St. Louis Downtown Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | Bi-State Development Agency | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Greater St. Louis | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Cahokia Heights, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 413 ft / 126 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°34′15″N90°09′22″W / 38.57083°N 90.15611°W /38.57083; -90.15611 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | StLouisDowntownAirport.com | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
  CPS Location of airport in Illinois Show map of Illinois CPS CPS (the United States) Show map of the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2021) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
St. Louis Downtown Airport (IATA:CPS,ICAO:KCPS,FAALID:CPS) is a public-useairport located inGreater St. Louis, one mile (2 km) east of thecentral business district ofCahokia Heights (formerlyCahokia), inSt. Clair County,Illinois,United States. It is owned by theBi-State Development Agency. The airport is located less than 3 miles from theGateway Arch riverfront in St. Louis and is used by many business aircraft visiting the St. Louis region. Airport services include one full-service 24-hour fixed-base operator, an instrument landing system, an FAA air traffic control tower, and its own dedicated Index B aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) service.[1] It is utilized mainly bySaint Louis University'sParks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology for training purposes, as well as theSt. Louis Cardinals for charter flights to away games.[citation needed]
The St. Louis metropolitan area is also served bySt. Louis Lambert International Airport inSt. Louis County, Missouri;MidAmerica St. Louis Airport inBelleville, Illinois;St. Louis Regional Airport inBethalto, Illinois; andSpirit of St. Louis Airport inChesterfield, Missouri.
St. Louis Downtown Airport covers an area of 1,013acres (410 ha) which contains three pavedrunways: 12R/30L measuring 7,002 x 150 ft. (2,134 x 46 m), 12L/30R measuring 5,301 x 75 ft. (1,616 x 23 m), and 5/23 measuring 2,799 x 75 ft. (853 x 23 m).[1][2]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 103,000 aircraft operations, an average of 284 per day. This included 88%general aviation, 11%air taxi, and <1% of bothcommercial andmilitary. This was down from 170,000 annual operations in 2005. In 2021, there were 111 aircraft based at this airport (down from 281 based aircraft in 2005): 77 single-engine and 14 multi-engineairplanes, 13helicopters, 6jets, and 1glider.[1][2]
Historic Hangar #2 houses theGreater Saint Louis Air & Space Museum.[3] The airport is still home to the nation's oldest flight school,Parks College of Engineering and Aviation's Center for Aerospace Sciences, which holds CAA Flight School Certificate #1.
The airport opened in 1929 asCurtiss-Steinberg Airport. In 1940 it was renamedCurtiss-Parks Airport, followed byParks Metropolitan Airport later that same year.
Taken over by theUnited States Army Air Forces on 1 August 1939 as a basic (level 1) pilot training airfield. Assigned to USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command). Parks Air College conducted contract basic flying training. Flying training was performed withFairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer with also severalPT-17 Stearmans and a fewP-40 Warhawks assigned. The military airfield was inactivated 12 March 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
The airport closed in 1959 and reopened six years later asBi-State Parks Airport. It was renamedSt. Louis Downtown-Parks Airport in 1984 and received its current name in 1999.
The two survivors of the airport's original four hangars, Hangar 1 and Hangar 2, are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[4]
In 1971, Air Mid-America Airlines was operating scheduled passenger flights from the airport nonstop toChicago Midway Airport (MDW) andSpringfield, IL (SPI) with 40-passengerConvair 600 turboprop airliners.[5]
In 1984,Air Midwest was operating scheduled passenger flights from the airport nonstop toChicago Midway Airport (MDW) andKansas City Downtown Airport (MKC) withSwearingen Metro II commuter propjets.[6]
While no public transit service is provided directly to the airport terminal, theSt. Clair County Transit District provides service within walking distance of the airport.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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