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Fort Stockton–Pecos County Airport

Coordinates: 30°54′55″N 102°54′46″W / 30.91528°N 102.91278°W / 30.91528; -102.91278
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Fort Stockton–Pecos County Airport

Gibbs Army Airfield
2006 USGS Airphoto
Summary
Airport typePublic
LocationPecos County, near Fort Stockton, Texas
Elevation AMSL3,011 ft / 917.8 m
Coordinates30°54′55″N 102°54′46″W / 30.91528°N 102.91278°W / 30.91528; -102.91278
Map
KFST is located in Texas
KFST
KFST
Location
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 7,508 2,288 Asphalt
3/21 4,399 1,341 Asphalt
7/25 4,961 1,512 Turf
16/34 3,981 1,213 Turf
11/29 3,348 1,020 Turf

Fort Stockton–Pecos County Airport (IATA: FST, ICAO: KFST) is two miles NW of Fort Stockton, Texas; it is owned and operated by Pecos County, Texas.

History

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The airport opened as Gibbs Field , or Fort Stockton Field and was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a training base during World War II.

Opened on 1 June 1942 with two 2,500' turf runways. Began training United States Army Air Corps flying cadets under contract to Pacific Air School Ltd. Assigned to United States Army Air Forces Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. had two local auxiliary airfields for emergency and overflow landings. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks assigned.

Inactivated on 12 March 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. Declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945. Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport.

Airline flights (Trans-Texas DC-3s) ended in 1960.

See also

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References

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

  • Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas OCLC 71006954, 29991467
  • Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. OCLC 57007862, 1050653629
  • AirNav.Com – Fort Stockton–Pecos County Airport (KFST)
  • Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now – Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub, ISBN 1-57510-051-7
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