View source for Felts Field

{{Short description|Airport near Spokane, Washington}}
{{redirect|KSFF|the radio station formerly called KSFF|KMRV}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                   = Felts Field
| image                  = Felts Field.jpg
| image-width            = 240
| caption                = From east in 2011, approaching<!-- runway--> 21R (now 22R)
| FAA                    = SFF
| IATA                   = SFF
| ICAO                   = KSFF
| type                   = Public
| owner                  = Spokane [[Spokane|City]]-[[Spokane County, Washington|County]]
| operator               = 
| city-served            = [[Spokane, Washington]]
| location               = <!--if different than above-->
| elevation-f            = 1,957
| coordinates            = {{coord|47|40|59|N|117|19|21|W|region:US-WA_type:airport_scale:10000|display=inline,title}}
| website                = {{URL|https://feltsfield.spokaneairports.net/}}
| pushpin_map            = USA Washington#USA
| pushpin_mapsize        = 240
| pushpin_map_alt        = 
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location in [[Washington (state)|Washington]]##Location in the United States
| pushpin_relief         = yes
| pushpin_label          = '''SFF'''
| pushpin_label_position = left
| r1-number              = 4L/22R
| r1-length-f            = 4,499
| r1-surface             = Concrete
| r2-number              = 4R/22L
| r2-length-f            = 2,650
| r2-surface             = Asphalt
| stat1-header           = Aircraft operations (2015)
| stat1-data             = 75,124
| stat2-header           = Based aircraft (2017)
| stat2-data             = 176
| footnotes              = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name="FAA">{{FAA-airport|ID=SFF|use=PU|own=PU|site=26417.*A}}. Federal Aviation Administration. effective July 20, 2017.</ref>
}}
'''Felts Field''' {{airport codes|SFF|KSFF|SFF}} is a public airport in the [[Northwestern United States]], located {{convert|5|mi|0|spell=in}} northeast of [[Downtown Spokane]], in [[Spokane County, Washington]]. It is owned by Spokane City-County.<ref name="FAA" />

The airport has two parallel runways. Now used for [[general aviation]], Felts Field was Spokane's commercial airport before the opening of [[Spokane International Airport]].

The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) [[National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems]] for 2017–2021 [[FAA airport categories|categorized]] it as a regional reliever facility.<ref name="NPIAS Airports">{{cite web|title=List of NPIAS Airports|url=https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Appendix-A.pdf|website=FAA.gov|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|access-date=26 July 2017|date=21 October 2016}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Further|History of Felts Field}}
[[File:Boeing Air Transport B-40.jpg|thumb|left|Boeing Air Transport B-40 at Felts Field in September<!-- 23,--> 1927]]

Felts Field, Spokane's historic airfield, is on the south bank of the [[Spokane River]] east of Spokane. Aviation activities began in 1913. Then called the ''Parkwater airstrip'', it was designated a municipal flying field in 1920 at the instigation of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce.

In 1926, the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]] recognized Parkwater as an airport, one of the first in the West. In September 1927, in conjunction with Spokane's [[National Air Races]] that Felts Field hosted,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.historylink.org/File/7924| title = Spokane hosts National Air Derby and Air Races beginning on September 21, 1927. - HistoryLink.org}}</ref> the airport was renamed '''Felts Field'''  for [[James Buell Felts]], a [[Washington Air National Guard]] aviator killed in a crash that May.<ref name=tdwapdr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zAtWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=COIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5999%2C5795838 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |title=Two die when airplane drops |date=May 30, 1927 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=plclx>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YKlfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fzIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3888%2C4672311 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Planes claimed lives of six |date=May 30, 1927 |page=1}}</ref> Parkwater Aviation Field, later Felts Field, was the location for [[flight instruction]], [[Air charter|charter service]], airplane repair, [[aerial photography]], headquarters of the [[116th Air Refueling Squadron|116th Observation Squadron]] of the Washington Air National Guard, and eventually the first [[airmail]] and [[commercial flight]]s in and out of Spokane.

