A century ago, Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) began operations just 18 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois. To be precise, what opened up that year was Gauthier’s Flying Field. And it wasn’t exactly an airport, just a 40-acre grassy field with dirt runways.
One hundred years later and much has changed at what is now Chicago Executive Airport. It is now 412 acres in size, and has two paved runways, with a third short runway due to be decommissioned for a Sky Harbour hangar development. The main runway, 16/34, is 5,001ft long, a width of 150ft, and a crushable concrete EMAS (Engineered Materials Arresting System) at both ends to safely stop aircraft that overshoot their landings. It is equipped with an Instrument Landing System (ILS). The crosswind runway, 12/30, is 4,415ft long and 75ft wide.
Today, PWK is jointly owned by the Village of Wheeling and the City of Prospect Heights. It operates around the clock 24/7/365, serving as a critical artery for business and general aviation. It is consistently ranked as the fourth or fifth busiest airport in Illinois, with the fluctuation being driven by flight training volume.
“We are a reliever airport for both O’Hare and Midway,” says Jeffrey Miller, PWK’s executive director. “We’re also a national airport. We do about a hundred thousand operations in a year.”
Importantly, PWK provides a faster option for international business travelers than O’Hare. “If you do go into O’Hare in a private jet, you get into the common customs line and have to process with everybody else,” Miller says. “At our airport our average clearance time is seven minutes.”
Chicago Executive Airport is entirely sustained by user fees, and it is the busiest user-fee facility in its nine-state region. “You can imagine how much a local community doesn’t want to subsidize a general aviation airport with their tax revenue,” says Miller. “We are proud to say that we take no taxpayer dollars to operate the airport.”
Of course, this self-sustaining status is of more interest to local taxpayers than PWK’s clients.
“Most people just want to get in effectively, efficiently, and safely. That’s why PWK is so popular with business aircraft flying in and out of Chicago,” Miller says.
Impressive flight facilities
Chicago Executive Airport has an FAA-staffed tower. The tower’s hours are 6:00am–10:00pm during the weekdays and 7:00am–10:00pm at the weekends.
The airport is home to 325 aircraft, including 57 corporate jets. It currently covers 412 acres with three active runways, and its FBOs pump approximately 8 million gallons of fuel annually.
PWK is home to three major FBOs, providing comprehensive service, fueling, and spacious heated hangars for large business jets. Other services available at PWK include de-icing and crew cars.
Signature Aviation is the biggest FBO on site with executive terminals, conference rooms, and pilot snooze rooms. Atlantic Aviation offers conciergestyle service, a large canopy for covered arrivals, and extensive ramp space.
Ascension Global Aviation Services is a full service FBO with premier amenities and easy freeway access to downtown Chicago, the north shore and suburban communities.
“The choice of FBOs gives people the ability to shop around. The owners are always redoing their facilities. For the end user, it’s a pretty good experience,” he says. As mentioned previously, one of PWK’s biggest selling points is its dedicated Federal Inspection Station (FIS) for international travelers.
The FIS is open Monday to Friday, 11:00am–7:00pm Central Time. Clearances are available outside these hours and on weekends, but the FIS requires advance notice, and users will be charged an overtime surcharge. As a User Fee Airport (UFA), fees for customs clearance are based on aircraft weight class, from Class 1 for piston up to Class 4 for heavy jets.
“Our customs facilities won the architectural award in 2021 from AAAE,” Miller says.
Besides these amenities, PWK is home to a West Star Aviation satellite facility for AOG (Aircraft on Ground) support and line maintenance. Former airport owner Priester Aviation, which bought the property in 1953 and sold it in 1986, is also onsite, providing aircraft management and charter services. Meanwhile, PWK tenants Prime Appearance and RealClean offer aircraft cleaning and detailing services.
PWK is also home base for nine flight schools, including ATP Flight School and Chicago Executive Flight School. Finally, the airport offers a very popular Public Viewing Area on Palatine Frontage Road. Its facilities for aircraft spotters include bleachers and radio piping of ATC communications.
