{{Short description|Airport near Mokulēʻia, Hawaii, US}} {{For|the airport in Dillingham, Alaska|Dillingham Airport}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox airport | name = Dillingham Airfield | image = | IATA = HDH | ICAO = PHDH | FAA = HDH | type = Military/Public | owner = [[U.S. Army]] | operator = [[Hawaii Department of Transportation]] | location = [[Mokuleia, Hawaii]] | elevation-f = 14.2 | coordinates = {{coord|21|34|46|N|158|11|50|W|region:US-HI_type:airport_scale:10000|display=title,inline}} | website = {{URL|hawaii.gov/hdh}} | pushpin_map = USA Hawaii | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location of airport in Hawaii | pushpin_label = '''HDH''' | pushpin_label_position = top | r1-number = 8/26 | r1-length-f = 9,007 | r1-surface = Asphalt | stat1-header = Aircraft operations | stat1-data = 103/day | stat-year = 2015 | footnotes = Source: AirNav (http://www.airnav.com/airport/phdh) | stat2-header = Based aircraft | stat2-data = 47 }}
'''Dillingham Airfield''' {{airport codes|HDH|PHDH|HDH}} is a public and military use [[airport]] located two [[nautical mile]]s (4 [[kilometre|km]]) west of the [[central business district]] of [[Mokuleia, Hawaii|Mokulē{{okina}}ia]], in [[Honolulu County, Hawaii|Honolulu County]]<ref name="FAA">{{FAA-airport|ID=HDH|use=PU|own=MR|site=52430.*A}}. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.</ref> on the [[North Shore (Oahu)|North Shore]] of [[Oahu|O{{okina}}ahu]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Hawaii]]. It is operated by the [[Hawaii Department of Transportation]] under a 50-year lease from the [[United States Army]]. The airport is primarily used for [[gliding]] and [[sky diving]] operations, and also houses [[Civil Air Patrol]] (CAP) glider aircraft. Military operations consist largely of night operations for [[night vision device]] training and orientation flights for the [[Civil Air Patrol|United States Air Force Auxiliary (CAP)]]. This airport is included in the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) [[National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems]] for 2017–2021, in which it is [[FAA airport categories|categorized]] as a basic [[general aviation]] facility.<ref name="NPIAS Airports">{{cite web|title=List of NPIAS Airports|url=https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Appendix-A.pdf|website=FAA.gov|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|access-date=23 December 2016|date=21 October 2016}}</ref>
==History== [[Image:Dillingham Airfield.jpg|thumb|220px|left|Dillingham Airfield soon after construction during [[World War II]]]]
A communications station called Camp Kawaihapai was established here in 1922 on {{convert|67|acre}} along the [[Oahu Railway and Land Company]] line. In the 1920s and 1930s, the railroad transported mobile coast artillery to the site. By 1941, the Army leased additional land and established '''Mokulē{{okina}}ia Airstrip'''. [[Curtiss P-40]] fighters were deployed at North Shore airstrips at [[Kahuku, Hawaii|Kahuku]], [[Haleiwa, Hawaii|Hale{{okina}}iwa]] and Mokulē{{okina}}ia when the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] took place. Aircraft taking off from nearby Hale{{okina}}iwa destroyed several attacking aircraft.<ref name="dot">{{cite web |title= Dillingham Field |url= http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii-airfields-airports/oahu-pre-world-war-ii/dillingham-field |access-date=2009-11-17 |publisher= State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Airports Division |work= Hawaii Aviation archive of historic photos and facts }}</ref>
The runway was paved, extended to {{convert|9000|ft|m}} long, and a crosswind runway added from 1942 to 1945. By the end of [[World War II]], '''Mokulē{{okina}}ia Airfield''' could handle [[B-29 Superfortress]] bombers. In 1946, the Army acquired an additional {{convert|583|acre}}. In 1948, the airfield was inactivated and renamed '''Dillingham Air Force Base''' in memory of Captain Henry Gaylord Dillingham, a [[B-29]] [[airman]] who was [[killed in action]] over [[Kawasaki, Japan]] on July 25, 1945. Captain Dillingham was the son of [[Walter F. Dillingham]] and grandson of [[Benjamin Dillingham]] who founded the railroad which evolved into Hawaiian Dredging Company and the Dillingham Corporation.<ref name="dot"/>
[[Nike (rocket)|Nike missiles]] were installed in the 1950s, but were obsolete by 1970.
