Purdue University Airport

By Scott

Have you gone to Purdue University Airport? It was built in 1930 and it was the first university-owned airport in United States. It is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Because it has such a long history, we need to know what happen through ages. In the late 1920s, David E. Ross, member of the Purdue Board of Trustees, and President Edward C. Elliott were the two who first had the idea of building a airport at Purdue. Hundreds of members of the U.S Army and Navy were trained at Purdue Airport at that time. The airport became the home of the first Reserve Officers’ Training Corps flight program. Also, at that time, Purdue already offered courses in aeronautics through Mechanical Engineering. Pilots could drive from campus to Shambaugh Airport south Lafayette. The owner was Charles Shambaugh and the manager was Lawrence “Cap” Aretz. 360 acres of land south of the Purdue campus had been used for the construction of the airport. The airport was rarely used when it first opened in 1930. In September 1934, Purdue Airport became a working airport. Later, Purdue Airport started to offer commercial flights. Significantly, started 1968, the services provided flights for Big Ten football team and Chicago White Sox, and flew Hugh Hefner’s Playboy jet.

Furthermore, The Purdue Airport was the first airport to offer flight courses as fulfillments of college credit. Also, Purdue was the first university to offer a bachelor’s degree in aviation.

Since the good opportunity and huge benefits we have, we should have experienced our airport at least once in our Purdue life. You can pay 25$ for a little flying experience, if you have a friend who has pilot’s license.