Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport
Encyclopedia
Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport , formerly known as Warren County Airport, is a public airport
located in the town of Queensbury
three miles (5 km) northeast of the city of Glens Falls
in Warren County
, New York
, USA
. It is named in honor of Floyd Bennett
, the pilot for the first flight ever over the North Pole
.
The annual Adirondack Balloon Festival is held at this airport.
. In 1941, ground was broken a few miles east at what is now the current site of the airport. The airport has been served commercially by Colonial Airlines
(1940s), Eastern Air Lines
(1950s), Mohawk Airlines
(1950s - 1970s), Allegheny Airlines
(1970s), and Air North (1960s-1980s).
s:
The north-facing runway 1 is equipped with an instrument landing system
and a medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment lights. GPS-based instrument approaches are available to all four runway ends. A VORTAC is located at the field and during the 1990s and earlier was used as the basis for IFR approaches to the main runway.
crashed into Pilot Knob Mountain while attempting to land at the conclusion of a flight from Albany. All 14 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.
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 the town of Queensbury
Queensbury, New York
Queensbury is a town in and the county seat of Warren County, New York, United States. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county. The population was 25,441 at the 2000 census. The town is named in honor of Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III of Great Britain and Ireland. It...
three miles (5 km) northeast of the city of Glens Falls
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
in Warren County
Warren County, New York
Warren County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Glens Falls, New York, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 65,707. It is named in honor of General Joseph Warren, an American Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is named in honor of Floyd Bennett
Floyd Bennett
Floyd Bennett was an American aviator who piloted Richard E. Byrd on his attempt to reach the North Pole in 1926.-Biography:...
, the pilot for the first flight ever over the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
The annual Adirondack Balloon Festival is held at this airport.
History
From 1918 to 1946, the county's only airport, Floyd Bennett Field, was located on what are now the grounds of Queensbury High SchoolQueensbury High School
Queensbury High School is a public high school located in Queensbury, Warren County, New York, United States. It was founded in 1963 and is one of four schools in the Queensbury Union Free School District. The other schools include Queensbury Elementary School, William H. Barton Intermediate...
. In 1941, ground was broken a few miles east at what is now the current site of the airport. The airport has been served commercially by Colonial Airlines
Colonial Airlines
Colonial Airlines was a Canadian airline from the 1940s and 1950s with bases in Montreal and at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. It was formerly known as well as Canadian Colonial Airways and Colonial Airways before becoming Colonial Airlines.By 1956, Colonial's executive offices were on Park...
(1940s), Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
(1950s), Mohawk Airlines
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...
(1950s - 1970s), 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....
(1970s), and Air North (1960s-1980s).
Facilities
Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport covers 500 acres (202 ha) and has two runwayRunway
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:
- Runway 1/19: 5,000 x 150 ft (1,524 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
- Runway 12/30: 4,000 x 100 ft (1,219 x 30 m), Surface: Asphalt
The north-facing runway 1 is equipped with an instrument landing system
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...
and a medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment lights. GPS-based instrument approaches are available to all four runway ends. A VORTAC is located at the field and during the 1990s and earlier was used as the basis for IFR approaches to the main runway.
Incidents and Accidents
On November 19, 1969, Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Mohawk Airlines Flight 411
Mohawk Airlines Flight 411, a Fairchild FH-227B twin-engine turboprop, registered N7811M, was a scheduled domestic passenger service operated by Mohawk Airlines, between Albany and Glens Falls, New York...
crashed into Pilot Knob Mountain while attempting to land at the conclusion of a flight from Albany. All 14 passengers and crew were killed in the accident.