduct B-47 combat crew training. On 31 May 1951, the USAF took title to Wichita Municipal Airport, and on 4 June the Air Training Command 3520th Combat Crew Training Wing was activated at the facility. To perform the training, the 3520th Combat Crew Training Wing was activated, and an ambitious building program totaling some $ 22,000,000

3745-561: 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

3852-547: The Mediterranean to refuel NATO aircraft over Serbia . After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the 22d initially deployed jets in support of Operation Noble Eagle . Before the end of the year, McConnell tankers were sent to Kyrgyzstan , Afghanistan, Southwest Asia and other locations to support Operation Enduring Freedom . IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it

3959-595: The Wichita Municipal Airport . Although the field was designed originally to serve only municipal civil airport needs, it had an Air Force connection almost from the beginning. McConnell's history began in October 1924, when the city of Wichita hosted more than 100,000 people for the National Air Congress. The event was used by city planners to raise funds for a proposed Wichita Municipal Airport. The event

4066-417: The 184th Tactical Fighter Group was designated as the 184th Fighter Group. On 1 June Strategic Air Command was inactivated as part of a massive re-alignment of the Air Force command structure. The 384th was assigned to the newly established Air Combat Command (ACC), a new command which replaced SAC, TAC and elements of Military Airlift Command (MAC). The wing was again redesignated as the 384th Bomb Wing, and

4173-524: The 184th rejoined ACC when the F-16s were transferred out. The unit was redesignated as the 184th Bomb Wing and the redesignated 127th Bomb Squadron received the first of fourteen B-1B bombers. The unit became operational in the summer of 1994. The 184th was the first Air National Guard unit to fly the B-1 Lancer . As a result of a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) related realignment, March AFB , California

4280-478: The 22d furnishes the maintenance crews and aircraft. Since 1996, McConnell served as the test site for the PACER CRAG avionics modernization program. The next year, the base became the test unit for the multi-point refueling. During the 1990s, the 22d ARW deployed crews and aircraft to support no-fly missions over northern and southern Iraq and over Bosnia-Herzegovina . In 1999, wing aircraft and crews deployed to

4387-457: The 23 TFW at McConnell was to provide training for F-105 pilots prior to their deployment to Southeast Asia. The 560th acted as a combat training squadron, while the other three squadrons began rotational TDY deployments to Southeast Asia beginning in November 1964. In February 1965, when the 23 TFW deployed three squadrons to Southeast Asia for combat, these units were initially under the control of

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4494-430: The 28th BS aircraft were assigned the tail code "OZ". The 384th ARS was relieved from assignment to McConnell, and was reassigned to the 19th OG (19th Air Refueling Wing) at Robins AFB , Georgia. The 184th FG also became part of ACC. In July 1993, the 184th Fighter Group changed gaining commands and became part of the new Air Education and Training Command , due to its F-16 training commitment, however just one year later

4601-459: The 2d Air Division. Later, the 6441 TFW (P) was activated at Takhli RTAFB in July 1965, taking control of the 23d's squadrons deployed there. In addition to the deployments to Thailand, detachments of the 561 TFS also deployed to Da Nang Air Base RVN for operations within the borders of the Republic of Vietnam . On 1 August 1967, the 4519th Combat Crew Training squadron was added to the 23 TFW, and

4708-463: The 507 ARW while its C-130H aircraft were redistributed to other ANG airlift wings. In 2015, the 137th ended its associate relationship with the 507th, was redesignated as the 137th Special Operations Wing (137 SOW), and returned to Will Rogers ANGB, where it operates the MC-12 Liberty aircraft, operationally gained by Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). In 2015, it was announced that

4815-502: The 560 TFS was inactivated on 25 September 1968. The wing maintained proficiency in tactical fighter operations, and later also functioned as an F-105 replacement training unit and assisted Air National Guard units in their conversion to the F-105 when the Thunderchief left first-line service. For the dual role it played from June 1970 to June 1971 as both an operational and a training unit,

4922-502: The Air Force had decided to make a permanent airbase of the municipal airport. The Federal Government took over the property by federal court action during the first half of 1952, thus becoming the owner and no longer a lessee. Reflecting official government ownership, Wichita Municipal Airport was redesignated as the Wichita Air Force Base on 15 May 1953. However, the name was changed to McConnell Air Force Base after less than

