Our History
Founded in 1925 as Gauthier's Flying Field, Palwaukee Municipal Airport has grown over the past 70 years from a 40-acre grassy open area with dirt runways to a general aviation airport servicing the metropolitan Chicago area as one of the nation's busiest reliever airports.
Historically, Chicago Executive Airport's growth reflects the development of its neighboring communities. Chicago Executive Airport continues to grow today with an official plan aimed at facilitating a responsible role for the Airport as a part of the surrounding communities.
After opening in 1925, Gauthier's Flying Field expanded in the 1930s to 91 acres, and 1933 brought the addition of a Blimp Hangar to the field. The field also experienced significant growth during the 1940s when it was developed to cover 109 acres and to consist of a gravel runway and 70 individual T-hangars.
In 1953, Priester Aviation Service acquired the Airport. Priester continued to develop the Airport for the next thirty-three years. Lighting was installed on the paved runway and a DC-3 hangar was constructed in 1954. The Airport consisted of four runways by May of 1959. A VOR approach was established for Palwaukee in 1961. New corporate hangars and a 5,000-foot runway (16/34) were constructed in 1965, and in 1967 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commissioned an air traffic control tower at Palwaukee.
A 1,600-foot partial taxiway parallel to Runway 16/34 was completed in 1974. In the same year, the FAA began an ILS installation at Palwaukee. The largest corporate hangar constructed to date was built in 2000. Improvements made by Priester Aviation at Palwaukee continued throughout the late 1970s into the early 1980s until the Airport was acquired by its neighboring communities.
On December 26, 1986, the Airport changed from private to public ownership as the City of Prospect Heights and the Village of Wheeling purchased Palwaukee from Priester Aviation. Priester Aviation continued to operate the only fixed base operation following the purchase. Funding for the purchase was contributed by the FAA, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the municipalities. Funding from Prospect Heights and Wheeling was provided through Airport revenues and had no effect on the municipal taxes for the two communities.
During the last decade, the Airport has undergone significant construction, upgrading, and development projects. In 1990, the Airport constructed new tiedown space in Area 3. Several projects were undertaken by the Airport in 1992 including the acquisition of an office and attached warehouse for Airport administrative offices and a maintenance facility; construction of an Airport vehicle access road linking the new maintenance facility to the Airport; construction of Taxiway Yankee and Runway 16/34 emergency recabling; and the purchase of over 60 acres of land. In 1992, the Airport also conducted its first Airport emergency drill realistically simulating an airport disaster. The intersection of two major arterial roadways and a drainage ditch have been relocated beyond the runway safety area. A new air traffic control tower was commissioned in 1997. Beginning in 1997, Priester Aviation constructed three new corporate hangars in the east quadrant of the Airport that are capable of providing access for the new transcontinental business aircraft entering service. North American Jet, Inc. began construction of a new second fixed base operator facility in 1998.
Today, Chicago Executive Airport is home to 325 aircraft, including 57 corporate jet aircraft. More than 167,000 takeoffs and landings were logged annually at Chicago Executive Airport in recent years. Chicago Executive Airport consists of three active runways and covers more than 412 acres; Chicago Executive Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Illinois and plays a crucial role as a reliever for the region, which includes O'Hare International Airport.
The Airport operates 24 hours a day year round. The air traffic control tower is staffed by the FAA and operates daily between 6 a.m. weekdays (7 a.m. weekends) and 10 p.m. The primary users of Palwaukee include private airplane owners, flight schools, businesses who maintain their company aircraft at the Airport and major national corporations.
Currently, the Airport is involved in a modernization project to bring it up to federal standards, which includes improving runways and building taxiways and aprons.
Chicago Executive Airport is managed under the guidance of the Chicago Executive Airport Board of Directors' an advisory board of members from each municipality who consider both current and long-term plans for the Airport. The Airport is expected to bring prestige and economic development for both municipalities through careful planning.