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Wilmington Air Park

WILMINGTON AIR PARK (KILN)
145 Hunter Drive Wilmington, OH 45177 MAP
PHONE: 937.382.5591
LONGEST RUNWAY: 10,700 feet, paved

Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, also known as Airborne Air Park, is a former DHL air freight hub. DHL Express donated Wilmington Air Park to the Clinton County Port Authority in June 2010.

Flying enthusiasts created what became Wilmington Air Park from a cornfield in 1929. Designated Clinton County Army Air Field during World War II, it was used by the Glider Test Branch at Wright Field (now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) to test glider designs. In the 1960s, it served as a Strategic Air Command bomber alert facility, according to globalsecurity.org.
The Defense Department closed the field in 1971. Airborne acquired it in 1980 and made it the hub for its growing air freight business. Set amid rural farm fields, it became one of the nation's busiest airports during its nighttime rush periods of arrivals and departures.

DHL took over Airborne's ground business in 2003, as Airborne spun off its air freight operations as a separate company, ABX Air Inc. DHL took over the Wilmington hub and ABX Air operated as a tenant air carrier.

In 2009, DHL closed its operations on Wilmintgon Air Park, eliminating most of the site's 8,000 jobs. ABX Air remains on the field as a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group Inc.

The Clinton County Port Authority hopes to redevelop the site. One use that has been suggested is a flight test center for Air Force Research Laboratory unmanned air vehicle research. Turning Wilmington Air Park into a flying field for UAVs would require a restricted airspace zone over the field.

General aviation traffic uses the nearby Clinton County Airport.

On Field
ABX Air

Nearby
RESTAURANTS | HOTELS | CLINTON COUNTY AIRPORT(5.8 mi. NW)

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