# Grimes Field

Grimes Field (FAA LID: I74) is a city-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) north of the central business district of Urbana, a city in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The airport is named after Warren G. Grimes, a forefather in the field of aviation lighting, and his Grimes Manufacturing Company operated the airport until 1987. It primarily serves general aviation traffic. Although it is owned by the City of Urbana, Grimes Field is self-supporting.

## History

The airport was built in the 1930s by the Grimes Manufacturing Company, which built aircraft lighting systems. It was colocated with the home of Warren Grimes, who owned the Grimes Manufacturing Company.
The airport was initially used to test aircraft lights. It officially opened to the public in 1943.
The company operated the airport until 1987.
The runway was expanded in the early 1960s and again in 2001. A facility expansion were completed in 1966, adding 42,000 square feet of space to the airport.
In 2017, 20 World War II era B-25 Mitchell bombers were staged at the airport to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid.

## Facilities and aircraft
### Facilities

Grimes Field covers an area of 329 acres (133 ha) at an elevation of 1,068 feet (326 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 02/20 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,400 by 100 feet (1,341 x 30 m), and 01/19 with a grass surface measuring 3,000 by 100 feet (914 x 30m). The airport is home to the Airport Cafe, a small restaurant situated at the edge of the parking ramp in the main terminal building.
The airport has a city-operated Fixed Base Operator. The company sells avgas and offers limited amenities.
The airport received $795,000 in 2021 for facility upgrades, including improving and replacing runways, taxiways, and airport-owned towers. Additional upgrades will be made to the airport's terminal and multimodal connections to the airport. An additional $144,000 were awarded in 2023 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Infrastructure Grant program.

### Aircraft

For the 12-month period ending Sept 8, 2019, the airport had 59,130 aircraft operations, an average of 162 per day: 97% general aviation, 2% air taxi, and <1% military. At that time there were 48 aircraft based at this airport: 38 single-engine and 9 multi-engine airplanes as well as 1 helicopter.

## Museums

There are 3 museums operating at Grimes Field.

### Champaign Aviation Museum

The airport is home to the Champaign Aviation Museum, which is located at its north end.

### The Grimes Flying Lab Foundation

The Grimes Flying Lab Foundation is located at the airport.

### Northern Branch of the Mid America Flight Museum

The northern branch of the Mid America Flight Museum is located at the airport.

## Events

Grimes Field is host to several events each year, such as FAA Wings Seminars, an EAA Young Eagles Event, a Military Appreciation Day, a Hot Air Balloon Festival, and a July 4th Car Show. The airport also hosts the Mid-Eastern Regional Fly In (MERFI).

## Accidents & incidents

* On September 10, 2008, a Cessna 150 crashed while landing at the Grimes Airport. The pilot gradually reduced power while flying the traffic pattern and applied carburetor heat on the base leg. Soon after, the engine began to gradually lose power over a period of 5 seconds. It did not subsequently respond to throttle or mixture control movements. The pilot then established a descent to avoid a stall and landed in a grass area 50 feet short of the runway; after touchdown the nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to an abrupt stop. The probable cause of the accident was found to be a loss of engine power due to carburetor ice.
* On June 20, 2009, a Piper PA-24 Comanche crashed after departure from the Grimes Airport. During the engine run-up prior to the first flight of the day, the pilot noted there was no resistance on the control knob when he checked the operation of the carburetor heat and there was a slightly “sluggish” return in the RPM as it returned to normal. When he applied carburetor heat during the engine run-up for the second flight of the day, the pilot noticed “RPM needle wiggled down 50” then returned to the set RPM. The second takeoff was normal until the airplane was 200 feet above the runway, when it began to feel “soggy.” The pilot stated he raised the landing gear to reduce drag, but it did not seem like the engine was producing power. The pilot then extended the landing gear and decided to land the airplane in a field off the end of the runway. The landing gear, which was not locked down, collapsed during the landing and the left wing was substantially damaged when it contacted a runway end identifier light. The probable cause of the accident was found to be a failure of the carburetor heat cable attach bracket, which resulted in the inadvertent activation of carburetor heat and the subsequent loss of engine power during takeoff.
* On June 8, 2016, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk was damaged during landing at the Grimes Airport. The pilot stated that the airplane porpoised during landing, then veered left off the runway and onto an intersecting runway. There were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's abnormal runway contact during the landing flare, which resulted in a porpoise, hard landing, and runway excursion.