Bandera State Airport is a public use airport located in Bandera,

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the ...

, United States. It is owned by the

Washington State DOT The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington. Established in 1905, it is ...

Aviation Division. This airport was constructed in 1948 as one of the first state airports. It is located in the upper

Snoqualmie Valley The Snoqualmie Valley is a farming and timber-producing region located along the Snoqualmie River in Western Washington, United States. The valley stretches from the confluence of the three forks of the river at North Bend to the confluence of th ...

, east of

North Bend, Washington North Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States, on the outskirts of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 5,731 at the 2010 census and an estimated 7,136 in 2018. Since the closure of Weyerhaeuser's Snoqualmie sawmi ...

. The airport is a few feet off

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

. It is an excellent location for mountain flying practice. Though surrounded by mountains, the valley is wide enough for maneuvering most light aircraft. The airport is frequently used by instructors for training students in soft field work and in mountain flying. Glider clubs frequently base out of Bandera.

Facilities and aircraft

Bandera State Airport covers an area of with one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

designated 8/26. The runway has a

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

surface measuring 2,344 by 200 feet (714 x 61 m) which is extremely soft when wet. Field

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

is 1,636 feet (499 m) above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

, and some

density altitude The density altitude is the altitude relative to standard atmospheric conditions at which the air density would be equal to the indicated air density at the place of observation. In other words, the density altitude is the air density given as a ...

problems can be encountered on a summer day. Trees surround the airport close in, and there are trees close to each end of the field in the approaches.

Elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

and motorcyclists may be encountered on the field. The surface is rough. Vehicle ruts, and frost heaved rocks are possible. The south third of the runway is almost always soft, and the runway is generally smoother the farther north you land. Overflight to check for surface damage, presence of obstructions, and height of grass is essential. The airport is usually open from June 1 to October 1. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2020, the airport had 300

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 ...

aircraft operations, an average of 25 per calendar month (or, 75 per month during the 4 month season that the airport is open).

References

External links

Bandera State Airport
page at

WSDOT The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

Aviation * {{Airports in Washington Airports in King County, Washington