Canton-Plymouth-Mettetal 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 in Canton Township

Canton Township, Michigan

The Charter Township of Canton, usually referred to as Canton, is an affluent charter township of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The commuter town is located west of Detroit and east of Ann Arbor. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 90,173, making it Michigan's...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, United States

United States

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

. The airport lies two nautical miles (3.7 km) south 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 Plymouth

Plymouth, Michigan

Plymouth is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,132 at the 2010 census. The City of Plymouth is an enclave completely surrounded by Plymouth Charter Township, Michigan.-Geography:...

, in Wayne County

Wayne County, Michigan

-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

. The airport is owned and operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation

Michigan Department of Transportation

The Michigan Department of Transportation is a constitutional government agency in the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interstate, US and state highways in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinac...

 (MDOT). It is also referred to as Mettetal Airport. The airport is uncontrolled, and is used for general aviation purposes.

This airport is included in the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. It is developed and maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration . Its purposes are:* to identify all the airports in the U.S...

 (2009-2013), which categorizes

FAA airport categories

The United States Federal Aviation Administration has a system for categorizing public-use airports that is primarily based on the level of commercial passenger traffic through each facility. It is used to determine if an airport is eligible for funding through the federal government's Airport...

 it as a reliever airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Canton-Plymouth-Mettetal Airport covers an area of 63 acres (25.5 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 696 feet (212 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 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 2,303 by 75 feet (702 x 23 m). No commercial airline service is available. Due to the short runway length, touch and go operations, commonly used in flight training, are prohibited.

For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2009, the airport had 46,433 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 85 per day. At that time there were 93 aircraft based at this airport: 95% 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...

, 1% multi-engine, 0% 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...

, 3% 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...

 and 1% ultralight.

External links

• Mettetal Airport Website at Michigan Airport Directory
• Aerial photo as of 27 March 1999 from USGS The National Map