Willow Run Airport
Willow Run Airport (IATA: YIP, ICAO: KYIP, FAA LID: YIP) is an airport in Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township, near Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States, that serves freight, corporate, and general aviation. Due to its very close proximity to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, no major airlines schedule passenger flights to or from Willow Run. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a national reliever airport facility.
Willow Run Airport (YIP) | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Wayne County Airport Authority | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Van Buren Charter Township and Ypsilanti Township | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 716 ft / 218 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°14′16.539″N 83°31′49.47″W | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
YIP Location of airport in Michigan YIP YIP (the United States) | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration | |||||||||||||||
Opened in 1942, "Willow Run" was synonymous with the American industrial effort that contributed so much to Allied victory in World War II. Operated by the Ford Motor Company, the Willow Run manufacturing plant produced a total of 8,685 B-24 Liberator heavy bombers, completed and in kit form, before closure in April 1945; Willow Run produced more Liberators than either plant owned by the plane's designer, Consolidated Aircraft.
Today the Yankee Air Museum, located in one of the airport's hangars, has a large collection of vintage aircraft.