5029-674: The Air Force. Oklahoma Wing Civil Air Patrol Headquarters is located at the base ops building and provides state-level support to the 17 units across the state. The Flying Castle Composite Squadron is a Civil Air Patrol squadron that is composed of cadet and senior members that meet Tuesday evenings. The 552nd Air Control Wing flies Air Combat Command 's E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft. The E-3's radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management. The 552 ACW encompasses 3 groups: 552nd Operations Group, 552nd Maintenance Group and 552nd Air Control Group. The 507th Air Refueling Wing of

5136-466: The B-47 training mission. The 4347th Combat Crew Training Wing replaced the 3520th and the 42d Strategic Aerospace Division was activated on 15 July 1959. B-47 crew training continued at McConnell until 1 March 1963 when the 4347th CCTW was inactivated. On 1 March 1962, Strategic Air Command stood up the 381st Strategic Missile Wing (SMW). Using McConnell as their base, 18 Titan II ICBM missile silos formed

5243-523: The B-47, and the United States Air Force sought to make Wichita Airport a permanent military installation. Public hearings began to consider locating an Air Force base near the Wichita Boeing facilities, and the city of Wichita was awarded $ 9.4 million to build a new airfield for its own use, later to become known as Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport . In addition, the production of

5350-469: The C-17 engines, joint strike fighter engines and core work on the new KC-46 tanker. Work being transferred to the complex is currently being done at 69 separate facilities on base, many of which are World War II-era temporary buildings located in runway clear zones. Burlington Northern Santa Fe provides a rail spur into the complex. In 2014 Oklahoma County agreed to issue $ 10 million in bonds to help finance

5457-631: The F-16. On 8 July 1987, the 161st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron was established as the third flying squadron at McConnell. Formal activation ceremonies for the 161st occurred on 12 September 1987, with the unit flying 10 F-16s and conducting its first student training class. In August 1990, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait and McConnell personnel and aircraft were deployed throughout the Middle East, performing refueling missions of Coalition aircraft in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm to help eject

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5564-590: The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) selected McConnell as its training base for its KC-135 crews and maintenance personnel. The RSAF stationed two of their Stratotankers with the 22 ARW, naming the organization the Peace Guardian Detachment On 1 January 1995, the Air Force Reserve 931st Air Refueling Group (ARG) joined Team McConnell. The Air Force Reserve associate unit provides aircrews while

5671-556: The Tinker Air Force Base Officer's Club. The base hosted the Space Shuttle Columbia and its carrier 747 on April 27, 1981, after its first mission ( STS-1 ) during its journey back to Cape Canaveral . Oklahoma governor George Nigh , Oklahoma City mayor Patience Latting and Apollo 10 Commander Tom Stafford were there to greet the crew. The visiting personnel included Deke Slayton , who traveled beside

5778-507: The Tinker was in the running for a squadron of the new KC-46A Pegasus . In October, it was announced that the base would not be receiving the plane, which instead was given to the 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base . Tinker was also in competition with Westover Air Reserve Base and Grissom Air Reserve Base for the plane. Two large tornadoes struck Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , damaging or destroying

5885-508: 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 . Tinker Army Airfield Tinker Air Force Base ( IATA : TIK , ICAO : KTIK , FAA LID : TIK )

5992-483: The US Air Force and US Navy. The 72nd Air Base Wing is a multi-unit, multi-mission wing that includes base services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, associate organizations, dependents, and retirees. The 38th Cyberspace Engineering Group, Air Force Space Command , has worldwide responsibility for engineering, installation, and interoperability of all communications and electronic facilities for

6099-592: The United States and the Secretary of Defense to directly contact submarines , bombers and missile silos enforcing the country's national security through nuclear deterrence. The wing also operates alert facilities for E-6B aircraft at Travis AFB , California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River , Maryland. Defense Mega Center Oklahoma City is the local branch of the Defense Information Systems Agency . The Mega center operates computer systems for

6206-481: 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

6313-440: 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,

6420-418: 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

6527-659: The arrival of the B-1s, the 91st ARS was inactivated, leaving the wing with one KC-135 tanker squadron. The 91st was later reactivated in July 1988 with the new 301st ARW at Malmstrom AFB , Montana with KC-135R aircraft. In January 1987, the Kansas Air National Guard 184th Tactical Fighter Training Group upgraded from its McDonnell-Douglas F-4D fighters to the General Dynamics F-16A/B Fighting Falcon and conducted conversion and upgrade training in

