Vista Field 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 Benton County, Washington

Benton County, Washington

Benton County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Columbia River makes up the north, south, and east boundaries of the county. In 2010, its population was 175,177. The county seat is Prosser, and its largest city is Kennewick...

, United States

United States

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

. The airport is three nautical mile

Nautical mile

The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...

s (6 km

Kilometre

The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...

) northwest 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 the City of Kennewick

Kennewick, Washington

Kennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities...

 and is owned by the Port of Kennewick.
It is also known as Vista Field Airport.

Several shipping carriers operate out of the airport. There has been controversy in recent years over whether or not to continue to operate the airport or to shut it down.

Facilities and aircraft

Vista Field covers an area of 100 acres (40.5 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 534 feet (163 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 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 2/20 which measures 4,008 by 150 feet (1,222 x 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, the airport had 45,000 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 123 per day. At that time there were 35 aircraft based at this airport: 86% 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...

, 11% multi-engine and 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...

.

External links

• Vista Field at WSDOT Pilot's Guide, more information from WSDOT