Boeing Jets Still Coming to Oklahoma, but When Remains Unknown

    Feb. 27, 2020

    By Dale Denwalt

    Source The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City (TNS)

    TULSA — Boeing still has plans to use a rural Oklahoma airport for flight tests of its 737 Max and 777X aircraft, but state officials don't know quite when the aircraft will come in for a landing.

    At a meeting of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority, which oversees operations of the airport at Burns Flat, the agency's Executive Director Bill Khourie confirmed news revealed last month in The Oklahoman.

    "I'm happy to announce that Boeing Commercial Aircraft is interested in utilizing our facility once again for flight tests," Khourie said Wednesday. "It's great news for us and shows the capability of our facilities, especially the runways."

    The board was previously notified that infrastructure to support flight tests could be in place as early as March 1, but that date seems unlikely for flight tests to begin. Khourie said there's no definitive time frame and he's waiting for word from Boeing.

    Once they begin, tests could last several months.

    Boeing's aircraft would be based at the Clinton-Sherman Airport in Burns Flat, about 100 miles west of Oklahoma City. The 737 Max passenger jet has been grounded worldwide since March 2019. Boeing's newest commercial jet, the 777X, flew for the first time just a month ago.

    The 777X is the longest aircraft of its kind in the world at over 251 feet, and can carry 426 passengers.

    "What attracts them to our place is the length of our runway and the size of it, the fact that there's no obstructions on either end," said Khourie. "It just provides a great opportunity and environment for them to fly from without having other worries."

    The longest runway at Clinton-Sherman is over two and a half miles long.

    The airport and facilities in Burns Flat were first built at the start of World War II. It served as a naval air station until after the war. In the late 1950s, control of the base was handed over to the U.S. Air Force and the Strategic Air Command.

    Boeing has used the airport and its massive runway for testing before. In 2013, the company tested an auto-landing system on a new 737 aircraft. A 747-800 performed proficiency training and flight tests there in 2015.

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