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 ...
owned and operated by the City of Dowagiac located 1m (1.6 km) northwest of Dowagiac,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
,
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 territori ...
. The
uncontrolled airport
In aviation, a non-towered airport is an airport without a control tower, or air traffic control (ATC) unit. The vast majority of the world's airports are non-towered. In the United States, there are close to 20,000 non-towered airports compared ...
is used for general aviation purposes. 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 ...
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 ...
facility.
The airport is used largely by personal pilots, but it also gets significant traffic from
crop dusting
Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific sp ...
aircraft spraying nearby fields. Local officials say the airport helps generate tourism, especially during the summer months.
Additionally, radio controlled aircraft operations are permitted on the southeast side of runway 04/22.
In 2020, the airport was announced as a finalist to become the hub of Michigan's space launch network, though it was eventually ruled out.
The airport is home to a chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), which hosts pancake breakfasts, fly-ins, and other events at the airport.
The airport is home to a variety of
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 ...
pilots as well as flight schools that offer flight training year-round.
Facilities & Aircraft
The airport has two runways. Runway 9/27 is 4700 x 100 ft (1433 x 30 m) and is asphalt, while runway 4/22 is 2176 x 100 ft (663 x 30 m) and is turf.
The airport received a new terminal which opened in 2017. The building replaced the old facility, which was functional but too old to support the airport and unable to be renovated. Building began in July 2016 and was completed in spring of 2017. 95% of the cost was covered by the
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstat ...
(MDOT), while the rest was paid for through fees paid for things such as fuel sales, hangar rentals, and other land rentals. The old terminal will remain open to house airport equipment and lighting.
In August 2022, a project was approved to bring the airport new runways lights. The airport received a block grant from the Federal Aviation Administration through the MDOT to subsidize the project.
The airport operates its own FBO, services such as fueling, a pilot planning room with computers, and wifi.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport has 3,588 aircraft operations, an average of 69 per week. It is all
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 ...
. For the same time period, 14
airplanes
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...
are based on the field: 13 single-engine and 1 multi-engine.
Accidents & Incidents
*On February 18, 2002, a
Cessna 172 Skyhawk
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.Beech B24R Sierra crashed during a landing attempt at Dowagiac. The instructor onboard was demonstrating a power-off approach and landing. The first attempt resulted in a go-around because the plane would not have made the runway, but the instructor continued with the second attempt because he felt he would have made the runway even though it would've missed the 1,000 foot markers. The plane again came in low, and the instructor added power when roughly 30 feet from the runway and 10 feet above the ground, but the aircraft touched down in the sod short of the runway, causing the left landing gear to separate from the wing and subsequently the left wing from the fuselage. The probable cause was found to be the flight instructor's failure to maintain the appropriate glidepath and airspeed during the approachm, resulting in an
aerodynamic stall
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', p. 486. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. This occurs when th ...