| University of Illinois Willard Airport |
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| IATA: CMI - ICAO: KCMI - FAA: CMI | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | ||
| Serves | Champaign-Urbana, Illinois | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 754 ft (229.8 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 4/22 | 6,500 | 1,981 | Concrete |
| 14L/32R | 8,100 | 2,469 | Concrete |
| 14R/32L | 3,817 | 1,163 | Asphalt |
| 18/36 | 5,299 | 1,615 | Concrete |
University of Illinois Willard Airport (IATA: CMI, ICAO: KCMI, FAA LID: CMI) is an airport owned and operated by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign located in Tolono Township, south of Savoy, and within Champaign County, Illinois, United States in the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area. It serves the greater Champaign-Urbana area and most of East Central Illinois. The airport is also served by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. It was named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard. Willard Airport is home to the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation, which is a major research facility at the university. It is one of the few university-owned research airports. The airport faces several challenges in terms of competitiveness. No international flights are offered due to the lack of U.S. immigration and customs facilities. The additional price airlines charge to fly to regional airports compared to a major hub like Chicago's O'Hare Airport encourages budget-minded travellers to use surface transport to reach Champaign County instead. Finally, some airlines do not fly into Willard Airport at all, having chosen to serve Central Illinois only via the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington-Normal instead.
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Incidents
Willard Airport received its 15 minutes of fame on January 28, 1998. President Bill Clinton was in Champaign-Urbana for a speaking engagement at Assembly Hall and arrived at Willard Airport on Air Force One. Due to the breaking story, news media descended on Champaign-Urbana. After the engagement, just prior to takeoff, the Boeing 707 acting as Air Force One got stuck in the mud, the taxiway not being designed for aircraft as wide as the Boeing 707. After about an hour of being stuck, a backup Air Force One descended upon Willard Airport. The backup was SAM26000 which was the same 707 that took John Kennedy to Dallas. The trip on SAM26000 marked the last time it carried a sitting president. Several months later it was retired to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson. Many news broadcasts that evening carried live video feed of the Presidential aircraft stuck at Willard Airport. [1]
Facilities
Willard Airport covers 1,799 acres (7.28 km²) and has four runways:
- Runway 4/22: 6,500 x 150 ft. (1,981 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete
- Runway 14L/32R: 8,100 x 150 ft. (2,469 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete, ILS equipped.
- Runway 14R/32L: 3,817 x 75 ft. (1,163 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 18/36: 5,299 x 150 ft. (1,615 x 46 m), Surface: Concrete
Airlines and destinations
- American Airlines
- American Eagle (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth)
- Northwest Airlines
- Northwest Airlink operated by Mesaba Airlines (Detroit)
References
- Willard Airport (official web site)
- FAA Airport Master Record for CMI (Form 5010 PDF)
External links
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF)
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KCMI
- ASN accident history for CMI
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KCMI
