Seaside Municipal Airport

Seaside Municipal Airport (FAA LID: 56S), is a General aviation airport located one mile (1.6 km) Northeast of Seaside in Clatsop County, Oregon, USA. It is owned and operated as a municipal airport by the city of Seaside. It is the closest airport to Seaside (downtown 3 miles), Gearhart (downtown 1 mile), and Cannon Beach (10 miles). The airport has one asphalt runway, a parallel taxiway, a parking apron with space for up to 20 aircraft, and a 5-bay hangar building.

Seaside Municipal Airport
Parking apron, planes and hangar
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Seaside
OperatorCity of Seaside
ServesSeaside, Oregon
LocationSeaside, Oregon
Elevation AMSL12 ft / 4 m
Coordinates46°00′53.9850″N 123°54′27.57″W
Map
56S
Location of airport in Oregon
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34 2,211 674 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations2,600
Based aircraft5

History

The airport property was originally owned by Don Inman, who maintained and operated the grass airstrip known as Seaside-Gearhart airport from 1946 through the 1950s. By 1960, the post-World War II general aviation boom was well under way,[2] and state and federal governments were financing small airport development under the FAA's Airport Improvement Program. Members of the community convinced the State of Oregon to purchase the airport and install a paved runway, taxiways and parking ramp. The Oregon Department of Aviation operated the airport as Seaside State Airport until 1990, at which time it was chosen as one of several airports targeted for divestiture by the state, and subsequently deeded to the city of Seaside.

The airport remained essentially unchanged until 2003, when the city appointed a new airport advisory committee,[3] and with the committee's guidance, applied for the first of several new federal Airport Improvement Program,[4] Connect Oregon,[5] and Oregon Department of Aviation grants to upgrade the runway, taxiways, navigational aids, drainage system, and lighting. In 2007, the first hangars were built, a 5-bay building financed by Immelman Hangar Developments LLC. The hangar building is on airport land, leased from the city of Seaside, and the building's five bays are individually owned.

Operations

The airport is primarily used by local tenants and transient flyers, mostly private pilots flying small (1-6 seat) general aviation aircraft visiting the area for a day or a weekend. Other operations include training flights from Astoria and the Willamette Valley, charter flights, US Coast Guard, and Air National Guard operations. Flightseeing operators have operated out of the airport at various times during its existence, including modern-day barnstormers providing biplane rides in the summer months. Several private aircraft are typically based on the field full-time. There is no scheduled commercial service and no FBO.

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for 56S PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. The Golden Age of General Aviation, Barron Thomas
  3. City of Seaside Airport Advisory Committee Ordinance
  4. FAA Grant Assurances (Obligations)
  5. Connect Oregon Grant Agreements
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