DuPage Airport

DuPage Airport
FAA airport diagram
IATA: DPA ICAO: KDPA FAA LID: DPA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	DuPage Airport Authority
Location	West Chicago, Illinois
Elevation AMSL	759 ft / 231.3 m
Coordinates	41°54′25″N 88°14′54″W / 41.90694°N 88.24833°W / 41.90694; -88.24833Coordinates: 41°54′25″N 88°14′54″W / 41.90694°N 88.24833°W / 41.90694; -88.24833
Website	www.DuPageAirport.com
Map
DPA Show map of Illinois DPA Show map of the US Location of airport in Illinois/United States
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 2L/20R 7,570 2,307 Concrete 2R/20L 6,443 1,964 Concrete 10/28 4,751 1,448 Asphalt 15/33 3,401 1,037 Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations 99,802 Based aircraft 365
Source: FAA

DuPage Airport (IATA: DPA, ICAO: KDPA, FAA LID: DPA) is a general aviation airport located 29 miles (47 km) west of downtown Chicago in West Chicago, DuPage County, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the DuPage Airport Authority, which is an independent government body established by law by the State of Illinois. It also serves as a reliever airport for O'Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, both in nearby Chicago.

DuPage Airport is located on what used to be sheep-grazing land, but in 1927, two Chicago entrepreneurs purchased the land and began barnstorming, using the field as a grass strip. In 1941, the U.S. Navy requisitioned DuPage Airport, built brick hangars, paved two runways in an “X” pattern and began training pilots for the war effort. The airport was officially activated in March 1943. Both the hangars and the original runway configuration still exist, though one runway is closed and is now taxiway C.

A year after the Navy began operations, Howard Aircraft Corporation opened a factory east of the airport across the road. The company built more than 500 trainer, transport and air ambulance aircraft for the military, and Howard employees were regularly seen pushing aircraft across the road to the little airport to test fly them.

In 1946, with the war over, the Navy sold the airport to DuPage County for $1. The post-war boom saw a lot of regional growth and the airport reflected it by adding an east/west runway and a five-story control tower and making plans for further expansion.