Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bolingbrook's
Clow International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerVillage of Bolingbrook
ServesBolingbrook, Illinois
Elevation AMSL670 ft / 204 m
Coordinates41°41′46″N 088°07′45″W / 41.69611°N 88.12917°W / 41.69611; -88.12917Coordinates: 41°41′46″N 088°07′45″W / 41.69611°N 88.12917°W / 41.69611; -88.12917
Websitewww.bbclowairport.com
Map
1C5 is located in Illinois
1C5
1C5
Location of airport in Illinois
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 3,360 1,024 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Aircraft operations50,000
Based aircraft59
Source: FAA[1] and airport website[2]
Airport diagram

Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport (FAA LID: 1C5) is a public airport in Bolingbrook, a village in Will County, Illinois, United States.[1] Located 29 miles (46 km) southwest of the Chicago Loop, it is a small general aviation facility catering to private pilots, students, and commuter aircraft.

History[]

The airport was originally a grass airstrip built by Oliver Boyd Clow in the 1950s. By 1989 it was named the best privately owned, public-use airport in Illinois.[3] It was acquired by the Village of Bolingbrook in 2004. The village has expanded the airport, which includes a widened runway, additional taxiways, and landing glidepath lighting.[4]

The airport was used as a location for the 1992 film Folks![5] with Tom Selleck and Don Ameche, which included a cameo by Clow, the founder of the airport.

Clow called the airport "Clow International" on the spur of the moment when filing a flight plan.[6] He chose the word "international" to reflect Chicago's mixed ethnicity, rather than the airport's size: his many friends and fellow pilots were of German, Polish, and other ethnic backgrounds now making their homes in Chicago. "It was named on a lark and borders on the ridiculous, but people remember it. Sometimes the absurd is easier to remember," said Clow.[7]

Facilities and aircraft[]

Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport covers an area of 205 acres (83 ha) and contains one runway designated 18/36 with a 3,360 x 75 ft (1,024 x 23 m) asphalt pavement.[1]

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 50,000 aircraft operations, an average of 136 per day: 96% general aviation and 4% air taxi. There are 145 aircraft based at this airport: 83% single-engine, 10% ultralight, 3% multi-engine and 3% helicopter.[1]

The fixed-base operator (FBO) at Clow is JW Aviation.[8]

Illinois Aviation Museum[]

The airport is also the location of the Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook, which includes a collection of restored and replica aircraft.[9]

Accidents and incidents[]

  • On September 25, 2013, a Cirrus SR20 airplane crashed after the pilot attempted a go-around. The plane had two occupants, both were killed.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for 1C5 PDF, effective 2007-12-20
  2. ^ Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport, official site
  3. ^ Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook
  4. ^ Chicago Tribune July 8, 2015 article: Bolingbrook paying $706,715 of $6.9 million Clow Airport upgrade
  5. ^ Folks!
  6. ^ Chicago Tribune July 17, 1991 article: Clow's airport may be closing, but appearances are deceiving
  7. ^ AOPA March 5, 2003 article: Pilots - Oliver Boyd Clow
  8. ^ JW Aviation
  9. ^ "About". Illinois Aviation Museum. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  10. ^ https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88129/pdf

External links[]

Retrieved from ""