Scott Air Force Base
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| Scott Air Force Base MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
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| IATA: BLV – ICAO: KBLV – FAA: BLV | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military / Public | ||
| Owner | United States Air Force / St. Clair County |
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| Location | Belleville, Illinois | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 459 ft / 140 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 14L/32R | 10,000 | 3,048 | Concrete |
| 14R/32L | 8,001 | 2,439 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Scott Air Force Base (IATA: BLV, ICAO: KBLV, FAA LID: BLV) is a base of the United States Air Force in St. Clair County, Illinois near Belleville which are in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The base serves as the headquarters for the Air Mobility Command (AMC), the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), the Eighteenth Air Force (18 AF), and the Air Force Communications Agency. The base is operated by the 375th Airlift Wing (375 AW) and is also home to the Air Force Reserve Command's 932d Airlift Wing (932 AW) and the Illinois Air National Guard's 126th Air Refueling Wing (126 ARW), the latter two units being operationally gained by AMC. The residential part of the base is a census-designated place; the population was 2,707 at the 2000 census.
Its airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as MidAmerica St. Louis Airport. MidAmerica has operated as a Joint Use Airport since beginning operations in November 1997, and is currently served by a single airline, Allegiant Air.
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[edit] Geography
Scott Air Force Base is located at (38.544298, -89.850544).[2]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 9.7 km² (3.8 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 2,707 people, 682 households, and 662 families residing on the base. The population density was 278.7/km² (721.0/mi²). There were 715 housing units at an average density of 73.6/km² (190.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the base was 78.91% White, 13.52% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.96% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.06% of the population.
There were 682 households out of which 78.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 90.5% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 2.9% were non-families. 2.8% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.83 and the average family size was 3.90.
On the base the population was spread out with 44.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 40.6% from 25 to 44, 6.6% from 45 to 64, and 0.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.
The median income for a household on the base was $51,290, and the median income for a family was $52,258. Males had a median income of $39,289 versus $24,674 for females. The per capita income for the base was $15,421. About 0.9% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
During World War I, 624 acres (2.53 km²) of land near Belleville, Illinois became a new airfield. The government announced it would name the field after Corporal Frank S. Scott on July 20, 1917, the first enlisted person to be killed in an aviation crash. Scott remains the only Air Force base named after an enlisted airman.
In September 1917, the training of airplane pilots began. Most training took place in Curtiss JN-3D “Jennies.” These aircraft were used to develop air ambulances. This early aeromedical evacuation later become a primary role for Scott Air Force Base. At the end of World War I the field’s squadrons were demobilized. In 1919 the War Department purchased Scott Field and turned it over to the lighter-than-air branch of the Air Corps. This lasted until May 14, 1937 when the lighter-than-air crafts were discontinued.[4]
The field was designated as the new home of the General Headquarters of the Air Forces of the entire United States Army on June 2, 1938. To prepare for the new role the old buildings on Scott Field had to come down, demolition began July 18, 1938. The huge hangar, now useless to the army, was sold to the wreckers for $20,051.00. The mooring mast, the old wooden barracks and administration buildings were all wrecked. Colonial style administration buildings, family quarters, barracks, together with new hangars and other buildings (in all 73 major buildings) were erected through a $7,500,000.00 building program.[4]
On June 1, 1939, Scott was designated as the Scott Field branch of the Army Air Corps. Technical Schools and the basic section of the school, which was located at Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois, was transferred to Scott Field.[4]
An allotment of $1,710,150.00 was made in August 1941 for the construction of 160 new buildings for with the designation of Scott as the communications training center of the Air Force more housing was needed for students. Cantonment areas were constructed in the southeast and northeast sections of the field. A short time later the Army built an induction center across the Southern Railroad tracks. This area was later annexed to Scott Air Force Base.[4]
In 1952, two additional housing areas were added: Paeglow Apartments, 80 units for officers, and a 1,000 unit "city" north of the base under the provisions of the Wherry Housing Act. Also in 1952 a modernization program was begun to provide quarters for bachelor officers and bachelor non-commissioned officers, training areas, and warehouse space at a cost in excess of $14,000,000.00.[4]
Today, Scott is home to three headquarters: United States Transportation Command, Headquarters Air Mobility Command and the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization. The 375th Airlift Wing is also host to more than 30 tenant units, including the Air Force Communications Agency; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations 3rd Field Investigations Region; the 932d Airlift Wing (Air Force Reserve Command); and the 126th Air Refueling Wing (Illinois Air National Guard).[4]
[edit] MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport was created to alleviate some crowding of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, but has never had service from any major airline and has been criticized as a pork barrel project.[5] Featured several times as a "Fleecing of America" segment on the NBC Nightly News, Tom Brokaw called MidAmerica a "Gateway to Nowhere" costing taxpayers $313 million.[6] Supporters credit MidAmerica's additional runway with saving Scott AFB from closure during BRAC 2005. They also describe MidAmerica as a "Gateway to the World" citing a new cargo terminal and customs facility designed to attract international cargo.[7]
MidAmerica's construction included creation of the 10,000 foot 14L/32R (east) runway, adding 1,000 feet (300 m) to the existing west runway, adding passenger and cargo terminals on the east side of the facility and a 7,000-foot (2,100 m) taxiway connecting the two runways. A new air traffic control tower staffed by Air Force personnel was also constructed midway between the two runways.[8]
In CY2005, the dual use facility was ranked 304 in the United States with 29,449 passenger enplanements. By comparison, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport was ranked 32 with over 6.8 million enplanements. Congestion at Lambert-St Louis has not been a problem since American Airlines reduced hub operations and a new billion dollar runway opened. This places it ninth in the state of Illinois.[9] The civil operations are administered by St. Clair County, Illinois which also pays the maintenance costs for the east runway. Over half of all air operations at the facility utilize the eastern runway.[7]
[edit] Airlines
- Allegiant Air (Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford)
[edit] Facilities
Scott AFB / MidAmerica St. Louis Airport covers 7,003 acres (28 km²) and has two runways:
- Runway 14L/32R: 10,000 x 150 ft. (3,048 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete, ILS equipped.
- Runway 14R/32L: 8,001 x 150 ft. (2,439 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete, ILS equipped.
[edit] References
- ^ FAA Airport Master Record for BLV (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-07-05
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b c d e f United States Air Force. Scott Air Force Base History. Accessed December 10, 2006.
- ^ Tom Brokaw. It was featured several times as a "Fleecing of America" segment on the NBC evening news.Jan 5, 1998. May 27, 1999. Aug 16, 2000.
- ^ Belleville News-Democrat. NBC 'Fleecing' Telecast Snipes At MidAmerica Airport. January 5, 1998.
- ^ a b St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Gateway to the World. March 2006.
- ^ St. Louis Commerce Magazine. Emerging Roles of Scott Air Force Base & MidAmerica. February 2000.
- ^ Federal Aviation Administration. CY2005 US Primary Airport Enplanements.
[edit] External links
- Scott AFB (official site)
- MidAmerica St. Louis Airport (official site)
- Scott AFB/MidAmerica St. Louis Airport at WikiMapia
- FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 5 June 2008
- Resources for this U.S. military airport:
- AirNav airport information for KBLV
- ASN accident history for KBLV
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KBLV
- Scott AFB Directory and PCS Guide
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