Flying S Ranch Airport

The specific reason is not officially documented, which is common for small, private airfields. The closure was likely due to a private decision by the owner, Flying S Ranch Inc. Potential reasons include the sale of the ranch, the owner ceasing aviation activities due to age or cost, or the prohibitive expense of insurance and maintenance. There is no evidence to suggest the closure was caused by a specific accident, military conversion, or regulatory action.

The airport is permanently closed and the site has reverted entirely to agricultural use. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows the faint, overgrown outline of the former north-south runway in the middle of a pasture. The land is used for cattle grazing or farming, consistent with the surrounding Flying S Ranch property. There are no remaining aviation structures, such as hangars or markings, on the site.

Flying S Ranch Airport was a private general aviation airstrip with local, rather than national, significance. Its primary purpose was to serve the transportation needs of the ranch's owner.

- **Owner/Operator:** The airport was owned by Flying S Ranch Inc. and managed by Don Stidham.
- **Establishment:** It was established sometime in the late 1980s, appearing on the 1990 Dallas-Fort Worth Sectional Chart after being absent on the 1987 version.
- **Operations:** It handled light, single-engine aircraft suitable for landing on a turf runway. Operations were conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) for personal and business use related to the ranch.
- **Facilities:** The airport consisted of a single turf runway, designated 17/35, with dimensions of 2,600 feet by 100 feet. A notable characteristic listed in its FAA directory entry was the caution for pilots: "Cattle on & invof arpt" (Cattle on and in the vicinity of the airport), highlighting its integration with active ranching operations.

There are zero known plans or prospects for reopening the Flying S Ranch Airport. The FAA identifier 2XA4 has been officially decommissioned. Re-establishing an airport at this location would require the landowner to initiate a completely new airport application process with the FAA, which is a complex and expensive undertaking. Given that the land has been fully repurposed for ranching for over a decade, a return to aviation use is considered highly improbable.