The Fort Worth Alliance Airport air traffic control tower is an FAA-certified Level 5 facility whose design showcases the best features of Modernism.

Designed by architectural firm Albert Halff Associates, the control tower opened in 1992 and is the crowning glory of Fort Worth Alliance Airport. It was also one of the final pieces of the puzzle to be put in place at AFW, which officially opened on December 14th of 1989. We’re not sure how pilots managed to fly into and out of AFW in the interim… maybe they just winged it.

Triumph Tower

Some have likened the Fort Worth Alliance Airport air traffic control tower to a big beaked bird or an ice cream cone as seen through the eyes of Picasso. The tower’s Cubist vibe isn’t all about form, however. The lower portion of the beak/cone houses microwave signal relay equipment essential to any control tower’s primary function.

Alliance Appliance

Flickr member Jeff Stvan (Diorama Sky) obviously loves airplanes but he’s got a crush on the Fort Worth Alliance
Airport air traffic control tower as well. The photographer’s many albums posted to the popular image-hosting service feature photos of the tower taken between 2003 and 2016, during Stvan’s frequent visits to the annual Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show.

Triangle, Manned

The Fort Worth International Air Show made its debut at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in 1993. The Bell Fort Worth Alliance Air Show succeeded its progenitor in 2006 and since that time the air show has donated over $700,000 to more than 60 non-profit organizations.

Pro & Control

If the Fort Worth Alliance Airport air traffic control tower looks familiar AND you’ve never attended an air show at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, you just may have been watching TV in 2004. Location shooting for LAX, a 13-episode TV drama starring Heather Locklear, used AFW as a substitute for Los Angeles International Airport. AFW and its iconic ATC tower still look and act as good as new… unfortunately the same can’t be said about Locklear.

Texas Angler

Jeff Stvan’s photos date from his visits to the air show in 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2016. Each time, Stvan was sure to snap the Fort Worth Alliance Airport air traffic control tower – most often as the prime subject but also incidentally as a background feature. Credit it to the power of the tower… or perhaps he was just in the mood for ice cream.