The John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...

 is mostly used for 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...

, but is also served by one commercial airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

. Service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service

Essential Air Service

Essential Air Service is a U.S. government program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States, which, prior to deregulation, were served by certificated airlines, maintained commercial service. Its aim is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service to these...

. The airport is named after the late Congressman John Murtha

John Murtha

John Patrick "Jack" Murtha, Jr. was an American politician from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democrat, represented Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 until his death in 2010....

.

The John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County (JMJCC) Airport is home to several military units. The airport houses the Pennsylvania Army National Guard

Pennsylvania Army National Guard

The Pennsylvania Army National Guard, abbreviated PAARNG, is part of the United States Army National Guard and is based in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...

 1-104th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion (Company's HHC,A,C,D, and E) and Det 1, 1-169th Aviation (Med-Evac). It also houses the 258th Air Traffic Control Squadron of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard

Pennsylvania Air National Guard

The Pennsylvania Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is, along with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, an element of the Pennsylvania National Guard. It is considered a part of the United States Air Force, as well as of the state.-Overview:The...

, the Marine Wing Support Squadron 471

Marine Wing Support Squadron 471

Marine Wing Support Squadron 471 is a United States Marine Corps Reserve aviation ground support unit. Headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota with outlying detachments in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and Mount Clemens, Michigan...

 (MWSS-471), Detachment A, and the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775

HMLA-775

Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775 was a reserve United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and UH-1N Huey utility helicopters...

 (HMLA-775), Detachment A. These military units use helicopters, rather than fixed-wing planes.

Facilities and aircraft

John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport covers an area of 650 acres (263 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 2,284 feet (696 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, R/W 23/5 and one concrete 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...

 R/W 33/15 s: 15/33 measuring 7,003 x 150 feet (2,135 x 46 m) and 5/23 measuring 4,386 x 100 feet (1,337 x 30 m).

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2007, the airport had 59,430 aircraft operations, an average of 162 per day: 64% 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...

, 29% military

Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...

, 6% 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...

 and 2% scheduled commercial

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

. At that time there were 69 aircraft based at this airport:
38% 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...

, 6% multi-engine, 1% jet

Jet aircraft

A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...

 and 55% military

Military aircraft

A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...

.

Airlines and destinations

History

The airport was dedicated in 1948, and at one time was served by both Allegheny Airlines

Allegheny Airlines

Allegheny Airlines was an airline operating out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1952 to 1979. It was a forerunner of today’s US Airways. Its headquarters were located on the grounds of Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia....

 and Mohawk

Mohawk Airlines

Mohawk Airlines was an airline that operated in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, primarily the states of New York and Pennsylvania from the mid-1940s until its acquisition by Allegheny Airlines in 1972...

. When US Airways

US Airways

US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....

 ended service to Altoona

Altoona, Pennsylvania

-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...

 and Pittsburgh, United Express

United Express

United Express is a brand name under which eight regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. They primarily connect smaller cities with United's domestic hub airports and “focus cities,” although they offer some point-to-point service such as Sacramento to Eureka.As of Sept...

 picked it up with service to Altoona and Washington-Dulles.

Finances

Although the airport only offers three commercial flights and has very little other activity, as of April 2009, the airport had received almost $200 million in federal subsidies. That funding has not been used to subsidize the facility’s commercial, corporate and general aviation operations, including the terminal. Those funds have been used to construct a concrete reinforced runway for military purposes and to build military installations located near and around the airport proper. The airport is in the bottom 28% of all facilities receiving EAS funding. In 2004, an $8 million air traffic radar system was installed at the airport, but as of April 2009, it has never been used.

External links

• John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (official website]
• John Murtha Johnstown Cambria County (JMJCC) Airport at Greater Johnstown Tech Park web site
• Johnstown-Cambria County Airport at Pennsylvania DOT Bureau of Aviation
• 258th Air Traffic Control Squadron