In 1962, the State of Hawaii leased Dillingham for general aviation use. In the 1970s the base was transferred from the Air Force back to the Army. The state signed new leases with the Army in 1974, 1983, 2000 and 2024. In the 1980s, [[hangar]]s, a [[control tower]], and a fire station were built.<ref name="dot"/>
== Facilities and aircraft == Dillingham Airfield covers an area of 134 [[acre]]s (54 [[hectare|ha]]) at an [[elevation]] of 14.2 feet (4.3 m) above [[mean sea level]]. It has one [[runway]] designated 8/26 with an [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]] surface measuring 9,007 by 75 feet (2,745 x 23 m).<ref name="FAA" />
As a general aviation joint-use facility, the airfield has one runway, a [[UNICOM]] tower, powered aircraft and glider hangars, and a tie down area for recreation aircraft. Jet-A and Avgas are available in a self-serve facility utilizing credit cards for payment. There were plans to extend the taxiway to the end of the 26 runway, but funding was delayed. Air traffic, unless approved prior by the US Army, is limited to daytime operations by general aviation and sport parachuting operations.
For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2015, the airport had 103 operators a day: 96% [[general aviation]] and 4% [[military aviation|military]]. At that time there were 47 aircraft based at this airport: 24 single-[[aircraft engine|engine]], 20 [[glider (sailplane)|glider]], 1 [[helicopter]], and 2 [[ultralight]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.airnav.com/airport/phdh|title=AirNav: PHDH - Dillingham Airfield|website=www.airnav.com|access-date=2017-04-26}}</ref>
==Authority== [[Image:Schweizer2-32-02.JPG|thumb|right|Two [[Schweizer SGS 2-32]]s used for tourist flights, Dillingham Airfield [[Oahu]], 1993]]
Dillingham Airfield is part of a centralized state structure governing all of the airports and seaports of Hawaii. The official authority of Dillingham Airfield is the [[Governor of Hawaii]]. The governor appoints the Director of the Hawaii State Department of Transportation who has jurisdiction over the Hawaii Airports Administrator.
The Hawaii Airports Administrator oversees six governing bodies: Airports Operations Office, Airports Planning Office, Engineering Branch, Information Technology Office, Staff Services Office, Visitor Information Program Office. Collectively, the six bodies have authority over the four airport districts in Hawaii: [[Hawaii (island)|Hawaii District]], [[Kauai|Kaua{{okina}}i District]], [[Maui|Maui District]] and the principal [[Honolulu County, Hawaii|O{{okina}}ahu District]]. Dillingham Airfield is a subordinate of the O{{okina}}ahu District officials.
==Filming location== The television series [[Lost (2004 TV series)|Lost]] filmed several scenes at Dillingham Airfield, due to its remote location close to the [[North Shore (Oahu)|North Shore]], where the series was primarily filmed.<ref>[http://www.lostvirtualtour.com/lost/filming_locations/dillinghamairfield/index.html Lost filming locations]</ref> The fuselage from the fictional [[Oceanic Airlines]] flight 815 is also stored at Dillingham, and was transported to the beach when needed for filming.<ref>[http://www.lostvirtualtour.com/lost/filming_locations/dillinghamfuselage/index.html Fuselage] on "Lost" web site</ref>
==Accidents and incidents== * On June 21, 2019, a [[Beechcraft King Air]] operated by the [[Oahu Parachute Center]] crashed at Dillingham Airfield while taking off for a sunset [[parachuting|skydiving]] flight, killing all 11 people on board.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bnonews.com/index.php/2019/06/skydiving-plane-crashes-in-hawaii/|title=Skydiving plane crashes in Hawaii, killing 11 people|publisher=[[BNO News]]|date=June 22, 2019}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Hawaii World War II Army Airfields]] * [[List of airports in Hawaii]]
==References== {{reflist|30em}} * {{Air Force Historical Research Agency}} * Maurer, Maurer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. {{ISBN|0-89201-097-5}}
==External links== * [http://airports.hawaii.gov/hdh/ Hawaii DOT page for Dillingham Airfield] * [http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=2&s=12&lat=21.5795&lon=-158.1973&w=800&h=800&lp=---+None+--- Topographic map] from [[USGS]] ''[[The National Map]]'' * {{US-airport-minor|HDH|HDH|PHDH}}
<!--Navigation boxes--> {{Airports in Hawaii}} {{USAAF 7th Air Force World War II}}
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[[Category:Airports in Hawaii]] [[Category:Military airbases established in 1941]] [[Category:Transportation in Honolulu County, Hawaii]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Honolulu County, Hawaii]] [[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Hawaii]] [[Category:1941 establishments in Hawaii]]