Airport type Private Elevation AMSL 1,582 ft / 482 m Address Hutchinson, KS 67501, USA Phone +1 316-665-6882 | In use Established in 1971 4/22 4,200 Elevation 482 m Serves Hutchinson | |
Owner Sunflower Soaring Foundation Location Yoder Township, Reno County Similar Hutchinson Airport, Roberts Field, Wichita Dwight D Eisenhow, Westport Airport‑71K, McPherson Airport | ||
Sunflower Aerodrome Gliderport (FAA LID: SN76) is a private glider airport in Reno County, Kansas, United States. It is located eight nautical miles (9 mi, 14 km) south of Hutchinson, and 2 miles (3 km) west-southwest of Yoder. It was opened in 1971. The facility is used for glider flying. It is a private facility, and prior arrangements are needed for its use. Visit http://www.soarkansas.org for more information.
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History
The facility was built during World War II by the United States Navy and named Naval Air Station Hutchinson. It was an active naval aviation facility from 1942 to 1946. After the end of World War II it was briefly a civil airport known as Yoder Commercial Airport. It was reopened by the Navy as a naval air station in 1952 with a training role for Naval Air Reserve personnel.
In 1957, the Navy closed its facilities and the base was taken over by the Kansas Air National Guard's 117th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, later redesignated as the 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (190 TRG), flying EB-57 Canberra jet reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the United States Air Force's Air Defense Command as a general surveillance radar facility. During its Air Defense Command use, the radar site was known as Hutchinson Air Force Station, while the operational airfield, flight line and associated infrastructure was known as Hutchinson Air National Guard Base.
The Kansas Air National Guard moved the 190 TRG and its aircraft to Forbes AFB in 1967, and in 1968 the Air Defense Command closed its radar site, marking an end to all military activity at the airfield. It is now currently used as a civilian glider port, and is rented and used by the WSA, KSA, and SSA organizations.
Facilities and aircraft
The facility covers an area of 400 acres (162 ha) at an elevation of 1,582 feet (482 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways:
There are 24 aircraft based at this facility: 83% glider and 17% single-engine.