A Visit to St. Louis Downtown Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

The Midwest region relies on high-quality airports for its air transportation needs, and St. Louis Downtown Airport is the destination for many general aviation pilots and business travelers.  The airport is the closest one to downtown St. Louis, and so it becomes a beehive of activity when visitors arrive for events at the nearby Gateway Motorsports Park, baseball and hockey games, conventions and concerts.  The airport is also host to charter aircraft for visiting professional sports teams.  

Along with the daily and peak air traffic, St. Louis Downtown Airport is host to organic aviation assets.  The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum is located in an historic 1929 Curtiss-Wright hangar on the west apron, and FBO Ideal Aviation is the museum's neighbor.  Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology (St. Louis University), founded in 1927 and the first federally certified school of aeronautics, maintains their flight training fleet at the airport.  Jet Aviation St. Louis provides maintenance, refurbishments and completions for business jets as well as FBO services on the north apron.  Flight training schools on the airport include Ideal Aviation, St. Louis Flight Training and Midwest Rotor.  Also based at the airport are Fostaire Helicopters, Helicopters, Inc., and Gateway Helicopter Tours.  Also during the summer, St. Louis Biplane Rides offers scenic flights in a 1941 Waco open cockpit biplane.          

Even on a gloomy winter day, there can be some interesting aircraft operating from the airport, including some military aircraft.  Here is one short period of traffic from Tuesday afternoon.