Big Mountain Air Force Station

Big Mountain Air Force Station
IATA: BMX – ICAO: PABM – FAA LID: 37AK
Summary
Airport type Military
Owner U.S. Air Force
Location Big Mountain, Alaska
Elevation AMSL 663 ft / 202 m
Coordinates 59°21′40″N 155°15′32″W / 59.36111°N 155.25889°W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
7/25 4,200 1,280 Gravel

Big Mountain Air Force Station (IATA: BMX, ICAO: PABM, FAA LID: 37AK) is a military use airstrip located near Big Mountain, in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska.[1] The airstrip was built to support the Big Mountain Radio Relay Station, an abandoned Air Force facility located 220 miles (350 km) southwest of Anchorage on the south shore of Iliamna Lake.[2]

History

Big Mountain RRS was constructed in 1956 as part of the White Alice Communication System (WACS), a defense communication network and aircraft warning system established across Alaska during the Cold War. Advances in technology made the Big Mountain installation obsolete and it was abandoned in 1979. The United States Air Force still owns 440 acres (1.8 km2) at the site, which consists of a Lower Camp alongside the airstrip and an Upper Camp on the top of Big Mountain. There is also a barge landing site at Reindeer Bay that is now owned by the University of Alaska, with surrounding land owned by the State of Alaska.[2][3]

Facilities

Big Mountain has one runway designated 7/25 with a 4,200 by 145 ft (1,280 x 44 m) gravel surface.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 FAA Airport Master Record for 37AK (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-09-25.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Big Mountain Radio Relay Station". Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. November 2004.
  3. ↑ "The Big Mountain Newsletter" (PDF). U.S. Air Force. May 31, 2003.

External links