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6634-464: The aviation standards and navigational aid inspection mission. The United States Navy 's Strategic Communications Wing One consists of three squadrons and a wing staff, and employs over 1,300 active-duty sailors and 100 contractors to provide maintenance, security, operations, administration, training and logistic support for the E-6 Mercury aircraft fleet. The E-6B Mercury enables the president of

6741-630: The base and serves 110 other bases in 46 states. Tinker has on-base several offices of the Defense Logistics Agency , the agency that provides supplies to the military services and supports their acquisition and transportation of repair parts and other materials. Community support for Tinker can be seen by the establishment of two public/private partnerships that support base operations by using local dollars to make available additional facilities for base use. While these partnerships are technically separate facilities, Tinker's security perimeter

6848-466: The base or to Oklahoma. On 9 May 1997, base officials placed the following names: In May 1997 the Base named the gates along Douglas Boulevard after aircraft that had been maintained at Tinker: The base has more than 26,000 military and civilian employees and is the largest single-site employer in the state of Oklahoma. The installation covers approx. 9 square miles (23 km ) and has 760 buildings with

6955-491: 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

7062-714: The commercial marketplace (CRADA, governed by Title 15 USC 3710a). Public-Private Partnerships, or statutory partnering, is where the government acts as a seller to private industry in either a direct sales agreement, Workshare Partnering Agreement, or a Facilities Use Agreement (governed by Title 10 USC 2474). Finally, the Enhanced Use Lease requires Congressional approval and full fair market value rent for underutilized Air Force assets(governed by 10 USC 2667). Flying and notable non-flying units based at Tinker Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Tinker, are subordinate to

7169-676: The craft in a T-38 chase plane. An estimated 100,000 people were allowed to enter the base and take pictures. On 14 November 1984, a massive fire that burned for two days destroyed or damaged over 700,000 square feet (65,000 m ) in the Air Logistics Center, Building 3001. The resulting repairs cost $ 63.5 million. During much of the 1990s, Tinker was home to the Automated Weather Network switching facility, which consolidated all U.S. military weather data worldwide. Originally located at Carswell Air Force Base , this unit

7276-919: 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

7383-631: The entire building save for a few offices occupied by the CAA and airline companies, while some activities of the district were housed at the Boeing Airplane Company Plant No. 1 , in Wichita. Air Materiel Command 's mission at the airport was to accept, service and coordinate the transfer of newly produced Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers to other installations. In addition, Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command 's 4156th AAF Base Unit (Air Base)

7490-492: The federal government and the city was concluded and on 1 March 1942, the AAF Materiel Center, Midwestern Procurement District (Materiel Command) was established at Wichita Army Airfield . As soon as construction permitted, the headquarters of the district was established in the administration building of the municipal airport. By the end of 1942, due to the growth and expansion of the organization it occupied practically

7597-556: The field was officially transferred to the District Engineer, Seventh Service Command at Omaha, Nebraska who assumed jurisdiction over the field, pending disposition, while the 4156th AAF Base Unit was discontinued on the same day. All military personnel were absorbed by Headquarters, Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area (the successor of the Oklahoma City Air Technical Service Command). Wichita Airport

7704-557: 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

7811-474: 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

7918-593: 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

8025-482: 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

8132-498: The invaders from the small kingdom of Kuwait . On 26 April 1991, an F5 tornado devastated McConnell during the Andover, Kansas Tornado Outbreak . As a result of the tornado, the base constructed new facilities to replace the destroyed base services. Moving in a northeast direction, the tornado crossed the southern end of the runways, missing a line of B-1B bombers, two of which were carrying nuclear ordnance, and maintenance hangars. One of

8239-484: The majority of which has been used to purchase the former General Motors Oklahoma City Assembly plant which is located on the southwest section of the base, next to the runway. A 50-year lease-purchase agreement was executed in September 2008 between Oklahoma County and the Air Force, covering the 3.8 million square foot (353,000 m ) facility and surrounding acreage. Oklahoma County officials paid $ 55 million to buy

8346-612: 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

8453-563: The new facilities included a combined Officers Club/Enlisted Club/Fitness Center which was coincidentally christened "Emerald City", after the destination of Dorothy after her house was deposited in Oz by a tornado in The Wizard of Oz , before being renamed the "Robert J. Dole Community Center" on 29 October 2004. With the end of the Cold War , the Air Force went through many changes. One of these changes

