Dillingham Airfield | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | U.S. Army | ||||||||||
| Operator | Hawaii Department of Transportation | ||||||||||
| Location | Mokuleia, Hawaii | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 14.2 ft / 4 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 21°34′46″N158°11′50″W / 21.57944°N 158.19722°W /21.57944; -158.19722 | ||||||||||
| Website | hawaii | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  HDH Location of airport in Hawaii | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics (2015) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Source: AirNav (http://www.airnav.com/airport/phdh) | |||||||||||
Dillingham Airfield (IATA:HDH,ICAO:PHDH,FAALID:HDH) is a public and military useairport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of thecentral business district ofMokulēʻia, inHonolulu County[1] on theNorth Shore ofOʻahu in theU.S. state ofHawaii. It is operated by theHawaii Department of Transportation under a 50-year lease from theUnited States Army. The airport is primarily used forgliding andsky diving operations, and also housesCivil Air Patrol (CAP) glider aircraft. Military operations consist largely of night operations fornight vision device training and orientation flights for theUnited States Air Force Auxiliary (CAP). This airport is included in theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA)National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it iscategorized as a basicgeneral aviation facility.[2]
A communications station called Camp Kawaihapai was established here in 1922 on 67 acres (27 ha) along theOahu Railway and Land Company line.In the 1920s and 1930s, the railroad transported mobile coast artillery to the site.By 1941, the Army leased additional land and establishedMokulēʻia Airstrip.Curtiss P-40 fighters were deployed at North Shore airstrips atKahuku,Haleʻiwa and Mokulēʻia when theattack on Pearl Harbor took place. Aircraft taking off from nearby Haleʻiwa destroyed several attacking aircraft.[3]
The runway was paved, extended to 9,000 feet (2,700 m) long, and a crosswind runway added from 1942 to 1945. By the end ofWorld War II,Mokulēʻia Airfield could handleB-29 Superfortress bombers. In 1946, the Army acquired an additional 583 acres (236 ha).In 1948, the airfield was inactivated and renamedDillingham Air Force Base in memory of Captain Henry Gaylord Dillingham, aB-29airman who waskilled in action overKawasaki, Japan on July 25, 1945. Captain Dillingham was the son ofWalter F. Dillingham and grandson ofBenjamin Dillingham who founded the railroad which evolved into Hawaiian Dredging Company and the Dillingham Corporation.[3]
Nike missiles were installed in the 1950s, but were obsolete by 1970.
In 1962, the State of Hawaii leased Dillingham for general aviation use. In the 1970s the base was transferred from the Air Force back to the Army. The state signed new leases with the Army in 1974, 1983, 2000 and 2024. In the 1980s,hangars, acontrol tower, and a fire station were built.[3]
Dillingham Airfield covers an area of 134acres (54ha) at anelevation of 14.2 feet (4.3 m) abovemean sea level. It has onerunway designated 8/26 with anasphalt surface measuring 9,007 by 75 feet (2,745 x 23 m).[1]
As a general aviation joint-use facility, the airfield has one runway, aUNICOM tower, powered aircraft and glider hangars, and a tie down area for recreation aircraft. Jet-A and Avgas are available in a self-serve facility utilizing credit cards for payment. There were plans to extend the taxiway to the end of the 26 runway, but funding was delayed. Air traffic, unless approved prior by the US Army, is limited to daytime operations by general aviation and sport parachuting operations.
For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2015, the airport had 103 operators a day: 96%general aviation and 4%military. At that time there were 47 aircraft based at this airport: 24 single-engine, 20glider, 1helicopter, and 2ultralight.[4]
Dillingham Airfield is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawaii. The official authority of Dillingham Airfield is theGovernor of Hawaii. The governor appoints the Director of the Hawaii State Department of Transportation who has jurisdiction over the Hawaii Airports Administrator.
The Hawaii Airports Administrator oversees six governing bodies: Airports Operations Office, Airports Planning Office, Engineering Branch, Information Technology Office, Staff Services Office, Visitor Information Program Office. Collectively, the six bodies have authority over the four airport districts in Hawaii:Hawaii District,Kauaʻi District,Maui District and the principalOʻahu District. Dillingham Airfield is a subordinate of the Oʻahu District officials.
The television seriesLost filmed several scenes at Dillingham Airfield, due to its remote location close to theNorth Shore, where the series was primarily filmed.[5]The fuselage from the fictionalOceanic Airlines flight 815 is also stored at Dillingham, and was transported to the beach when needed for filming.[6]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research AgencyPreviously: Hawaiian Air Force (1940-1942) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Airfields |
| .svg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Units |
| ||||||||||||||||||||
