Minute Man Air Field

Started as a 1,700 ft (520 m) grass landing strip known as Erikson Field in 1963 by local pilots, the airport was purchased by Paul McPherson in 1966. Paul and his son, Don, paved and extended the 2,000 ft (610 m) runway, added a parallel taxiway, tie-downs for 50 planes, installed AVGAS pumps and constructed the Operations Building. The former grass strip was re-opened as Minute Man Air Field on July 1, 1969. Paul's wife and daughter also opened a small coffee shop on the field called "Peg's Place" later on.[3]

Over the decades, the airport has added aircraft maintenance and storage hangars, a runway extension, a second cross-wind runway, and aircraft parking aprons. In the early 1990s, 100 acres (0.40 km²) 100 acres of land, was added to the field's land holdings instead of becoming a housing development. The open space is being farmed and serves as home to many species of wildlife.[3] This acreage has recently been sold and is the site of a proposed 55+ active adult neighborhood consisting of 60+ housing units.

Minute Man now has a 2,800 ft (850 m) paved-lighted-instrumented runway and a 1,600 ft (490 m) gravel-visual runway.

The airfield is home to more than 60 based aircraft including 3 helicopters stored in four hangars and on tie-downs along the taxi-ways and aprons. In addition to Nancy's Air Field Café, reputed as a fly-in or drive-in destination for fine food and friendly service, the airport is home to numerous other businesses.

The airport is still owned and operated by Don McPherson, and the operations are overseen by a board of Airport Commissioners. The Board is made up of local business, government, and aviation professionals who voluntarily serve as Commissioners.

• 
  Dusk approach into runway 3 at Minute Man Airfield in a Cessna 172 with the runway lights visible.

Minute Man Air Field covers an area of 225 acres (91 ha) which contains two runways:[2]

• Runway 3/21: 2,700 ft × 48 ft (823 m × 15 m), Surface: Asphalt
• Runway 12/30: 1,600 ft × 70 ft (488 m × 21 m), Surface: Turf/Gravel

For 12-month period ending 1 August 2009 the airport had 48,095 aircraft operations, an average of 132 per day: 99% general aviation, <1% air taxi and <1% military. There are 67 aircraft based at this airport: 60 single engine, 1 multi engine, 3 helicopters and 3 ultralight.[2]

The runway was repaved (to meet FAA required standards for safety) in the summer of 2015. The work also included removing a small hill which was a danger to people in airplanes landing from the south.[4]

Aptis Aviation is a part 61 flight school based on Minute Man Air Field. They are the only flight school on the airport, and have been in business since November 2014 taking over after Noble Airventures left the field. They operate 5 rental planes, 3 club planes, and one simulator. The school is staffed with 2 full-time instructors, and a few part-time instructors. Their Chief Flight Instructor, Devan Wiebe, earned the FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate in August 2015. In addition to offering Private, instrument, and commercial instruction, Aptis Aviation can facilitate the training required to obtain the Tail Wheel and Complex aircraft endorsements. Two ground schools are run through the school, one geared towards private pilot students and one for instrument students. These classes run on request of the students provided there is enough demand.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minute Man Air Field.

• Official website
• Nancy's Air Field Cafe
• Aptis Aviation

• Resources for this airport:
  • FAA airport information for 6B6
  • AirNav airport information for 6B6
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for 6B6