8560-420: The new model in 1984. The "R" model had upgraded engines which produced much greater fuel efficiency than the older models, as well as having a higher on-board fuel storage capacity. The initial aircraft marking for both squadrons was a light blue/navy blue diamond checkerboard fin flash. On 2 October 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced a Strategic Modernization Program (SMP), a key feature of which would be

8667-416: 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

8774-491: The plant from General Motors, which is now called the Tinker Aerospace Complex. From 2008 to 2015, the Oklahoma Air National Guard 's 137th Air Refueling Wing also assumed an aerial refueling mission in accordance with the 2005 BRAC Recommendations. The then-137th Airlift Wing (ANG) relocated from Will Rogers Air National Guard Base to Tinker AFB, was redesignated as an air refueling wing, and associated with

8881-506: The procurement of 100 North American-Rockwell B-1B bombers . The first production models entered the USAF inventory in March 1985. It was announced by the Air Force that McConnell would be equipped with the B-1B in 1987. The 384th was redesignated as the 384th Bombardment Wing, Heavy on 1 July 1987, and the 28th Bombardment Squadron was activated that date to fly the 25 bombers assigned to the wing. With

8988-541: The purchase of a 156-acre (0.63 km ) BNSF Railway marshaling yard, just north of the TAC building. In addition to providing space for the work of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the Tinker Aerospace Complex can also be used to house public/private business partnerships. Currently, there are three programs. The Cooperative Research and Development Partnership has the objective of advancing science and technology to meet Air Force requirements and transferring technology into

9095-501: 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

9202-403: The second tornado, "84 planes were hit, 35 of which were destroyed. These included 18 B-29s, 8 P-47s, 20 B-17s , and 3 C-47s. Hangars and other buildings were destroyed." Other types destroyed included Beechcraft AT-11s and Fairchild PT-19s and PT-26 Cornells . Damage from the second tornado was estimated at $ 6,100,000. Total damages for both storms was estimated at $ 16,350,000. Tinker AFB

9309-405: The southeast side of Tinker AFB, sharing runways and security with the base. The MROTC complex is planned as a major military and commercial aircraft facility with 17 hangars and more than one million square feet of related industrial space and education and training facilities. The facility currently houses three hangars, one leased by Boeing (designed to accommodate Boeing 767-400 class aircraft),

9416-497: 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

9523-619: The terminal building at the time of government occupation, and they were permitted to operate on a temporary basis pending completion of the new municipal airport for Wichita. Up through 1 April 1952, the Wichita Municipal Airport was under the jurisdiction of the Flying Training Air Force. On that date it was transferred to the Crew Training Air Force, another division of the Air Training Command . By 1952,

9630-504: 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

9737-652: The unit was ordered to extended active duty and remained an integral part of the United States Army Air Corps until 6 October 1945, with duty assignments in Tennessee and Okinawa . The airport, at that time, was located several miles southeast of downtown Wichita and comprised some 1,337 acres. The runways were adequate; five runways were each 150 feet (46 m) wide; two were 7,500 feet (2,300 m), one 7,100 feet (2,200 m), one 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and one 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in length. All had

9844-529: 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

9951-688: The varying demands of the Strategic Air Command. A more inclusive functional title was given the wing in June 1952 when it was redesignated the 3520th Flying Training Wing (M Bomb). The Air Force was not the sole occupant during this period. In 1952 Wing Headquarters shared the Wichita Municipal Airport Terminal Building with four commercial airlines, Braniff Airlines , Central Airlines , Trans World Airlines , and Continental Airlines , and also one private flying service: "Executive Airways". These air lines were located in

10058-543: The wing received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award . In 1970, the "Wild Weasel" F-105G model replaced the F-105D/F models in the 561st and 419th TFSs. On 1 July 1972, the 23d TFW was transferred to England AFB , Louisiana where it replaced the temporary 4403d TFW, and the 561, 562 and 563 TFS were assigned to the 35 TFW at George AFB , California. The administrative organization in command of these wings

10165-450: Was a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy who went on to become the first major general of Native American descent in U.S. Army history. In 1926 he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for returning to his blazing aircraft to rescue a fellow officer. On 7 June 1942, he led a flight of B-24 Liberators on a long-range strike against Japanese forces on Wake Island during World War II. Tinker

