Ottumwa Regional Airport

Naval base

NAS Ottumwa (a.k.a. Ottumwa Naval Air Station) was constructed as a Naval Training Center shortly after America's entry into World War II. The Navy, faced with providing aviators and support personnel for a two-front war, began a massive campaign of rapid expansion. On April 15, 1942 the U.S. Navy Site Selection Board met with Ottumwa city officials and determined a 1,400 acre tract of land a few miles north of the city would be a suitable location for a primary flight training facility. Based on their recommendation, Navy Secretary Frank Knox approved the location on July 9, 1942, and on August 6, 1942 groundbreaking for the base was held. The first group of Naval Aviation Cadets arrived at the base on March 10, 1943 and flight training officially began four days later. Another first for NAS Ottumwa occurred on May 30, 1943 when the first group of U.S. Navy WAVES arrived. At its peak, NAS Ottumwa was averaging one thousand flight hours per day, and over 600,000 flight hours logged by the time the base was closed. Aircraft used in flight training were mostly the SNJ, the N3N Canary, and the N2S Kaydet. Around sixty buildings—hangars, control tower, barracks, classrooms and sundry others—were built for the Navy's use. The base avenues were named for U.S. Navy aircraft carriers that served early in World War II: Enterprise, Hornet, Langley, Lexington, Wasp and Yorktown. Streets were named for U.S. Navy Admirals Dewey, Farragut, Moffett, and Sims along with Marine Corps General Smedley Butler and American Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones. One thing that set NAS Ottumwa apart from most other temporary Naval air training facilities around the nation was the quality of materiels used in construction. Wood-frame, clapboard-sided buildings were the norm at most bases, However concerned about the poor quality of wood available for base construction due to a nationwide shortage and the delays that might ensue at NAS Ottumwa, the base commander instead sought out other construction materiels. Ottumwa Brick and Tile, a factory located not far from the NAS Ottumwa site, provided high-quality, durable brick for the base construction. Because of that, several of the buildings, approximately fourteen in various states of disrepair, remain. A series of 19 auxiliary landing strips, mostly unpaved, were also established within a 25-mile radius of Ottumwa.

Among the thousands of Navy personnel who served at the base was Richard M. Nixon, later U.S. Vice-President and President. Nixon was stationed at NAS Ottumwa from October 1942 until May 1943. Several other notables also served at NAS Ottumwa, including Scott Carpenter, one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts and the second American to orbit the Earth. College Football Hall of Famer Bob Steuber, and Jesse L. Brown, the U.S. Navy's first African-American pilot. In all, over 4,600 naval aviators earned their "wings of gold" at NAS Ottumwa during its history.

With the end of World War II and much less need for large numbers of aviators, NAS Ottumwa was transitioned from a flight training role to one of classroom-based pre-flight training on December 7, 1945—exactly four years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

On May 20, 1947 the U.S Secretary of the Navy ordered that the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight school at NAS Ottumwa be moved to NAS Pensacola. This was completed by October 1947, with the last Navy plane leaving Ottumwa on October 2. The City of Ottumwa acquired the base by lease on October 20, 1947. Outright ownership would be granted to the city on September 16, 1957. Efforts to save part of the airport's naval aviation past are currently underway. The Administration Building from NAS Ottumwa is being restored by the non-profit group Friends of the Naval Air Station Ottumwa. The building, which had been unused since 1984, was in a state of considerable disrepair when the group took over its care. Once renovations are done it will repurposed as a Naval air and space museum. In June, 2013 the administration building was approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of only fourteen buildings built for and used by NAS Ottumwa still existing.

Civilian use

In December, 1947, Central States Airlines began commercial air service to Ottumwa. Ottumwa was later served by Braniff Airlines, and then Ozark Airlines. Ozark Airlines ended service to Ottumwa in the late 1970s and was replaced by Mississippi Valley Airlines until 1983. In 1985, Ottumwa Industrial Airport was served by Great Lakes Aviation, with that service coming to an end in 2001. Since that time, Ottumwa has not been served by an air carrier.

In 2002, the City of Ottumwa, in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration constructed a new terminal at the airport, replacing the World War II-era operations building that had served as the terminal. The new facility cost nearly $1 million. The airport was renamed in 2008 from Ottumwa Industrial Airport to Ottumwa Regional Airport.

Ottumwa Regional Airport received a $3.9 million renovation in 2009. Most of the work centered on repaving and extending runway 4/22 with an asphalt surface, as well as adding a new parallel taxiway and upgrading lighting.

Other uses

Since being taken over by the city of Ottumwa, the facility has seen many non-aviation uses, many related to the field of education. Ottumwa Industrial Park, immediately adjacent to the airport and built on land originally part of NAS Ottumwa, has attracted manufacturing and office buildings to the area. A Job Corps training facility opened in the park in 2012. The largest educational presence though is Indian Hills Community College. Their "North Campus", one of two in Ottumwa, offers education programs in aviation maintenance technology, pilot training, avionics technology, as well as automotive collision repair, commercial driver training and welding.

Facilities and aircraft

Ottumwa Regional Airport covers an area of 1,600 acres (650 ha) at an elevation of 845 feet (258 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 13/31 is 5,885 by 150 feet (1,794 x 46 m) with an asphalt/concrete pavement and 4/22 is 4,600 by 100 feet (1,402 x 30 m) with an asphalt surface. Runway 13/31 is the primary runway, with Runway 31 having an ILS (Instrument Landing System).

For the 12-month period ending June 23, 2015, the airport had 16,450 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 45 per day. In January 2017, there were 25 aircraft based at this airport: 17 single-engine, 3 multi-engine and 5 jet.