Pangborn Memorial 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...

 in Douglas County, Washington, United States

United States

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

. It is located four nautical miles (7 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 Wenatchee

Wenatchee, Washington

Wenatchee is located in North Central Washington and is the largest city and county seat of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925...

, a city in Chelan County. The airport is owned by the Ports of Chelan and Douglas Counties.

The airport 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 (Horizon Air

Horizon Air

Horizon Air Industries, Inc. is a regional low-cost airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. It is the eighth largest regional airline in the USA, serving 52 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico....

) providing commuter service to Seattle-Tacoma International. As of September 28, 2006, Pangborn Memorial began supporting ILS

Instrument Landing System

An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...

 (Instrument Landing System) approaches.

Pangborn Memorial Airport is named for Clyde Pangborn

Clyde Pangborn

Clyde Edward Pangborn also known as "Upside-Down Pangborn" was an American aviator who performed aerial stunts during the 1920s...

, who in 1931 became the first person to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. Taking off from Misawa, Aomori

Misawa, Aomori

is a city located in eastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 42,399 and a density of 353 persons per km²...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 with an intended destination of Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, he instead landed in Wenatchee.

Facilities and aircraft

Pangborn Memorial Airport covers an area of 585 acres (236.7 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 1,249 feet (381 m) above mean sea level. It has two 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...

s: 12/30 is 5,700 by 150 feet (1,737 x 46 m) and 7/25 is 4,460 by 75 feet (1,359 x 23 m).

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2008, the airport had 44,681 aircraft operations, an average of 122 per day: 69% 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% 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...

, 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...

 and <1% 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...

. At that time there were 132 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...

, 9% multi-engine, 10% 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...

, 2% 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...

, 11% glider

Glider aircraft

Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...

 and 1% ultralight.

Expansion plans

In 2009, the FAA recommended and approved an expansion of the Pangborn runway to 7,000 feet. In addition to increasing the capacity of the runway to serve additional commercial flights using Canadair regional jets, the proposed lengthening would also increase the capacity of summer flights to operate during conditions of high density altitude, as well as winter flights to have the required stopping distance under slick conditions.

Airline and destination

External links

• Pangborn Memorial Airport, official site
• Pangborn Memorial Airport at WSDOT Aviation