Roscommon County–Blodgett Memorial Airport is a county-owned 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 ...

located five miles (8 km) northeast 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 Houghton Lake, an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Roscommon County Roscommon County ( ') is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 23,459. The county seat is Roscommon. The county was founded in 1840 and organized in 1875. History The county was formed by ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

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 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 m ...

(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, 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. It was known as Roscommon County Airport until 2005, when it was named to honor Terry Blodgett, the airport's manager from 1987 until his death in 2004, and his father Francis Blodgett, airport manager from 1959 to 1981. The airport is home to a chapter of the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...

, which hosts regular events such as

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

Egg Drops and fly-in breakfasts with model planes, the opportunity to interact with personal planes, and free flights. The airport is also home to regular veteran's appreciation events, where

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

are welcome to enjoy warm drinks and refreshments.

Facilities and aircraft

Roscommon County–Blodgett Memorial Airport covers an area of which contains 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 concrete, as ...

s: 9/27 with a 4,000 x 75 ft (1,219 x 23 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 a ...

pavement and 18/36 with a 2,200 x 100 ft (671 x 30 m)

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 that sells fuel and offers a lounge, rest rooms, and other amenities. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2006, the airport had 12,775 aircraft operations, all

, an average of 35 per day. There are 17 aircraft based on the field, all single-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 ...

. The airport is staffed daily from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. It is accessible by road from County Road 100, and is close to M-18, M-157, and U.S. Highway 127.

Accidents and incidents

*On April 14, 2016, an aircraft made an emergency landing at Blodgett Memorial Airport after a goose impacted and broke the airplane's windshield. The bird flew all the way into the aircraft's baggage compartment, and the pilot flew for 20 minutes before making a safe landing.

References

External links

* Airports in Michigan Buildings and structures in Roscommon County, Michigan Transportation in Roscommon County, Michigan {{Michigan-airport-stub