Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport is 3 mi north of Mansfield, in Richland County, Ohio. By car the airport is an hour away from Cleveland and Columbus, near Interstate 71, US Route 30, and State Route 13.

History

The airport is named for Frank P. Lahm. Lahm was a balloonist who trained his son in the field where the airport is now located. His son won the first Gordon Bennett balloon race to Paris to England, eventually worked with the Wright Brothers, and was the first military passenger on an airplane. The first airline flights were TWA Douglas DC-3s in 1947; Lake Central replaced TWA in 1953, and successor Allegheny served Mansfield until 1969, when Allegheny Commuter took over. The Mansfield Aviation Club was founded at the airport in 1949 and provides scholarships and celebrations. In 2021, the airport received an annual federal subsidy over several years from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In 2023, the city of Mansfield sued 81 companies and individuals over possible contamination at Mansfield airport. The issue is primarily centered around chemicals in foam being used by the Air National Guard's firefighters. The city claims that the military's products were defective and unreasonable dangerous. The suit is ongoing.

Military presence

The airport is home to the Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base and the 179th Airlift Wing (179 AW), an Ohio Air National Guard unit operationally gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC). The unit has about 1000 personnel, of which about 300 are full-time Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) and Air Reserve Technician (ART) personnel and the remaining 760 are traditional part-time air national guardsmen. The wing has been active at Mansfield Lahm since its establishment in 1948, operating various fighter aircraft until 1976, when it transitioned to an airlift mission with C-130 Hercules aircraft. The wing has performed service during Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Retiring their C-130's in 2009, the 179th flew the C-27 Spartan until 2013, at which time it began transitioning back to the C-130.

[Control Tower at Mansfield[[Image:Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport Terminal.JPG|thumb|left|Terminal at MFD]] | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Mansfield///Lahm///Regional///Airport.JPG]

Facilities and aircraft

Facilities

The airport covers 2,340 acre and has two asphalt runways: 14/32 is 9,001 x and 5/23 is 6,819 x. The airport adjoins several industrial parks. The airport can handle large aircraft, including the USAF C-5 and the Antonov 124-100. In 2022, the airport received nearly $7 million in funding to rehabilitate its facilities. The overflow parking ramp and certain taxiways and taxilanes were upgraded. In 2023, the airport received funding that is intended to go towards building a restaurant at the airport. The airport plans to begin construction in spring 2024. The facility will include a dining room, bar, and outdoor patio, and the restaurant will be open to both pilots and the general public.

Aircraft

In the year ending January 31, 2023, the airport had 18,780 aircraft operations, average 51 per day: 85% general aviation, 7% air taxi, 8% military, and <1% airline. 75 aircraft were based at this airport at the time: 51 single-engine and 11 multi-engine airplanes, 8 military, 4 jets, and 1 ultralight.

Events

The airport hosts regular events, most notably an Airport Day that features helicopter and airplane rides, a kids zone, interactive games, food trucks, vendor booths, and a car show. In 2023, the Airport Day featured a drone show, the first in the region. The airport also often hosts historic warbird aircraft displays.

Incidents and accidents