Griffith-Merrillville Airport 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 (4 km) east 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 Griffith

Griffith, Indiana

Griffith is a town in Calumet and St. John townships, Lake County, Indiana. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 16,893 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

, a town in Lake County

Lake County, Indiana

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2010, its population was 496,005, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. This county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area. The county contains a mix of urban,...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, United States

United States

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

. It is privately owned by Griffith Aviation, Inc.

Facilities and aircraft

Griffith-Merrillville Airport covers an area of 122 acres (49.4 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 634 feet (193 m) above mean sea level. It has one 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...

 paved 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 8/26 which measures 4,900 by 75 feet (1,494 x 23 m). The runway has VOR

VHF omnidirectional range

VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...

/DME

Distance Measuring Equipment

Distance measuring equipment is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals....

, GPS Instrument Approach

Instrument approach

For aircraft operating under instrument flight rules , an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft under instrument flight conditions from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing, or to a point...

es and Pilot Controlled Lighting

Pilot Controlled Lighting

Pilot Controlled Lighting , also known as Aircraft Radio Control of Aerodrome Lighting or Pilot Activated Lighting , is a system which allows aircraft pilots to control the lighting of an airport or airfield's approach lights, runway edge lights, and taxiways via radio. At some airfields, the...

.

Airport services include a fixed base operator

Fixed base operator

A Fixed-base operator or commonly abbreviated FBO is a term developed in the United States after the passage of the Air Commerce Act of 1926...

 (FBO) and flight school from Griffith Aviation, full service maintenance from Great Northern and custom engine overhauls from G & N Aircraft. Both 100LL gas and Jet A fuel are available.

For the 12-month period ending August 23, 2006, the airport had 33,699 aircraft operations, an average of 92 per day: 99% 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...

 and 1% air taxi

Air taxi

An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

. At that time there were 61 aircraft based at this airport: 67% single-engine

Aircraft engine

An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...

, 23% multi-engine and 10% helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

.

External links

• Griffith-Merrillville Airport, official site
• Aerial photo from Indiana Department of Transportation
  Indiana Department of Transportation
  The Indiana Department of Transportation is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, state highways and state owned canals or railroads.-Districts:INDOT is...
  
  
• Aerial photo as of 12 April 1998 from USGS The National Map