Albert Lea Municipal Airport is three miles (6 km) north of

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with the ...

, in

Freeborn County Freeborn County is a county in the state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 30,895. Its county seat is Albert Lea. Freeborn County comprises the Albert Lea Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Freeborn Coun ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States. Albert Lea Municipal Airport was granted over $3 million through several federal funds to relocate the main runway in the early 2010's. The first funding announcement was followed by another announcement about a grant to rehabilitate the crosswind runway. Work began in 2011 and was completed within a year. The old runway, which parallels the new runway, was converted to serve as the new runway's taxiway. The cost of making the additions and redoing the old pieces of the airport runway totaled $9,500,000.00. This allowed the Albert Lea Municipal Airport to finally have a 5,000 foot runway. Later on, in July of 2017, it was reported that the Albert Lea Municipal Airport was awarded more than $766,000 by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. This money was used for the construction of a 4,300 sq ft. airport arrival and departure building and parking lot. A month later, in August of 2017, it was reported that the Albert Lea City Council unanimously authorized their last three funding agreements. It was noted that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation funded $766,00, the State funded $948,300.00, and the City of Albert Lea paid $436,500 for the project. The overall estimated cost of the project was around $2,150,000.00 which was noted as slightly higher than the bid from a previous year. The project was completed in the summer of 2018.

Facilities

The airport covers at an elevation of 1,261 feet (384 m). It has two asphalt runways: 17/35 is 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m) and 5/23 is 2,898 by 75 feet (883 x 23 m). In the year ending September 30, 2011 the airport had 26,175 aircraft operations, average 71 per day: 91%

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, 8%

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

and 1% military. 52 aircraft were then based at the airport: 75% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, 5% glider and 15%

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

Soaring contests

Albert Lea Airport hosts

soaring Soaring may refer to: * Gliding, in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes * Lift (soaring), a meteorological phenomenon used as an energy source by some aircraft and birds * ''Soaring'' (magazine), a magazine produced ...

contests, usually the week after Mother's Day in May. The airport is the only site in the United States to have hosted all seven classes of

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

competition. * 1992 U.S. Region 7 Contest * 1993 1-26 Championships * 1995 U.S. Sports Class Nationals * 1997 U.S. 15 meter Nationals * 1999 U.S. World Class Nationals and Region 7 Contest * 2002 U.S. Region 7 Contest * 2005 U.S. Region 7 Contest * 2007 U.S. Open Class Nationals, 18 meter Nationals, and Region 7 Sport Class Contest *2015 U.S. Region 7 Contest *2016 U.S. Region 7 Contest *2018 U.S. Region 7 Contest *2019 U.S. 20 meter Multi-place Nationals and Region 7 Contest From 1990 to 2008 Albert Lea was the host site for the

International Aerobatic Club The International Aerobatic Club (IAC) is a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the National Aeronautics Association (NAA). It promotes aerobatics and governs the sport of competition aerobatics in the United States under ...

International Aerobatic Club Chapter 78
/ref> Doug Yost Challenge Aerobatic Competition. This contest was moved to

Spencer, Iowa Spencer is a city in the state of Iowa, United States, and the county seat of Clay County. It is located at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan rivers. The population was 11,325 in the 2020 census, an increase from 11,317 in 2000. ...

due to construction in the area needed for the contest.

References

External links

Aerial photo as of 17 April 1991
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' * {{US-airport-ga, AEL Airports in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Freeborn County, Minnesota Transportation in Freeborn County, Minnesota