Gladwin Zettel Memorial 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 surfa ...

located one nautical mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Gladwin, a city in

Gladwin County, Michigan Gladwin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 25,386. The county seat is Gladwin. History Prehistory Gladwin County is a headwaters area. Most of the water that flows out of the co ...

, United States. The airport is owned by the city and county. 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 local

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 Class E Airspace around the airport was modified in 2016.

Events

The airport has been host to formation flying clinics to help pilots prepare for the Mass Arrival Saturday at

EAA Airventure EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsi ...

in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It also holds a number of aviation education events and air tours, attracting pilots from Michigan and Canada. These events are part of efforts by airport management to prove the economic necessity of the airport to the community. The airport is host to a number of non-aviation events such as pancake breakfasts, open houses, car shows, and drag racing.

Facilities and aircraft

Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport covers an area of 304 acres (121 ha) 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 773 feet (236 m) 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 two

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 ...

s: 9/27 is 4,699 by 75 feet (1,432 x 23 m) 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; 15/33 is 2,580 by 150 feet (786 x 46 m) with 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. The airport has 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, ...

that sells fuel and other amenities such as courtesy cars and a crew lounge. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2016, the airport had 4,420

aircraft operations, an average of 12 per day. At that time there were 15 aircraft based at this airport: 12 single-engine and 2 multi-engine

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 ...

as well as 1 jet. The airport is staffed from 9AM until 5:05PM. It is accessible by road from State St, and is close to M-18 and M-61.

Accidents and incidents

*On July 14, 2001, the propeller of a

Piper PA-28 Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

contacted the pilot at the airport. The aircraft was directed to a parking spot after landing, and it came to a complete stop. At that point, the pilot exited the aircraft, with another pilot at the controls, to look for a fuel truck. The pilot slipped forward and threw his arms up, impacting the propeller. The probable cause was found to be the pilot's poor decision to exit the airplane onto the wing while the propeller was running. *On July 4, 2005, a Becker RAF 2000 gyrocopter impacted terrain while in the traffic pattern at Gladwin Airport. The pilot's instructor asked whether the plane was out of trim after three takeoffs and landings, and on the next departure, the aircraft lost control while turning from the crosswind leg to the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. The aircraft entered a sudden descent, during which the main rotor blades folded up and over the gyrocopter, possibly striking the propeller blades. The aircraft then rose, flipped over, and spun backwards and sideways until it impacted the ground. The probable cause was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain control of the gyrocopter while in the traffic pattern. *On September 30, 2021, an ultralight aircraft departing from Gladwin crashed after takeoff. Witnesses reported the aircraft climbed quickly before suddenly crashing.

References

External links

Gladwin Zettel Memorial Airport
at City of Gladwin website * at

Michigan DOT 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 Interstate ...

Airport Directory
Aerial image as of April 1999
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-minor, GDW, GDW, KGDW Airports in Michigan Buildings and structures in Gladwin County, Michigan Transportation in Gladwin County, Michigan