10272-503: Was a success and ground-breaking ceremonies for the airport were held on 28 June 1929. In August 1941, the Kansas National Guard 127th Observation Squadron was activated as the first military unit assigned to the Wichita airport. The unit's limited equipment included one BC-1A, one C-47, and four L-1 aircraft. This was the start of a cooperative relationship between the people of Wichita and military aviation. On 6 October 1941,

10379-468: Was also reactivated at McConnell with four F-105 ( 354th , 357th , 421st , 469th) squadrons. Both wings would deploy to Thailand in support of the Vietnam War . On 8 November 1965, the 355th was ordered to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base and on 8 April 1966 the 388th TFW was ordered to Korat RTAFB , where its F-105 squadrons had been on a rotational deployment for the past two years. On 8 February 1964

10486-415: Was begun. In spite of the difficulty of building an installation and initiating an entirely new program simultaneously, the base developed into a highly specialized training center. There were two principal parts to the mission of the training center: aircrew training in B-47's and transition training in the same aircraft. A subsequent fluctuation of emphasis from one of those functions to the other reflected

10593-453: Was executed in September 2008 between Oklahoma County and the Air Force, covering the 2.5 million square foot (353,000 m ) facility and 407-acre (1.65 km ). Previously, the largest single building at the base was Building 3001 at 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m ). Tinker has leased about 4/5 of the facility and will host some current 76th Maintenance Wing operations as well as other Department of Defense missions, including work on

10700-556: Was killed when his aircraft presumably crashed into the sea. At the time of his death, Tinker was commander of the Hawaii-based Seventh Air Force . The base was originally called Midwest Air Depot and was renamed to honor Tinker. The creation of the base in Oklahoma City was in large part due to lobbying efforts by Stanley Draper . Several of the base's access gates are named in honor of persons with historic ties to

10807-450: Was later moved to an Air Force Weather Agency facility at Offutt Air Force Base . In May 1992, Tinker became home to the Navy's "Take Charge and Move Out" (TACAMO) wing, which provides maintenance, security, operations, administration, training and logistic support for the Navy's E-6B Mercury aircraft fleet. TACAMO was the first Navy Air Wing fully integrated on an Air Force base, carrying out

10914-483: Was organized. The new base unit had the mission of servicing, dispatching, and maintaining transient and locally based aircraft. The working personnel were entirely civilian, with a few officers in supervisory capacities. On 11 October 1946, the 4156th AAF Base Unit was ordered to cease operations by the 30th of the month. Consequently, the remainder of October was spent in closing down operations and transferring property to Tinker Army Airfield , Oklahoma. On 15 November

11021-544: Was placed for the B-47. Since Boeing's Seattle facility was already heavily committed to the KC-97 Stratofreighter tanker and the B-50 Superfortress bomber, as well as to the conversion of obsolescent B-29 bombers to aerial tankers, it was decided that the production Stratojets were to be built at Boeing's factory in Wichita. By the summer of 1950, Boeing was ready to turn out the first production models of

11128-465: Was returned to civilian jurisdiction, and it remained so until 1951. The Boeing B-47 Stratojet was the first swept-winged jet bomber built in quantity for any air force, and was the mainstay of the medium-bombing strength of the Strategic Air Command all throughout the 1950s. The Boeing plant at Wichita was shut down after World War II. However, on 3 September 1948, the first production order

11235-492: Was taken off active duty status and assigned to the Air Force Reserve . As part of a program to keep historically significant wings active, its 22d Air Refueling Wing was reassigned to McConnell without personnel or equipment on 1 January 1994. As a result, on 1 January, the 384th was redesignated as the 384th Bomb Group, as a unit under the 22d ARW. The USAF planned to return McConnell to being an air refueling hub, and as

11342-474: Was the 835th Air Division, activated on 24 June 1964. This AD was inactivated 30 June 1971, leaving the 23d TFW as the main air unit at McConnell until its departure a year later. McConnell received a new mission in April 1971 with the arrival of the 91st Air Refueling Squadron (ARS) and their Boeing KC-135A Stratotankers from Robins AFB , Georgia. Control of the base was transferred back to SAC on 1 July 1972, and

11449-459: Was the Objective Wing concept, which created "Operations Groups" (OG) to place operational aircraft squadrons under organizationally. The 38th engaged this change on 1 September 1991 and was redesignated simply as the 384th Wing, with the 28th Bomb Squadron (B-1B) and the 384th Air Refueling Squadron (KC-135R) as its operational units. In 1992, additional changes were made at McConnell. In March,

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