Darke County Airport

Airport

Darke County Airport

Airport building, used as a waiting area

* IATA: none
* ICAO: KVES
* FAA LID: VES

Summary
Airport type| Public
Owner| Darke County Commissioners
Serves| Versailles, Ohio
Time zone| UTC−05:00 (-5)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−04:00 (-4)
Elevation AMSL| 1,007 ft / 307 m
Coordinates| 40°12′16″N 084°31′55″W﻿ / ﻿40.20444°N 84.53194°W﻿ / 40.20444; -84.53194
Map

VES

Location of airport in Ohio

Show map of Ohio

VES

VES (the United States)

Show map of the United States

Runways
| Direction | Length  | Surface

|
|

ft  | m
9/27  | 4,802  | 1,464  | Asphalt
Statistics (2021)
| Aircraft operations| 12,775

|

Based aircraft| 29

Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Darke County Airport (ICAO: KVES, FAA LID: VES) is a county-owned, public-use airport in Darke County, Ohio, United States.[1] It is located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Versailles.[1] It is along State Route 121 just south of Versailles. Midmark operates a private jet from this airport. The airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2]

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned VES by the FAA,[1] but has no designation from the IATA.[3][4]

In 2007, light lenses were stolen from the airport. Officials said the theft could endanger pilots.[5]

The airport holds events such as fly-ins that feature old warbird aircraft, medical helicopters, and highway patrol aircraft.[6][7]

CareFlight Air & Mobile has a helicopter based at the airport, which serves as the company's northwest base. The helicopter was activated to respond to calls in early 2020.[8]

## Facilities and aircraft

[edit]

### Facilities

[edit]

Darke County Airport covers an area of 42 acres (17 ha) at an elevation of 1,007 feet (307 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 9/27 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,802 by 75 feet (1,464 x 23 m).[1][9]

The airport has a fixed-base operator that sells both avgas and Jet A. Services such as hangars, courtesy cars, and rental cars are available; amenities such as internet, conference rooms, vending machines, a crew lounge, snooze rooms, and more are also available.[10]

In 2012, a section of State Route 242 was closed to allow the airport to use all of its runway surface for landings; with the road in place, planes need to approach at a higher altitude and touch down further down the runway to meet FAA obstacle clearance requirements.[11]

In 2022, the Dark County Airport received $1.35 million to upgrade its FBO terminal, including funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act.[12][13] Construction on the new airport terminal began in 2023, and a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the airport was held in spring 2024.[14] The facility aims at expanding the airport's attraction, especially as traffic increases.[15][16]

Additional funding was received in 2023 to improve the terminal's facilities.[17][18]

### Aircraft

[edit]

For the 12-month period ending September 29, 2021, the airport had 12,775 aircraft operations, an average of 35 per day: 87% general aviation, 5% air taxi, and <1% military. At that time there were 29 aircraft based at the airport: 25 single-engine and 2 multi-engine airplanes as well as 1 jet and 1 helicopter.[1][9]

## Accidents & incidents

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* On November 17, 2018, a Piper Saratoga crashed while landing at the Darke County Airport. Damage was done to the left wing and landing gear.[19][20]

## See also

[edit]

* List of airports in Ohio

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f FAA Airport Form 5010 for VES PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. effective November 15, 2012.
2. ^ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on 2012-09-27.
3. ^ "Darke County Airport (FAA: VES, ICAO: KVES, IATA: none)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
4. ^ "IATA Airport Code Search". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
5. ^ "Details on Darke County's Plans for State Route 242 and the Darke County Airport". Versailles, Ohio: The Columbus Dispatch. April 11, 2007. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
6. ^ "Darke County Airport holds Fly-In – County News Online". 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
7. ^ "Darke County Airport Fly-In". AllEvents.in. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
8. ^ "CareFlight adds fourth base of operations in Darke County". www.nationalaccountexecutives.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
9. ^ a b "AirNav: KVES - Darke County Airport". www.airnav.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
10. ^ "VES Darke County Airport (VES/KVES)". FlightAware. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
11. ^ "Details on Darke County's Plans for State Route 242 and the Darke County Airport". Retrieved 2024-05-14.
12. ^ Brewer, Meladi (2022-07-13). "Darke County receives $1.35 million for airport terminal". Daily Advocate & Early Bird News. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
13. ^ Bush, John (July 11, 2022). "Darke County Airport lands $1.4 million in federal funding for new terminal building". Dayton Business Journal. The Business Journals. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
14. ^ "Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Opening of New Darke County Airport Terminal – County News Online". 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
15. ^ Jarrell, Zachary (2023-08-30). "Construction of new terminal at Darke County Airport underway". WKEF. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
16. ^ "'Able to offer much more': Darke County Airport builds new terminal". WDTN.com. 2023-09-01. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
17. ^ Schrock, Jeffery (2023-04-29). "Five airports in southwest Ohio receive grant funding". WKEF. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
18. ^ "Nearly $4 million in federal funds awarded to improve area airports". WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
19. ^ "Single engine aircraft crashes at Darke County Airport". Daily Advocate & Early Bird News. Versailles, Ohio. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
20. ^ "Single engine aircraft crashes at Darke County Airport". Sidney Daily News. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2024-05-14.

## External links

[edit]

* Aerial image as of April 1994 from USGS The National Map
* FAA Terminal Procedures for VES, effective November 28, 2024
* Resources for this airport:
* FAA airport information for VES
* AirNav airport information for KVES
* FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
* NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
* SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures