Princeton Airport 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 Montgomery Township

Montgomery Township, New Jersey

Montgomery Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,254, which represents growth of 27% since 2000 and more than 130% since the 1990 Census population figure of 9,612.Montgomery Township was...

, Somerset County

Somerset County, New Jersey

Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States

United States

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

, three miles (5 km) north 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 Princeton

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

 and just west of Rocky Hill

Rocky Hill, New Jersey

Rocky Hill is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, named for the Rocky Hill Ridge. It was earlier known as the Devil's Featherbed because it was difficult to travel the rocky terrain by horse and wagon...

. The airport is privately owned by Princeton Aero Corp. The airport also houses the Raritan Valley Flying School, Princeton Pilot Shop, Pacific Aircraft, Analar Helicopter Charter, Air Transport Charter, and Nassau Helicopters.

History

The airport was established by Richard A. Newhouse (original spelling Neuhaus). Among his other aviation-related projects, in 1911 he built a plane of his own design, featuring separate floating aileron

Aileron

Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...

s — a major innovation, as the planes of that time used wing warping

Wing warping

Wing warping was an early system for lateral control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite directions...

 for roll

Flight dynamics

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of rotation in three dimensions about the vehicle's center of mass, known as pitch, roll and yaw .Aerospace engineers develop control systems for...

 control.

On March 29, 1985, the airport was purchased by Princeton Aero Corp. Principals of the company are members of the Nierenberg family, previously the fixed base operator

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...

 at Kupper Airport for eighteen years.

Facilities and aircraft

Princeton Airport covers an area of 104 acres (42.1 ha) which contains one 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...

 (10/28) measuring 3,500 x 75 ft (1,067 x 23 m).

For the 12-month period ending January 2, 2005, the airport had 56,958 aircraft operations, an average of 156 per day: 89% 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...

 and 11% 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...

. There are 148 aircraft based at this airport: 81% single engine, 11% multi-engine and 7% 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.