Hartford–Brainard Airport is a towered public airport three miles (5 km) southeast of downtown

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, in

Hartford County Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains th ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. It is owned by the Connecticut Airport Authority. The

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

(FAA)

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. NPIAS was developed and now maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It identifies existing and proposed airports tha ...

for 2017–2021 categorized it as a regional reliever airport facility. The airport is named after former mayor

Newton C. Brainard Newton Case Brainard (December 26, 1880 – July 16, 1964) was an American banker and historian who served as Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut from 1920 to 1922. He graduated from Yale University in 1902. He was a member of the Acorn Club, elected ...

History

Originally called Brainard Field when it opened in 1921, Hartford–Brainard Airport may well be the country's first municipal airport. Located in a former cow pasture in the southeast Hartford Neighborhood of South Meadows, Brainard opened in 1921. Among the facility's claims to fame are visits by some of the early 20th century's greatest aviators — including

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

and

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

— who landed there to great acclaim. For its first decade, officials limited the airfield's use primarily to small passenger flights, but in 1933, city officials opened Brainard to commercial traffic. Passenger airlines, such as

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

, and

Colonial Airlines Colonial Airlines was a United States airline from 1942 to 1956 with bases at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City and at Montréal/St-Hubert Airport in Montreal, Canada. History It was founded as Canadian Colonial Airways on 6 March 1928 to ...

served Brainard. But the airport couldn't handle the large

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

and heavier planes that became common by the 1930s. The weight of the planes was too much for grass runways; later, the city would install a blacktop runway. Additionally, Brainard could not accommodate large aircraft because its runways are too short and the airport's proximity to

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Islan ...

also resulted in fog problems. As a result, larger aviation began to move to the new

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England. The airport is about half ...

Windsor Locks Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approxim ...

after it opened in 1947, and by 1958 all commercial carriers had relocated. No longer the principal airport for the

Greater Hartford Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater B ...

area, the Hartford city council voted for closure, though the next year in 1959 the state and the city entered into an agreement, transferring control of the airport to the state. A large runway was closed to support development of the South Meadows commercial and industrial district off Brainard Road, reducing the airport's size to 201 acres (81.3 ha). In 1986, Brainard had nearly 25,000 more takeoffs and landings than Bradley, with 90 per hour during peak periods. As of 2016, Brainard served as the

reliever airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever a ...

for Bradley Airport, with approximately 360 people working at the various airport-related businesses and at government agencies based on-site.

Closure discussion

Closing Brainard was first proposed in 1950s and has remained a common political talking point in Hartford. In 1981, a proposal to close the airport was met with more opposition than support. In 1993, a proposal by then-governor of Connecticut

Lowell Weicker Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. (; born May 16, 1931) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. He was ...

to close Brainard and move operations to

Rentschler Field Rentschler Field was an airport in East Hartford, Connecticut in use from 1933 to 1999. Originally a military facility, later a private corporate airport, it was decommissioned in 1999, after which the football stadium of the same name was bui ...

in East Hartford was unsuccessful. Following additional shelved proposals in 2006 and 2016, the Hartford City Council unanimously passed a non-binding resolution in August 2021 calling for Brainard to be decommissioned and redeveloped into a 201-acre housing, entertainment, retail, and commercial complex with a marina, similar to the 2016 proposal. A 30% decline in takeoffs and landings between 2010 and 2020, annual operating losses, and non-taxable property were cited by supporters of closure, while supporters of keeping the airport open pointed to a 2016 study that said the airport contributes more than 100 private-sector jobs to the region, serves as a public safety hub, and should be renovated and expanded. The Connecticut Airport Authority, which has final authority over the airport, says it has no plans to close.

Facilities

Hartford–Brainard Airport covers and has three runways and two

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard ...

s: * 2/20: 4,417 x 150 ft (1,346 x 46 m),

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

* 11/29: 2,314 x 71 ft (705 x 22 m), asphalt * NE/SW: 2,309 x 150 ft (704 x 46 m), turf (closed during winter months from November 2 to April 30 except for ski-equipped aircraft or helicopter training) * Helipad H1: 70 x 77 ft (21 x 23 m), asphalt * Helipad H2: 44 x 44 ft (13 x 13 m), asphalt In the year ending June 12, 2001 the airport had 120,217 aircraft operations, average 329 per day: 99%

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 ...

, 1%

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) ...

and <1% military. 144 aircraft are based at this airport: 87% single-engine, 10% multi-engine, 1% jet aircraft, 1%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

s and 1% gliders. The Connecticut Wing Civil Air Patrol 071st Royal Charter Composite Squadron (NER-CT-071) operates out of the airport.http://www.ctwg.cap.gov/ct071.html Civil Air Patrol 071st

References

External links

Brainard Airport
* * Transportation in Hartford, Connecticut Connecticut Airport Authority Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Hartford, Connecticut Airports in Hartford County, Connecticut {{Connecticut-airport-stub

History

Closure discussion

Facilities

See also

References

External links