Merrill Field
Encyclopedia
Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation
airport
located one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Anchorage
in the U.S. state
of Alaska
. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage.
This was the first official airport in Anchorage when it opened in 1930. The airport is named for Russel Merrill
, an Alaskan aviation pioneer. The first aviation beacon in the Territory of Alaska
was located at Merrill Field and was dedicated on September 25, 1932 in Merrill's honor.
Merrill Field is home to the University of Alaska Anchorage's
Aviation Technology Division, as well as many local flight schools, air taxi
services, and fixed base operators
. An extension of the Q Taxiway
connects the airport to Alaska Regional Hospital for MEDEVAC
operations.
A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill. This section requires slightly more maintenance due to settling and emissions.
s (176 ha
, 1.76 km²) and has three runway
s:
For 12-month period ending August 5, 2004, the airport had 191,550 aircraft operations, an average of 524 per day, 100% of which were general aviation
. There are 966 aircraft based at this airport: 93% single engine, 5% multi-engine, 2% helicopter
s and <1% gliders
.
The airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.
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...
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 one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage.
This was the first official airport in Anchorage when it opened in 1930. The airport is named for Russel Merrill
Russel Merrill
Russel Hyde Merrill was an Alaskan aviation pioneer. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he became a U.S. Navy pilot during World War I, becoming Naval Aviator No. 469...
, an Alaskan aviation pioneer. The first aviation beacon in the Territory of Alaska
Alaska Territory
The Territory of Alaska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 24, 1912, until January 3, 1959, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alaska...
was located at Merrill Field and was dedicated on September 25, 1932 in Merrill's honor.
Merrill Field is home to the University of Alaska Anchorage's
University of Alaska Anchorage
The University of Alaska Anchorage is the largest school of the University of Alaska System, with about 16,500 students, about 14,000 of whom attend classes at Goose Lake, its main campus in Anchorage....
Aviation Technology Division, as well as many local flight schools, 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...
services, and fixed base operators
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...
. An extension of the Q Taxiway
Taxiway
A taxiway is a path on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller airports sometimes use gravel or grass....
connects the airport to Alaska Regional Hospital for MEDEVAC
MEDEVAC
Medical evacuation, often termed Medevac or Medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being evacuated from the battlefield or to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of an accident to receiving medical facilities using...
operations.
A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill. This section requires slightly more maintenance due to settling and emissions.
Facilities and aircraft
Merrill Field covers 436 acreAcre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (176 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
, 1.76 km²) and has three 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:
- Runway 4/22: 2,000 x 60 ft (610 x 18 m), Surface: GravelGravelGravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
/Dirt - Runway 7/25: 4,000 x 100 ft (1,219 x 30 m), Surface: AsphaltAsphaltAsphalt 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...
- Runway 16/34: 2,640 x 75 ft (805 x 23 m), Surface: Asphalt
For 12-month period ending August 5, 2004, the airport had 191,550 aircraft operations, an average of 524 per day, 100% of which were 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...
. There are 966 aircraft based at this airport: 93% single engine, 5% multi-engine, 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...
s and <1% gliders
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...
.
History
Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, was the only airport serving Anchorage until 1951 when the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.The airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.
External links
- http://www.muni.org/departments/merrill_field/pages/default.aspx Municipality of Anchorage: Merrill Field (official web site)
- Alaska FAA airport diagram (GIFGIFThe Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
)
