The Muir Army Airfield is a military

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

Fort Indiantown Gap Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern ...

, near Annville, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade and Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (EAATS), operated by the

Pennsylvania Army National Guard The Pennsylvania Army National Guard, abbreviated PAARNG, is part of the United States Army National Guard and is based in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Together with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, it is directed by the Pennsylv ...

. It is northeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, in

South Central Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the United States. Regions of Pennsylvania include: Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley, located in eastern Pennsylvania, is named for the Lehigh River, which flows through it. It is the state's thir ...

. The airfield has one active

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

designated 7/25 with a

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

surface.

History

Muir Army Airfield was established as an

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

in the 1930s and was originally the central parade ground and emergency landing field of the

military reservation. On July 12, 1941, the first airplane piloted by Major Edgar Scattergood, Air Office of the 28th Infantry Division, landed on the newly dedicated Muir Field.Muir Army Airfield and EAATS
GlobalSecurity.Org. Retrieved 2011-02-03. The 3,200 x 100 foot runway was of good size for fixed-wing aircraft at the time; however, the Army Corps of Engineers built the runway in a northeast-southwest direction. The prevailing wind blows out of the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

from the northwest, so there is usually a permanent crosswind during normal weather conditions. The airfield was named in honor of Major General Charles H. Muir, the Commanding General of the 28th Division during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Units

* Combat Aviation Brigade, 28th Infantry Division ** Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) ** 114_Avn_Rgt_DUI

2d Battalion (General Support), 104th Aviation Regiment (2-104th GSAB) ** 628_Spt_Bn_DUI

628th Aviation Support Battalion (628th ASB)

Eastern Army National Guard Training Site

EAATS was established in by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1981EAATS history and profile

. Retrieved 2011-02-03. and focuses on utility and cargo missions, specifically conducting

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS ...

and

Boeing CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...

qualifications for

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

, instructor pilots, and maintenance test pilots, as well as enlisted maintainers and crewmembers.Army National Guard (ARNG) Aviation Training Sites (AATS)

, 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-03. The 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade, headquartered at Muir Army Airfield, provides all the maintenance support for EAATS.

Statistics

Muir Army Airfield currently accommodates 42

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s, conducting about 70,000 take-offs and landings annually, making it the second busiest helicopter base in the world.About Ft. Indiantown Gap

Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) was established on April 11, 1793, by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It is overseen by the adjutant general, a cabinet-level position appointed by the governor. The Pennsylv ...

. Retrieved 2011-02-03.

References

External links