Sussex Airport (New Jersey)
Encyclopedia
Sussex Airport is a small general aviation
airport located one nautical mile
(1.85 km
) southwest of Sussex
in Wantage Township
, Sussex County
, New Jersey
, United States
. It is just outside of Sussex Borough. This public-use airport is privately-owned by Sussex Airport, Inc.
The airport used to host the Sussex Airshow but the owner has stopped holding the shows while he tries to sell the airport. The township of Wantage is currently studying the feasibility of purchasing the airport.
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier
for the FAA
and IATA
, this airport is assigned FWN by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA.
of 421 feet (128 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 3/21 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,499 by 75 feet (1,066 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending June 1, 2008, the airport had 19,257 general aviation
aircraft operations, an average of 52 per day. At that time there were 131 aircraft based at this airport: 95% single-engine
and 5% multi-engine.
The airport does not have an Air traffic control
(ATC), but instead uses a UNICOM
where pilots talk on radios using a common frequency to coordinate runway and taxiway usage.
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 located one 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...
(1.85 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...
) southwest of Sussex
Sussex, New Jersey
Sussex is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 2,130.Sussex was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on October 14, 1891, as Deckertown, from portions of Wantage...
in Wantage Township
Wantage Township, New Jersey
Wantage Township is a Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,387.-Geography:...
, Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
, 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...
. It is just outside of Sussex Borough. This public-use airport is privately-owned by Sussex Airport, Inc.
The airport used to host the Sussex Airshow but the owner has stopped holding the shows while he tries to sell the airport. The township of Wantage is currently studying the feasibility of purchasing the airport.
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier
Location identifier
A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for manned air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer programming, weather reports, and related services.-ICAO...
for the FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
and IATA
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
, this airport is assigned FWN by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA.
Facilities
Sussex Airport covers an area of 96 acres (38.8 ha) at an elevationElevation
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 421 feet (128 m) above mean sea level. It has one 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 3/21 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,499 by 75 feet (1,066 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending June 1, 2008, the airport had 19,257 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 52 per day. At that time there were 131 aircraft based at this airport: 95% 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...
and 5% multi-engine.
The airport does not have an Air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
(ATC), but instead uses a UNICOM
UNICOM
Universal Communications or as known by its abbreviation, UNICOM, is an air-ground communication facility operated by a private agency to provide advisory service at uncontrolled aerodromes and airports.-Description:...
where pilots talk on radios using a common frequency to coordinate runway and taxiway usage.
Runway information
- Rwy 3 Threshold displaced 1100 feet (335.3 m)
- Rwy 21 Threshold displaced 750 feet (228.6 m)
- LIRL Non-standard: color. Rwy End lts. missing, displaced threshold lts. missing. Rotating beacon operating intermittently. After 24:00 lights on request by phone.
- GPS Rwy 3
- VORVHF omnidirectional rangeVOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...
or GPS-A
On field
- Fuel: 100LL, Jet-A
- Major frame service
- Major powerplant service
- Diving school
- Parking
- Tie-downs
- Hangars
- Airport Grill
Off field
- Several small diner restaurants in the Borough and surrounding Wantage Township, one directly adjacent to the airfield.
- Sussex Inn, 9 Main St, Sussex, NJ (973) 875-3000 1 mi
- Shopping and other activities (including Mountain Creek Ski Resort/Waterpark) within 10 miles (16.1 km) of airport.
Controversies
In 2009, the airport's owner, Paul Styger, pleaded guilty to Federal charges of embezzlement. This stemmed from his misuse of $375,000 of grant money provided for airport improvements. He faces up to two years in prison. Wantage Township officials admittedly knew that Styger was under investigation for embezzlement, but were asked to keep silent by state and federal agencies in an attempt to preserve the integrity of the investigation.External links
- Aerial photo as of 9 March 1991 from USGS The National Map via MSR Maps