DuPage Airport

DuPage Airport is a general aviation airport located 29mi west of downtown Chicago in West Chicago, DuPage County, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the DuPage Airport Authority, which is an independent government body established by law by the State of Illinois. It also serves as a reliever airport for O'Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, both in nearby Chicago.HistoryDuPage Airport is located on what used to be sheep-grazing land, but in 1927, two Chicago entrepreneurs purchased the land and began barnstorming, using the field as a grass strip. In 1941, the U.S. Navy requisitioned DuPage Airport, built brick hangars, paved two runways in an “X” pattern and began training pilots for the war effort. The airport was officially activated in March 1943. Both the hangars and the original runway configuration still exist, though one runway is closed and is now taxiway C.A year after the Navy began operations, Howard Aircraft Corporation opened a factory east of the airport across the road. The company built more than 500 trainer, transport and air ambulance aircraft for the military, and Howard employees were regularly seen pushing aircraft across the road to the little airport to test fly them.In 1946, with the war over, the Navy sold the airport to DuPage County for $1. The post-war boom saw a lot of regional growth and the airport reflected it by adding an east/west runway and a five-story control tower and making plans for further expansion.