Grider Field

Grider Field
Pine Bluff Regional Airport
Grider Field; Pine Bluff Regional Airport
	USGS image, 16 February 1994
	IATA: PBF; ICAO: KPBF; FAA LID: PBF;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Pine Bluff
Operator	Pine Bluff Aviation Commission
Serves	Pine Bluff
Location	Pine Bluff
Opened	March 22, 1941(83 years ago)
Elevation AMSL	206 ft / 63 m
Coordinates	34°10′37″N91°56′14″W / 34.17694°N 91.93722°W
Website	pbf-airport.com
Map
	PBF Location of airport in Arkansas PBF PBF (the United States)
Runways
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations (year ending 1/31/2022)
Aircraft operations (year ending 1/31/2022)	8,900
Based aircraft	30
	Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Last updated April 05, 2024

Grider Field( IATA : PBF, ICAO : KPBF, FAA LID : PBF), also known as Pine Bluff Regional Airport, is a municipal airport at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It was established in 1941 as a U.S. Army Flight Training School operated by the Pine Bluff School of Aviation. After World War II, the city turned it into a commercial airport facility. It is a 850 acre facility consisting of a large terminal and restaurant, FAA weather monitoring equipment, private corporate hangars, fixed-base operators offering fuel and avionics services, a fire station, and aviation museum. It serves as the only ILS-equipped, jet capable airport in southeast Arkansas.

History

World War II

The airfield opened on March 22, 1941,^[2] with 6,300' x 6,380' open turf field. Under contract to the Pine Bluff School of Aviation, U.S. Army Air Corps aviation cadets trained there during World War II.^[2] It was named for John McGavock Grider of Osceola and assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) Gulf Coast Training Center, later known as Central Flying Training Command, as a primary pilot training airfield.^[3] It had five auxiliary airfields assigned for emergency and overflow landings. Primary training was conducted with Fairchild PT-19s.^[2] It also had PT-17 Stearmans and P-40 Warhawks. Flexible gunnery training was taught as well. The 2559th Army Air Forces Base Unit was inactivated on November 30, 1944, with the post-World War II drawdown of the USAAF Training Command's pilot training program.

Cold War and late 20th century

Grider Field was declared surplus and turned over to the Corps of Engineers on September 30, 1945. Transferred to the War Assets Administration, it returned to its former status an airport. Chicago and Southern DC-3s served the city from 1949 until 1953, when Trans-Texas took over. Texas International served the airport until 1975.

Facilities

Grider Field covers 850 acres (340 ha) at an elevation of 206 feet (63 m). Its single runway, 18/36, is 5,998 by 150 feet (1,828 x 46 m).^[1] In November 2007 it was announced that Grider Field would undergo renovation and modernization. In the year ending January 31, 2022, it had 8,900 aircraft operations, average 24 per day: 95% general aviation, 3% air taxi, and 1% military. 30 aircraft were based at the airport: 24 single-engine, 4 multi-engine and 2 helicopter.^[1]

An original 2559th Army Air Forces Base Unit barracks is being painstakingly restored to its Pine Bluff School of Aviation era condition using historic records, oral history and authentic materials. When restoration is complete, the building will be a museum that houses a burgeoning collection of World War II aviation artifacts and memorabilia.^[4]

Notes

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

Related Research Articles

Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, also known as Adams Field, is a joint civil-military airport on the east side of Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. It is operated by the Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission.

Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is five miles north of Lubbock, in Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Originally Lubbock International Airport, it was renamed in 2004 for former Texas governor Preston E. Smith, an alumnus of Texas Tech University.

Western Nebraska Regional Airport is three miles east of Scottsbluff, in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. The airport is owned by the Airport Authority of Scotts Bluff County and is named after William B. Heilig. Known as "Scottsbluff's Mr. Aviation," he was a World War II United States Army Air Force primary flight instructor, a civil flight instructor, and manager of the city's airport.

Alliance Municipal Airport is in Box Butte County, Nebraska, three miles southeast of the city of Alliance, which owns it. Denver Air Connection offers scheduled passenger flights to Denver, which are subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

Dothan Regional Airport is a public airport in Dale County, Alabama, United States, seven miles northwest of Dothan, a city mostly in Houston County.

