Middlebury State Airport is a public use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

Addison County Addison County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 37,363. Its shire town (county seat) is the town of Middlebury (town), Vermont, Middle ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is owned by the

State of Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

and is located three nautical miles (5.56 km) southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

of the Town of Middlebury. Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the

FAA 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 m ...

and

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

, this airport is assigned 6B0 by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA

Facilities and aircraft

Middlebury State Airport covers an area of at an

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 ...

of 490 feet (149 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. ...

. It has 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 01/19 with an

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 a ...

surface measuring 3,206 by 60 feet (977 x 18 m). Runway 1-19 is oriented in a north-south direction and has visual approaches.Final Summary Report: Runway 1-19 Extension Analysis at Middlebury State Airport
''URS Corporation, Roxbury, VT'', April 2008 The runway is unlit and lacks an Automated Airport Weather Station (AWOS/ASOS). It has a weight bearing capacity 12,000 lbs. per single wheel. The aircraft parking aprons at the facility are approximately 87,000 ft² and encompass approximately 170,000 ft² of area.Middlebury State Airport Business Plan
''McFarland-Johnson, Inc., in association with R.A. Wiedemann & Associates, Inc. '', September 2008, p. 15. The principal apron is located northwest of Runway 19 and has the capacity to hold 42 aircraft. The secondary apron is located in front of the terminal building and has the capacity for 10 aircraft. A small fueling apron is located between the two parking aprons. Aircraft tie-down spaces are leased by the facility's FBO from the State of Vermont. For the 12-month period ending May 30, 2008, the airport had 16,451 aircraft operations, an average of 45 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 ...

, 5%

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, 4%

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 a few ultralights. At that time there were 48 aircraft based at this airport: 77% single-

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, 10% multi-engine, 4%

jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

, 4%

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 attributes ...

, 2%

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 ...

and 2% ultralights.

History

The original airport facility was developed by the Quesnel Family in the 1950s in support of their aerial pesticide application business. In 1966, the Town of Middlebury purchased the facility. In 1970, it was acquired by State of Vermont Aeronautics Board and formally named "Middlebury State Airport".

Improvements

In 1976 the Army National Guard constructed a gravel taxiway parallel to the runway. In 1990, a tie-down apron was constructed. In 1993, an aviation fueling system was installed. In 2000, Runway 1-19 was reconstructed and repaved. In 2003, a terminal building and hangar were constructed. In 2009, the FAA approved a Finding of No Significant Impact to increase the runway width by 10 ft., and the length by 700 ft. (i.e. the runway would expand to 3,206 ft. length x 60 ft. width). This expansion would make it possible for the airport to accommodate small jets.Addison County RPC - Aviation page
Addison County Regional Planning Commission website (accessed Aug 2015) The State of Vermont 2007 Airport System & Policy Plan calls for ‘Local Service Airports’ (such as the Middlebury Airport) to increase their runways to 4,000 ft. length x 75 ft. width, pending appropriate land acquisitions and completion of environmental review and permitting.Vermont Airport System & Policy Plan
''Prepared for the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Prepared by Wilbur Smith Associates, Inc.'', February 2007, p. 7-10. As of 2015, residents living near the airport in East Middlebury have called for a halt on the State's plan to expand the facility citing noise, environmental, and economic concerns. On June 9, 2015, the Town of Middlebury Selectboard voted in favor of the project (5 to 2).The Town of Middlebury Selectboard Minutes, June 9, 2015
. townofmiddlebury.org The proposed $3.5m project would entail acquiring the navigation easements from property owners abutting the southern approach of the runway (for tree removal, which addresses current visibility concerns for pilots), reconstructing and extending the taxiway in 2017, and extending the runway by 700 ft. at the northern terminus in 2018.

References

External links

VTrans - Aviation Program Middlebury (6B0) Technical & Planning Information

Live Flight Tracking via FlightAware

Aerial photo as of May 1993
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-minor, 6B0 Airports in Vermont Transportation buildings and structures in Addison County, Vermont