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Darke County Airport

Coordinates: 40°12′16″N 084°31′55″W / 40.20444°N 84.53194°W / 40.20444; -84.53194
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Darke County Airport
Airport building, used as a waiting area
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerDarke County Commissioners
ServesVersailles, Ohio
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (-5)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (-4)
Elevation AMSL1,007 ft / 307 m
Coordinates40°12′16″N 084°31′55″W / 40.20444°N 84.53194°W / 40.20444; -84.53194
Map
VES is located in Ohio
VES
VES
Location of airport in Ohio
VES is located in the United States
VES
VES
VES (the United States)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 4,802 1,464 Asphalt
Statistics (2021)
Aircraft operations12,775
Based aircraft29

Darke County Airport (ICAO: KVES, FAA LID: VES) is a county-owned, public-use airport in Darke County, Ohio, United States.[1] It is located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Versailles.[1] It is along State Route 121 just south of Versailles. Midmark operates a private jet from this airport. The airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2]

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned VES by the FAA,[1] but has no designation from the IATA.[3][4]

In 2007, light lenses were stolen from the airport. Officials said the theft could endanger pilots.[5]

The airport holds events such as fly-ins that feature old warbird aircraft, medical helicopters, and highway patrol aircraft.[6][7]

CareFlight Air & Mobile has a helicopter based at the airport, which serves as the company's northwest base. The helicopter was activated to respond to calls in early 2020.[8]

Facilities and aircraft

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Facilities

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Darke County Airport covers an area of 42 acres (17 ha) at an elevation of 1,007 feet (307 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,802 by 75 feet (1,464 x 23 m).[1][9]

The airport has a fixed-base operator that sells both avgas and Jet A. Services such as hangars, courtesy cars, and rental cars are available; amenities such as internet, conference rooms, vending machines, a crew lounge, snooze rooms, and more are also available.[10]

In 2012, a section of State Route 242 was closed to allow the airport to use all of its runway surface for landings; with the road in place, planes need to approach at a higher altitude and touch down further down the runway to meet FAA obstacle clearance requirements.[11]

In 2022, the Dark County Airport received $1.35 million to upgrade its FBO terminal, including funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act.[12][13] Construction on the new airport terminal began in 2023, and a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the airport was held in spring 2024.[14] The facility aims at expanding the airport's attraction, especially as traffic increases.[15][16]

Additional funding was received in 2023 to improve the terminal's facilities.[17][18]

Aircraft

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For the 12-month period ending September 29, 2021, the airport had 12,775 aircraft operations, an average of 35 per day: 87% general aviation, 5% air taxi, and <1% military. At that time there were 29 aircraft based at the airport: 25 single-engine and 2 multi-engine airplanes as well as 1 jet and 1 helicopter.[1][9]

Accidents & incidents

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  • On November 17, 2018, a Piper Saratoga crashed while landing at the Darke County Airport. Damage was done to the left wing and landing gear.[19][20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f FAA Airport Form 5010 for VES PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on 2012-09-27.
  3. ^ "Darke County Airport (FAA: VES, ICAO: KVES, IATA: none)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "IATA Airport Code Search". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "Details on Darke County's Plans for State Route 242 and the Darke County Airport". Versailles, Ohio: The Columbus Dispatch. April 11, 2007. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  6. ^ "Darke County Airport holds Fly-In – County News Online". 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  7. ^ "Darke County Airport Fly-In". AllEvents.in. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  8. ^ "CareFlight adds fourth base of operations in Darke County". www.nationalaccountexecutives.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  9. ^ a b "AirNav: KVES - Darke County Airport". www.airnav.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  10. ^ "VES Darke County Airport (VES/KVES)". FlightAware. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  11. ^ "Details on Darke County's Plans for State Route 242 and the Darke County Airport". Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  12. ^ Brewer, Meladi (2022-07-13). "Darke County receives $1.35 million for airport terminal". Daily Advocate & Early Bird News. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  13. ^ Bush, John (July 11, 2022). "Darke County Airport lands $1.4 million in federal funding for new terminal building". Dayton Business Journal. The Business Journals. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  14. ^ "Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Opening of New Darke County Airport Terminal – County News Online". 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  15. ^ Jarrell, Zachary (2023-08-30). "Construction of new terminal at Darke County Airport underway". WKEF. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  16. ^ "'Able to offer much more': Darke County Airport builds new terminal". WDTN.com. 2023-09-01. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  17. ^ Schrock, Jeffery (2023-04-29). "Five airports in southwest Ohio receive grant funding". WKEF. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  18. ^ "Nearly $4 million in federal funds awarded to improve area airports". WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  19. ^ "Single engine aircraft crashes at Darke County Airport". Daily Advocate & Early Bird News. Versailles, Ohio. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  20. ^ "Single engine aircraft crashes at Darke County Airport". Sidney Daily News. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
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