Deblois Flight Strip is a public-use airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located two nautical miles (3.7 km) southeast of the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Deblois

Deblois, Maine

Deblois is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The town was named after T.A. Deblois, president of the Bank of Portland. The population was 49 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

, a town in Washington County

Washington County, Maine

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 32,856. Its county seat is Machias.Sometimes referred to as "Sunrise County" because it is the easternmost county in the United States, and it is often where the rising sun first shines on the 48...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is currently owned by the Maine Department of Transportation

Maine Department of Transportation

The Maine Department of Transportation, also known as MaineDOT, is the bureaucratic office of the state government charged with the regulation and maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure in the state of Maine. MaineDOT reports on the adequacy of roads, highways, and bridges in Maine...

, and managed by Randy Gray, Superintendent of Operations for the Eastern Region.

History

The airport was built by the United States Army Air Force about 1942 as an emergency landing airfield for military aircraft on training flights. It was closed after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and was turned over for local government use by the War Assets Administration (WAA).

Facilities and aircraft

Deblois Flight Strip covers an area of 153 acres (61.9 ha) at an elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 of 217 feet (66 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

 designated 15/33 with an asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 surface measuring 3,520 by 75 feet (1,073 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending August 12, 2008, the airport had 100 general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

 aircraft operations, an average of 8 per month.

External links

• Aerial image as of 16 May 1996 from USGS The National Map