🇺🇸 Westover Metropolitan Airport / Westover Air Reserve Base

Westover Metropolitan Airport / Westover Air Reserve Base (KCEF/CEF) is a joint-use facility located in Chicopee, Massachusetts, serving the Springfield area,.

Type of facility and operations:

• It operates as both a civilian airport and an Air Reserve Base,.
• The civilian component, Westover Metropolitan Airport, is open to the public and includes a full-service passenger terminal,.
• The military component is Westover Air Reserve Base, home to the 439th Airlift Wing, which operates eight C-5 Super Galaxy aircraft for worldwide air movement of troops, supplies, equipment, and medical patients,.
• The airport has a control tower and provides customs landing rights for international operations.

Notable features or history:

• Established in 1940 as Westover Field, it played a role in anti-submarine operations during World War II and served as a bomber training base and port of embarkation/debarkation.
• During the Cold War, it was a major support base for the Berlin Airlift and a base of operations for the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War.
• Runway 5/23, measuring 11,597 x 300 ft, is the longest runway in New England.
• The core aviation facilities are owned by the Department of Defense, while 91 acres are under private ownership and managed by the non-profit Westover Metropolitan Corporation.

Current status:

• Westover Air Reserve Base continues to deploy Airmen globally for humanitarian and military operations.
• The airport is open to the public, with attendance hours for the control tower varying by day.
• Fuel (100LL and JET-A) is available, and there are hangars and tiedowns for parking.

*Sources researched: airnav.com, afrc.af.mil, en.wikipedia.org, estover.afrc.af.mil*