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The Illinois Aeronautics Commission was created in 1931 (L. 1931, p. 194). The commission's duties included supervision over aeronautical activities and facilities within the state and registration of all pilots and aircraft. The commission continued in existence until the Illinois Aeronautics Act of 1945 created the Department of Aeronautics (L. 1945, p. 334). This act empowered the department to establish procedures and regulations to augment and strengthen laws and regulations of the Federal Aviation Agency and the Civil Aeronautics Board. Among its responsibilities were the enforcement of the Aircraft Financial Responsibility Law; the approval and continuous surveillance of the state's commercial airports, heliports, and restricted landing areas; the investigation of accidents and prosecution of flagrant air safety regulation violators; the registration of pilots and aircraft; and the review of plans submitted by airport sponsoring bodies.
The Engineering Section of the department had responsibility for supervising and advising on the construction of air facilities; the Executive Air Transportation Section supplied aircraft and personnel to the Governor and other state officials for their travels. The Board of Aeronautical Advisors, chaired by the director of the department, served as an advisory group. In 1973 the Department of Aeronautics was abolished and its responsibilities were transferred to the newly created Division of Aeronautics under the Department of Transportation (P.A. 78-479, pp. 1384-1387).
215.001
DIRECTORS' GENERAL FILES. 1945-1965; 1969-1971. 9 cu. ft. No index.
Files on general administrative matters contain primarily correspondence with the Governor, various state agencies and departments, and federal agencies such as the Federal Aeronautics Administration and the U.S. Weather Bureau. Correspondence concerns financial responsibility, leases, insurance, proposed airport authorities, air and airport marking, helicopters and heliports, flight instruction clinics, ground schools, Link Trainer program, safety and emergency planning, civil defense, Civil Air Patrol, Governor's release of appropriated funds, and personnel matters.
Files also include personnel folders for departmental employees, VFR radio charts, bulletins of the National Transportation Safety Board, annual budgets, and airport directories.
215.002
CLOSED AIR FACILITIES. 1941-1970. 20 cu. ft. No index.
Administrative files were kept on each airport, heliport, or restricted landing area from its initial approval to revocation of certificate, abandonment, or closure. Seaplane bases are included for 1956-1957. Each file usually includes application for certificate of approval (allowing construction of facility), certificate of approval, inspector's report on airport site, photographs of site, close-up dimensional sketch, obstruction chart, comprehensive and periodic inspection reports, applications for approval of airport alterations or extensions, facilities record, and revocation orders.
Forms include data for name of owner or manager; location and legal description of property; number of schools, churches, and railroads within one mile of air facility; descriptions of landing strips, runways, aprons, taxiways, hangars, administration office buildings; types of aircraft storage, fuel, and repair services; and descriptions of identifying landmarks, air markings, and airport markings.
215.003
BOARD OF AERONAUTICAL ADVISORS CORRESPONDENCE. 1950-1955. 0.1 cu. ft. No index.
Directors' correspondence file on Board of Aeronautical Advisors concerns appointment of board members and meeting dates. File also includes a list of original board members, a departmental budgetary report, and a monthly report on appropriations and expenditures (September 1955).
215.004
BOARD OF AERONAUTICAL ADVISORS MINUTES. 1950-1955. 0.1 cu. ft. No index.
Minutes consist of the proceedings of the board's irregularly held meetings. Minutes also include bids for Vermilion County Airport (1950) and a monthly budget report (April 1955).
215.005
ENGINEERING SECTION GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE. 1945-1956. 2 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily concerns airmarkings, airport projects, airport lighting, Chicago Air Traffic Study (1945-1947), Statewide Airport Planning Study (1947-1948), Survey of Quad-City Area (1947), and the Federal Aid Airport Program (1949-1956).
215.006
ENGINEERING SECTION AIRPORT CORRESPONDENCE. 1945-1965. 4 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence with airports throughout the state concerns planning and policy decisions for proposed airport projects.
215.007
This RS has been relocated at 242.044.
215.008
ENGINEERING SECTION AIRPORT PROJECTS' FINANCIAL RECORDS. 1963-1965. 2 cu. ft. No index.
Financial records for various airport projects comprise weekly payroll summaries, weekly time sheets, and project cost ledger sheets. Records usually list project name; state and federal project numbers; employee's name, title, and work code numbers; number of hours worked; hourly and monthly salary; and amount paid.
215.009
This RS has been relocated at 242.045.