Majors Airport is a city-owned airport 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) southeast of the central business district of Greenville, in Hunt County, Texas.

Twentynine Palms Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles (11 km) east of the central business district of Twentynine Palms, a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is owned by the County of San Bernardino.

Strother Field is a public airport in Cowley County, Kansas, six miles southwest of Winfield and north of Arkansas City. The airport is jointly owned by the two cities. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation facility.

Avenger Field is a Texas airport in Nolan County, three miles west of Sweetwater. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a general aviation facility.

During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Arkansas for training fighter and bomber pilots and aircrews.

Newport Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located five nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Newport, a city in Jackson County, Arkansas, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation airport.

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Arizona for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers.

Airglades Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Hendry County, Florida, United States. It is located 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the central business district of Clewiston, Florida.

Woodward Field is a county-owned public-use airport located 3 nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Camden, a city in Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. It is also known as the Kershaw County Airport. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.

Lowcountry Regional Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northeast of the central business district of Walterboro, a city in Colleton County, South Carolina, United States. It is owned by the city and county. This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility. It does not have scheduled commercial airline service.

Deming Municipal Airport is two miles southeast of Deming, in Luna County, New Mexico, United States.

Curtis Field is a city-owned airport three miles northeast of Brady, in McCulloch County, Texas. The airport is named for Mayor Harry L. Curtis of Brady, who proposed the site as an auxiliary field for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 calls it a general aviation facility.

El Reno Regional Airport is in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States, five miles southwest of El Reno, which owns it. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorized it as a general aviation facility.

Harrell Field is five miles northeast of Camden, in Ouachita County, Arkansas, United States. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorizes it as a general aviation facility.

Arledge Field is a public general aviation airport located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Stamford, Texas. Owned by the city of Stamford, it provides general aviation service. Approximately 80 aircraft use the airport on a weekly basis.

References

1 2 3 FAA Airport Form 5010 for PBF PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 21 March 2024.
1 2 3 Ellis, Dale (September 20, 2020). "Old airfield had a vital role in WWII". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Retrieved January 27, 2022.
↑ Bearden, Russell E. (February 6, 2019). "Grider Army Air Field". Encyclopedia of Arkansas . Little Rock, Arkansas: Central Arkansas Library System . Retrieved January 25, 2022.
↑ "Pine Bluff airport born from war preparations". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . March 29, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.

External links

Government

General information

Aerial image as of 16 February 1994 from USGS The National Map
FAA Terminal Procedures for PBF , effective March 21, 2024
Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for PBF
- AirNav airport information for KPBF
- ASN accident history for PBF
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[FAA-1] 1 2 3 FAA Airport Form 5010 for PBF PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 21 March 2024.

[NWADG2020-2] 1 2 3 Ellis, Dale (September 20, 2020). "Old airfield had a vital role in WWII". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Retrieved January 27, 2022.

[3] Bearden, Russell E. (February 6, 2019). "Grider Army Air Field". Encyclopedia of Arkansas . Little Rock, Arkansas: Central Arkansas Library System . Retrieved January 25, 2022.

[4] "Pine Bluff airport born from war preparations". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . March 29, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Airports in Arkansas
Primary	Fort Smith Little Rock Northwest Arkansas Texarkana	Arkansas portal
Non-primary	El Dorado Harrison Hot Springs Jonesboro
Reliever	North Little Rock West Memphis
General aviation	Almyra Arkadelphia Ash Flat Augusta Batesville Benton Bentonville Berryville Blytheville (Arkansas International, Municipal) Brinkley Calico Rock Camden Carlisle Clarendon Clarksville Clinton Colt Conway Corning Crossett Danville De Queen De Witt Dumas Fayetteville Flippin Fordyce Heber Springs Helena-West Helena Hope Horseshoe Bend Lake Village Magnolia Malvern Manila Marianna Marked Tree Marshall McGehee Melbourne Mena Monticello Morrilton (Municipal, Petit Jean) Mount Ida Mountain Home Nashville Newport Osceola Ozark Paragould Paris/Subiaco Piggott Pine Bluff Pocahontas Rogers Russellville Searcy Sheridan Siloam Springs Springdale Stuttgart Waldron Walnut Ridge Warren
Arkansasportal List of airports in Arkansas

Grider Field

Contents