Airport/Industrial Park

The Industrial site is 125 acres in size and was idle rangeland before the development of the park. The land is lease only and is publicly owned. The surrounding area is used for airport commercial, industrial and corrections. Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern/Sante Fe Railroad both share the mainline through the Airport Industrial Park.

In 1938, the Madras Airport Association was organized and a small airstrip was built to accommodate one cropduster plane and the airplane which was to become the key element in the Civilian Air Patrol established at that time. By 1942, however, construction was underway to develop a large airbase for the United States Army to train B-17 bomber pilots. Because of the air traffic patterns and the ideal climate for year-round training, Madras was deemed the ideal location for such a site. With adequate flat land available for handling larger runways, the Madras Air Base went into full operation not just for B-17's but also a few B-22 Flying Fortresses. In 1944, this became a major location for P-63 fighter plane training as well.