The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission (OAC) was created by the Legislature in 1963. The OAC was a successor agency to the Oklahoma Aviation Commission, which was created by the Legislature in 1946, predating the Civil Aeronautics Board and Administration, which became the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In view of the fact that Tinker Air Force Base was built in the early 1940s, American Airlines largest maintenance base was moved from New York’s LaGuardia Airfield to Tulsa in 1946, and the Civil Aeronautics Administration’s Standardization Center was moved from Houston to Oklahoma City in 1946, state and prominent business leaders believed that it was essential for the state to have a state agency focused upon aviation, aerospace, and airports to ensure that state government did all that it could do to take full advantage of the opportunity presented by the rapid growth of aviation after World War II. Aviation was having a profound impact upon the everyday lives of all Americans. It was dramatically shrinking the world. The core responsibility of OAC has been to ensure that the needs of communities and commerce across the state are met by a system of public airports, the Oklahoma Airport System (OAS). OAC has utilized federal, state, and local funds to make the investment for needed development and maintenance to the 108 airports that comprise the OAS. Beginning in 2001, with aviation-generated revenue provided by the Legislature from the aircraft excise and fuel taxes, and aircraft registration fees, OAC has been able to make a meaningful investment in our airport system that has also resulted in receiving additional federal funding from the FAA for our airport system. The statutory purpose of the OAC as stated in its original legislation in 1963 is “to encourage, foster, and assist in the development of aeronautics.” Aeronautics is broadly defined to encompass about anything pertaining to aviation, aerospace, or airports.