ENGINEERING.OSU.EDUOSUAIRPORT.ORG

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AIRPORTThe Ohio State University Airport has been partnering with the community to expand opportunities for citizens of Ohio since 1942 with service to Columbus area industry, a learning lab for future professionals and a core facility for university research.

AIRPORT SERVES AS AN ACADEMIC AND PUBLIC RESOURCE The Ohio State University Airport (KOSU) is essential to the core university mission of educating students. It is the primary teaching and research laboratory serving the Center for Aviation Studies, as well as other departments throughout the university.

Equipped with an aircraft fleet, flight simulators, air traffic control, weather station, and communications and navigation systems, the Ohio State Airport hosts numerous aviation and non-aviation classwork and research projects.

Each semester upwards of 300 students are learning airport management or airport planning, enrolled in a flight lab or associated ground course, or participating in a professional development course at the airport. The airport is a generator of teaching positions and research grants. It is also a study area for students in aeronautical engineering, civil engineering, city and regional planning, industrial design, geography, and chemistry who utilize the facility to enhance their programs of study. It is one of Ohio State’s engaged campuses, opening doors to the “American Dream” for over 2,000 Ohio school-aged children each year, including many from central Ohio’s at-risk populations.

MISSION STATEMENT The Ohio State University Airport serves the university’s learning, discovery and engagement initiatives.

The airport provides a progressive environment conducive to teaching, research and public service.

Students seeking to lead, develop and operate tomorrow’s safe and efficient global aviation system use the airport as a learning laboratory through student jobs and internships. The airport explores and implements progressive concepts for airport services and facilities.

The airport staff operates and manages superior facilities and associated aeronautical services for the global aviation community in a manner that is compatible with, and supportive of, the surrounding community.

VISION STATEMENTThe Ohio State University Airport is a premier gateway serving the global aviation community.

Airport leaders establish the highest standards in services and facilities supporting education, research and its customers.

OHIO STATE’S AVIATION PASTJust 14 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight, the Ohio State School of Aeronautics opened on May 12, 1917, when 16 cadets reported. The cadets built aircraft in the aeronautics building, located at the southeast corner of West 19th Avenue and Neil Avenue. The planes would then be rolled down the hill to the field just east of the Olentangy River, where flight tests and training would ensue. Unfortunately, this arrangement was short-lived, with the opening of Ohio Stadium in 1922.

In June 1942, the university purchased property for the development of an airport in support of its pilot training program. The facility, which is still the location of The Ohio State University Airport, was then on the outskirts of town, seven miles north of campus in northwest Columbus. The first plane landed at the new airport on November 5, 1942. Two buildings were constructed the spring of 1943, and two 2,200-foot, hard-surfaced runways, taxiways and aprons were added in early 1944. Trustees named the new airport Don Scott Field, in honor of the former All-American athlete who died in a bomber crash in England during WWII.

AIRPORT OPERATIONS• Owned and operated by Ohio State’s College of Engineering

• Certified for commercial service

• Designated reliever to Port Columbus

• International airport

• One of the top 5 busiest airports in Ohio and one of the nation’s top 100 general aviation airports

LEARN MORE ONLINE

09/15

osuairport.org • twitter.com/osu_airport

AIRPORT SERVES AS A LEARNING RESOURCE

• Home to the university’s flight education program

• Provides on-the-job training for future aviation professionals (1/3 of airport employees are students)

• Facilities used by students of other disciplines, including aeronautical engineering, geography, city and regional planning, and civil engineering

• Training for Ohio State’s Department of Public Safety in receiving and protecting dignitaries, and responding to hijackings, drug smuggling and bomb threats

• Home of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA)

• Host site of the Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON)

AIRPORT SUPPORTS INTERDISCIPLINARY DISCOVERY INITIATIVES

• Airport Safety Management Systems pilot site

• Home to the Aerospace Research Center

• Understanding Airspace, Objects, and Their Effects on Airports cooperative research program

• Economic Impact of Corporate Aviation in the State of Ohio report

AIRPORT ENHANCES REGIONAL ECONOMIC VITALITY

• $157 million in direct and indirect benefits to central Ohio - Airport Economic Impact Report 2012

• Home to, or used by, Fortune 500 companies and many local small businesses

AIRPORT ENGAGES THE CENTRAL OHIO COMMUNITY

• Over 2,000 students participate in various engagement activities each year

• Provides shadowing opportunities for eligible local K-8 students interested in entering a collegiate aviation program

• Hosts tours of the facility by school groups, scouts and other individuals

• Host site of the semi-annual Youth Aviation Adventure

• Host site of the Young Eagles airplane rides

AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVESA $10 million gift from the Knowlton Foundation opens the door for improvements to the airport, including:

• A terminal building to serve as a gateway to the university and the broader central Ohio community

• A flight laboratory to support aviation learning and discovery for the 21st century

• Hangars to accommodate the growing demand for aviation services

Other improvements under consideration include:

• Runway enhancements to provide local companies with access to the global marketplace

• A corporate airpark to enhance central Ohio as a place for business

CONTACTSMain Office

2160 West Case Road, Columbus, OH 43235 614-292-5460

Doug Hammon, Airport Director dhammon@osuairport.org