A century of service
PWK has undergone many changes over the last hundred years. Having started out as Gauthier’s Flying Field, it was then renamed Swallow Airplane Field in honor of the Swallow OX-5 biplane that was there. In 1928, it was renamed yet again, this time to Pal-Waukee Air Port.
“The name is not Native American,” says Miller. “Instead, it was based on the two intersecting roads that PWK is close to – Palatine Road and Milwaukee Avenue.”
In 1933, PWK added a large wooden hangar to house the Goodyear Blimp. This was done to support the Goodyear Blimp’s sightseeing tours during the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago. PWK served as the blimp’s overnight maintenance and storage base because it was close to the city while having enough space for such a massive structure. The hangar was torn down when the Jet Age arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, to make room for regular hangars and runway expansion.
A growing footprint
After World War Two, PWK’s footprint was expanded to 109 acres. A gravel runway was added, along with 70 T-hangars built to meet post-war demand. They are still in use today.
Until 1954, the airport consisted entirely of dirt, sod, and cinder (gravel) runways. After the Priester family bought PWK, the upgrades began. Runway 12/30 was paved and equipped with lighting in 1954-1955. By 1959, PWK had four runways.
16/34 was built as a paved runway in 1965 to serve heavier business jets. “The Priesters really leaned into the Jet Age with the Lear 25,” Miller says. “They really pushed us into the next generation of flying.” The FAA commissioned PWK’s first Air Traffic Control Tower in 1967.
In 1986, PWK was sold to the City of Prospect Heights and Village of Wheeling to prevent the airport’s closure and redevelopment. A new Air Traffic Control Tower was commissioned in 1997, and in 2006 Pal-Waukee was officially rebranded as Chicago Executive Airport.
“Pal-Waukee was a name that people were endeared to,” he says, “but it doesn’t really say where you are. So that’s how it was switched over to Chicago Executive Airport.”
Big plans
PWK is currently decommissioning Runway 6/24 to make room for its new Sky Harbour campus. The facility, which is being built and run by Sky Harbour Group Corporation, will serve as a Home Base Operator (HBO).
Made up of seven new 34,000 sq ft hangars, the Sky Harbour campus will provide permanent aircraft tenancy for ultra-high-net-worth individuals requiring privacy and ownership. The company will provide these permanent residents with exclusive line services such as towing, fueling, and ground power, preventing them from being stuck behind a visiting charter flight to get fueled or pulled out.
PWK is also planning to build a new administration and terminal building to replace its current 1968–vintage facility, which the airport has outgrown. Now in the design phase, the new building will serve as a cornerstone for the airport, housing administrative offices, the Civil Air Patrol, and college classrooms for Lewis University when it opens in 2029-2030.
“We have some audacious ideas, like an event space, a playground, and a viewing area,” says Miller. “You go to a commercial service airport these days and sometimes they look like a prison. We’re still in an environment where we have the type of fence where a kid can look over it.”
Finally, PWK is dealing with a wildcard, namely the possible relocation of the Chicago Bears NFL team to nearby Arlington Heights. If the Bears move, the airport’s Southwest Corner redevelopment will focus on itinerant parking and high-volume event handling. “It could be the Indiana Bears, for all we know at this point,” Miller says.
“But either way, our common plan with the runway closer is redevelopment.”
One thing is certain – the future is looking bright for Chicago Executive Airport.
“We’re celebrating 40 years of municipal ownership, 100 years of the airport, and 250 years for the country,” explains Miller.
“We’ll do this on June 27, 2026, with our annual ‘Rock ‘n’ Run the Runway’ 5K run with more than 1,300 participants, food trucks, and face-painting; a ‘living history’ aircraft display featuring a Ford Tri-Motor, B-25 Mitchell, and PBY Catalina; and the largest fireworks display in the area to close it out.”
Indeed, PWK has come a long way from grassy fields and dirt runways!
