David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport - Facilities and Aircraft

Facilities and Aircraft

David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport covers an area of 480 acres (190 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 17R/35L measuring 7,009 x 100 ft (30 m). and 17L/35R measuring 3,987 x 35 ft (1,215 x 11 m). It also has a seaplane landing area designated as runway 17W/35W which is 2,530 x 100 ft (771 x 30 m).

For the 12-month period ending August 5, 2002, the airport had 223,585 aircraft operations, an average of 612 per day: 98% general aviation, 1% air taxi and 1% military. There are 300 aircraft based at this airport: 83% single-engine, 10% multi-engine, 3% jet and 4% helicopter.

Facilities include:

• The main Gill Aviation terminal

• The Aviator Grill, a locally owned and operated restaurant connected to the Gill Aviation terminal. The grill is a popular community restaurant, and provides a spectacular view of the main ramps and runway 17R.

• Tomball Jet Center

• Helicopter Services

• LifeFlight Alert center, with Memorial Herman Hospital operated LifeFlight 4 on permanent standby.

• ATP Flight School

The airport also includes numerous flight schools, including Silver State Helicopters and American Flyers.

The airport was also previously a local favorite for its diverse mix of aircraft and openness. However, as of March 2012, citing safety concerns from pilots, barbed wire fencing went up around the airport, sealing off the previously popular observation areas and leaving only the inside of Aviator's Grill as the sole observation area for the public.