215.010
EXECUTIVE AIR TRANSPORTATION SECTION GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE. 1959-1969. 0.5 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence concerns security problems, flight schedules, travel arrangements and reservations, maintenance of aircraft, and landing information. File also includes applications for employment and reports and bulletins of the National Business Aircraft Association.
215.011
EXECUTIVE AIR TRANSPORTATION SECTION MONTHLY REPORTS. 1961-1966. 4 cu. ft. No index.
Monthly reports consist of cost-of-status reports, daily flight schedules, and operations expense records. Cost-of-status reports list number of hours and miles flown, number of trips, and itemized operating costs. Summary of daily flight schedules list date, pilot's name, intended landings, estimated times of departure and arrival, names of passengers, number of hours flown, and purpose of trip. Operations expense records list date, name of vendor, invoice number, description of supplies purchased or services rendered, and charge account receipts.
215.012
EXECUTIVE AIR TRANSPORTATION SECTION FLIGHT LOG SHEETS. 1962-1968. 3.5 cu. ft. No index.
Log sheets for each flight list date; aircraft number; type of flight; names of pilot, copilot, and station; time zone; times of departure and arrival; amount of day and night flying times; amount of fuel and oil consumed; and engines' mechanical measurements.
215.013
GI FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOOL FILES. 1946-1955. 3.5 cu. ft. No index.
Files for veterans' training schools contain correspondence concerning certification and inspection reports. Comprehensive and periodic inspection reports usually include list of approved courses; names of manager, ground inspector, flight instructors, and mechanics; descriptions of office, student
readyroom, hangar equipment, and shop facilities; and makes and models of aircraft. Files also include yearly approval of courses and letters of abandonment, cancellation, or renewal of courses.
215.014
AIRPORT PHOTOGRAPHS. 1956-1965. 400 photographs. No index.
Black-and-white aerial photographs and negatives are of Illinois airports and landing strips.
215.015
TRANSCRIPTS OF HEARINGS. 1939-1958; 1961-1971. 8 cu. ft. No index.
Transcripts of proceedings of departmental hearings concern airport zoning regulations, approval to operate a restricted landing area or commercial airport, approval of airport extensions or alterations, applications for consent to transfer certificate of approval or to change department's order of approval, and petitions for approval of plans.
215.016
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS. 1940-1955. 0.25 cu. ft. No index.
Attorney General opinions and related correspondence involve the interests and legal responsibilities of the department. File also includes a list of Illinois airport managers (1946).
215.017
REPORTS, SURVEYS, AND PLANS FOR AIR FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS. 1941-1948. 1.5 cu. ft. No index.
File includes reports submitted to the Department of Aeronautics by architectural and engineering firms on aviation facilities and airport programs for Illinois (1946; 1948), financial report and prospectus of the Advisory Council for the National Transport Terminal (1948), report on the airport requirements survey of the Chicago metropolitan area (1948), airline traffic survey prepared by the Civil Aeronautics Board (1941), and a master plan for Chicago Orchard Airport (1948) which was later Douglas and then O'Hare Airport.
215.018
CONSTRUCTION PLANS FOR AIRPORTS. 1942-1946. 0.25 cu. ft. No index.
Plans were drawn up by the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce for airports in Decatur, Quincy, Springfield, and Vandalia. Drawings for each airport include grading and drainage plans, topographic site plan, and summary of major quantities of construction materials used.
215.019
GENERAL REVENUE FUND REMITTANCES. 1949-1957. 0.1 cu. ft. No index.
File contains invoice-vouchers, orders, and copies of outgoing correspondence to Auditor of Public Accounts requesting that money collected by the Department of Aeronautics be deposited in various funds. Attached to each remittance is a State Treasurer's receipt for the amount deposited in the General Revenue Fund.
215.020
SPECIAL BULLETINS. 1950-1953. 0.1 cu. ft. No index.
Special bulletins issued by the department deal with pending aeronautical legislation, pilot information, and upcoming aeronautical events.
215.021
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF POWERED FLIGHT CELEBRATION FILES. September 1952-September 1954. 0.5 cu. ft. No index.
Files contain correspondence concerning the national celebration and activities of local organizations. Also included are publicity materials issued during the celebration (i.e., photographs, publications, promotion aid kits, press releases).
215.022
AIRCRAFT AND PILOT REGISTERS. 1965. 6 vols. No index.
Registers record aircraft and pilots operating in Illinois. Aircraft entries include owner's name, federal identification number, city and county location of the aircraft, make, year, model, horsepower, serial number, seating capacity, and base of operation. Pilot entries include name, city and county address, federal identification number, sex, birth date, and pilot rating (i.e., private, commercial, instruments).
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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