Pittsburgh International Airport, formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a civil–military international airport in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, about 20 miles (30 km) west of downtown Pittsburgh at Exit 53 of I-376 and the north end of PA Turnpike 576.
PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HISTORY
ntil the beginning of World War II Moon Township, Pennsylvania was mostly a rural agricultural area. It was too far from downtown Pittsburgh to be the “suburb” that it is today, although it was served solely by Pittsburgh-based state and federal services and media. In the early 1920s John A. Bell of Carnegie purchased a number of small farms in Moon and established a commercial dairy farm on his 1,900 acres (8 km2) of land. He was bought out by Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Rieck and C.F. Nettrour, owners of the established “Rieck’s” Dairy, who doubled the number of cattle at the farm.
Circa 1940 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) decided the Pittsburgh area needed a military airport to defend the industrial wealth of the area and to provide a training base and stop-over facility. The agricultural expanses of Moon Township were attractive to airport planners in the city. The Civil Aeronautics Administration proposed $2.6 million to the County for a $6 million field in August 1941. The County bought the Bell Farm and federal agencies began construction of the runways on April 20, 1942.
PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LOCATION
PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FACTS
ICAO/IATA: KPIT/PIT
Lat: 40°29′29″N
Long: 080°13′58″W
Elevation: 1,204 ft.
Runway length available: 10C/28C 9708×150 ft. :: 10R/28L 11500×200 ft. :: 10L/28R 10502×150 ft. :: 14/32 8101×150 ft.
