Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport

Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport (FAA LID: 1C5) is a public airport in Bolingbrook, a village in Will County, Illinois, United States.[1] Located 29 miles (46 km) southwest of the Chicago Loop, it is a small general aviation facility catering to private pilots, students, and commuter aircraft.

Bolingbrook's
Clow International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerVillage of Bolingbrook
ServesBolingbrook, Illinois
Elevation AMSL670 ft / 204 m
Coordinates41°41′46″N 088°07′45″W
Websitewww.bbclowairport.com
Map
1C5 is located in Illinois
1C5
1C5
Location of airport in Illinois
1C5 is located in the United States
1C5
1C5
1C5 (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 3,360 1,024 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Aircraft operations50,000
Based aircraft59
Source: FAA[1] and airport website[2]
Airport diagram

History

The airport was originally a grass airstrip built by Oliver Boyd Clow in the 1950s. By 1989 it was named the best privately owned, public-use airport in Illinois.[3] It was acquired by the Village of Bolingbrook in 2004. The village has expanded the airport, which includes a widened runway, additional taxiways, and landing glidepath lighting.[4]

The airport was used as a location for the 1992 film Folks![5] with Tom Selleck and Don Ameche, which included a cameo by Clow, the founder of the airport.

Clow called the airport "Clow International" on the spur of the moment when filing a flight plan.[6] He chose the word "international" to reflect Chicago's mixed ethnicity, rather than the airport's size: his many friends and fellow pilots were of German, Polish, and other ethnic backgrounds now making their homes in Chicago. "It was named on a lark and borders on the ridiculous, but people remember it. Sometimes the absurd is easier to remember," said Clow.[7]

The airport received $2.4 million from the Illinois Department of Transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Rebuild Illinois program. The money went toward replacing a taxiway and the airport's rotating beacon.[8]

Facilities and aircraft

Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport covers an area of 205 acres (83 ha) and contains one runway designated 18/36 with a 3,360 x 75 ft (1,024 x 23 m) asphalt pavement.[1]

For the 12-month period ending July 31, 2020, the airport had 50,000 aircraft operations, an average of 137 per day: 96% general aviation and 4% air taxi. For the same time period, there were 59 aircraft based at this airport: 54 single-engine and 4 multi-engine airplanes, and 1 helicopter.[1][9]

The fixed-base operator (FBO) at Clow is JW Aviation. It offers fuel, aircraft parking and hangars, flight training, and aircraft rental.[10]

Illinois Aviation Museum

The airport is also the location of the Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook, which includes a collection of restored and replica aircraft.[11]

Accidents and incidents
  • On September 25, 2013, a Cirrus SR20 airplane crashed after the pilot attempted a go-around. The plane had two occupants; both were killed.[12]

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for 1C5 PDF, effective 2007-12-20
  2. Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport, official site
  3. Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook
  4. Chicago Tribune July 8, 2015 article: Bolingbrook paying $706,715 of $6.9 million Clow Airport upgrade
  5. Folks!
  6. Chicago Tribune July 17, 1991 article: Clow's airport may be closing, but appearances are deceiving
  7. AOPA March 5, 2003 article: Pilots - Oliver Boyd Clow
  8. "Clow International Airport To Receive $2.4M In State Funding". Patch. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  9. "AirNav: 1C5 – Bolingbrook's Clow International Airport". AirNav.com. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  10. JW Aviation
  11. "About". Illinois Aviation Museum. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  12. https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88129/pdf
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