Nashua Airport at Boire Field 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 surfa ...

located three nautical miles (6 km) northwest of the central business district of

Nashua Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places In Australia: * Nashua, New South Wales In the United States: * Nashua, California * Nashua, Iowa * Nashua, Minnesota * Nashua, Kansas City ...

, a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. Owned by the Nashua Airport Authority, It is included in 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 for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a national reliever airport facility.

History

The airport dates back to 1934, when the city of Nashua bought a small existing airport, which lacked a hangar and had a grass runway. Over the next several years Nashua, with federal help, paved the runway and put up some buildings. According to the history in the airport web site, the hangar was constructed from bricks reused from a Nashua factory that burned in 1930 in what was known here as the Crown Hill Fire. Nashua Airport Sign 2

In 1943 it was named Boire Field, after Ensign Paul Boire, who was Nashua's first casualty in World War II. The Nashua Airport Authority was established to oversee the airport in 1961. The New England Aeronautical Institute was founded here in 1965. The NEAI's Daniel Webster Junior College division was founded in 1967. The two schools merged in 1978 to form the Daniel Webster College (DWC). Nashua Airport would become one of the busiest airports in New England in terms of take-offs and landings due to its use by DWC for flight training (the flight training program would eventually be shuttered in 2010). The airport's

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

was built in 1972. The airport was one of the first to operate with a non-federal control tower in the early 1990s. This type of air traffic service, called a "contract tower", is common today. In 2012, runway 14-32 was moved to the northeast and extended by , to to accommodate larger corporate jets. The runway officially opened on August 31, 2012. The original runway was removed. Many taxiways to the new runway were rebuilt during the construction. In 2016,

Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is a private university between Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, along with national accreditation for some hospita ...

(SNHU) agreed to absorb the DWC's faculty and academic programs after its parent company ITT Tech declared bankruptcy. SNHU placed the winning bid for DWC's flight center, tower building, and hangar, and is exploring the viability of reviving DWC's former flight training program.

Facilities and aircraft

Boire Field 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 § Ver ...

of above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

. 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, concre ...

designated 14/32 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 ...

surface measuring . For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2011, the airport had 65,965 aircraft operations, an average of 180 per day: 99.7%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 <0.1%

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 ...

. At that time there were 294 aircraft based at this airport: 81% 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 ...

, 9% multi-engine, 6% jet, 3%

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 ...

, and 1%

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 ...

. There is space for 441 aircraft located on the field. Air Traffic Control is at the airport from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. It has no scheduled commercial service.

Airport services

The airport has private flight schools offering training and certification in fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters. On-demand air charter is offered by providers, including Air Direct Airways and Infinity Aviation, which operates a number of

Hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

mid-sized

business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pu ...

aircraft. Infinity Aviation Services is a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

(FBO) that provides aircraft servicing, fueling and maintenance and flight planning resources. GFW Aeroservices, a former FBO, ceased operation in March 2011. The second-floor Midfield Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., six days a week, closed on Tuesdays. The airport hosts the

Aviation Center, Aviation Operations Management Program, and an accelerated Flight Program.

References

External links

Nashua Airport - Boire Field official site

Infinity Aviation Services
an
Nashua Jet Aviation
the

s (FBOs)
New Hampshire Aviation Historical Society

Aerial image as of April 1998
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 pro ...

'' * * {{US-airport-ga, ASH Airports in New Hampshire Airports established in 1934 Buildings and structures in Nashua, New Hampshire Transportation buildings and structures in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire 1934 establishments in New Hampshire