🇺🇸 Baker City Municipal Airport

Baker City Municipal Airport (BKE), also known as Heilner Field, is a public-use general aviation airport located three miles north of Baker City, Oregon, on 398 acres of land,. It is classified as a nonprimary, local general aviation airport by the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) and a Category III: Regional General Aviation airport by the Oregon Airport System Plan.

Operations and Facilities: The airport supports a variety of general aviation traffic, including charter flights, private aircraft for business or personal travel, flight training, recreation, agricultural operations, aerial firefighting, and medical transport. It does not have a control tower, and its airspace is designated as Class E.

The airport has three asphalt runways:

• Runway 13/31: The primary runway, oriented northwest-southeast, is 5,085 feet long and 100 feet wide, with a full-length parallel taxiway. It is equipped with medium-intensity runway lights (MIRL) and runway end indicator lights (REIL). Runway 31 has a precision approach path indicator (PAPI), and Runway 13 has a visual approach slope indicator (VASI),. Its asphalt surface is in good condition, with a weight-bearing capacity of 50,000 pounds for single-wheel and 65,000 pounds for dual-wheel configurations.
• Runway 17/35: 4,359 feet long and 75 feet wide.
• Runway 8/26: 3,670 feet long and 140 feet wide. As of 2024, Runway 8/26 is closed indefinitely.

Services available include 100LL and Jet-A fuel, hangars, tiedowns, minor airframe repair, major engine repair, and high/low bottled oxygen. Charter service, pilot instruction, aircraft rental, and sales are also offered.

History: The airport originated in 1920 as a simple landing strip purchased by American Legion Post 41. The current airport, with its three-runway configuration, was built in 1942. Runways were paved and lengthened during World War II with federal assistance. It was officially dedicated on September 28, 1946, and later that year received its first airmail delivery. West Coast Empire Airlines provided daily air service in 1953, but the airport has primarily supported general aviation traffic since the airline dropped the route.

Current Status: The airport's elevation is approximately 3,373.4 feet above mean sea level (MSL). Attendance hours are 0700-1600 from October to April and 0800-1700 from May to September,. The FAA-approved forecast for 2021–2041 projects an increase in total operations from 16,900 in 2021 to 20,959 in 2041, and based aircraft are expected to increase from 43 to 65. Future plans include the need for 16 additional hangars, taxiway geometry revisions, and the addition of water and sewer infrastructure.

*Sources researched: bakercity.com, airnav.com, en.wikipedia.org, skyvector.com, gcr1.com*