| Chester County G. O. Carlson Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: CTH – ICAO: KMQS – FAA LID: MQS | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Chester County Area Airport Authority | ||
| Location | Coatesville, Pennsylvania | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 660 ft / 201 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 11/29 | 5,400 | 1,646 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2008) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 52,000 | ||
| Based aircraft | 96 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Chester County G. O. Carlson Airport (IATA: CTH, ICAO: KMQS, FAA LID: MQS) is a public-use airport located two miles (3 km) west of the central business district of Coatesville, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned by the Chester County Area Airport Authority.[1]
Chester County's airport identifier was formerly 40N, but it has recently changed to MQS. The airport is adjacent to Keystone Heliport. JetDirect Aviation, a fixed base operator, and flight training offered by Chester County Aviation, are also located on field.
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Chester County Airport is assigned MQS by the FAA and CTH by the IATA[2] (which assigned MQS to Mustique Airport on Mustique island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[3]).
Contents |
The airport first opened May 1, 1928 as Coatesville Airport and was owned and operated by the City of Coatesville. In 1959, Chester County purchased the airport and took over operations. At this time, the Chester County Area Airport Authority was formed and the airport was renamed to the Chester County Airport. After only three years, in 1962, the airport was renamed to its current name in honor of the first Authority chairman, G. O. Carlson.[4]
Chester County G. O. Carlson Airport covers an area of 250 acres (100 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway designated 11/29 and measuring 5,400 x 100 ft (1,646 x 30 m). For the 12-month period ending November 17, 2006, the airport had 52,000 aircraft operations, an average of 142 per day: 94% general aviation, 6% air taxi and <1% military. There are 96 aircraft based at this airport: 62% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, 20% jet, and 1% helicopter.
As part of the 12-year-plan for the airport, many construction projects are planned for the airport. A new apron, is planned south of the current runway. New hangars will be built to accommodate corporate jets. The biggest project planned is that of building a brand new 6,000-foot (1,800 m) long runway that will be more aligned with the usual winds at the airport. This runway will not replace the current runway, but simply add a new option for arriving and departing traffic. A control tower is also being discussed for the future, if traffic increases.[5]