In the summer of 1946, the airlines ([[Northwest Airlines|Northwest]] and [[United Airlines|United]]) moved west to Geiger Field (later Spokane International Airport). Felts Field remains a busy regional hub for private and small-plane aviation and related businesses and services. In 1991, it was designated Felts Field Historic District on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Felts Field History| url = http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8464| access-date = 2011-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = WASHINGTON - Spokane County| publisher = National Register of Historic Places| url = http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/WA/Spokane/state.html| access-date = 2009-01-15}}</ref>

Today the airport is used for general aviation. No scheduled passenger service remains at Felts, though scheduled Part 135 cargo operations remain via UPS and DHL contracting ([[Ameriflight]] LLC and previously Merlin Express Airways).

== Facilities ==
{{stack|[[File:KSFF-FAA-23 FEB 2023.svg|thumb|right|FAA diagram]]}}
[[File:Felts_Field,_general_aviation_(10507739434).jpg|thumb|left|The former terminal and control tower]]
Felts Field covers {{convert|416|acre|km2}} at an [[elevation]] of {{convert|1957|ft}} above [[sea level]]. It has two runways: 4L/22R is {{convert|4499|by|150|ft}} [[concrete]] and 4R/22L is {{convert|2650|by|75|ft}} asphalt. It has a [[seaplane]] landing area designated 3W/21W, {{convert|6000|by|100|ft}}.<ref name="FAA" /> The runways were formerly numbered 3/21.

In the year ending February 28, 2015, it had 54,881 aircraft operations, averaging 150 per day: 93% [[general aviation]], 7% [[air taxi]], and <1% military. In July 2017, 176 aircraft were based at Felts Field: 146 single-engine, 15 multi-engine, and 15 [[helicopter]]s.<ref name="FAA" />

==Historic Flight Foundation museum==
The hangar facilities at the airport house the [[Historic Flight Foundation]] aviation museum.<ref name=HFF>{{cite web| url = https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/dec/17/historic-flight-foundation-opens-aviation-museum-a/| title = Historic Flight Foundation opens aviation museum at Felts Field {{!}} The Spokesman-Review}}</ref> The museum was opened to the public in 2019 as a second location to the Historic Flight Foundation's [[Paine Field]] museum in [[Everett, Washington]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://warbirdsnews.com/aviation-museum-news/historic-flight-foundation-new-museum-space-opens.html | title=Historic Flight Foundation – New Museum Space Opens | date=2 January 2020 }}</ref>

== Cargo carriers ==
{{Airport destination list
| [[AirPac Airlines]]<ref>[http://airpacairlines.com/ AirPac Airlines]</ref> | [[Portland International Airport|Portland (OR)]], [[Boeing Field|Seattle–Boeing]]
}}

== Accidents and incidents==
* On the morning of Saturday, November 29, 2003, an Ameriflight LLC cargo ([[Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner]]) (N439AF) crashed on approach to runway 22R at Felts Field using the [[Instrument landing system|ILS]].<ref name=pidis>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZbteAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2DAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4682%2C4204865 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=Associated Press |title=Pilot dies in Spokane Valley crash of cargo plane |date=November 30, 2003 |page=5C}}</ref> The pilot's [[horizontal situation indicator|HSI]] was previously noted as inoperative, deferred, and due for scheduled maintenance.  It is unclear whether the pilot was using backup instrumentation as prescribed via the deferral process or using the faulty HSI.  The Metro III failed to maintain ILS [[glide slope]] and crashed short of the runway into rising terrain and trees. The pilot was killed during the subsequent impact and fire.  The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.<ref>{{cite web| title = Flight 1966 crash| url = http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20031129-1| access-date = 2011-07-19|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of airports in Washington (state)|List of airports in Washington]]
* [[Washington World War II Army Airfields]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|https://feltsfield.spokaneairports.net/}}
*[https://www.nps.gov/articles/felts-field-historic-district.htm National Park Service] – Felts Field Historic District
<!-- * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070703230334/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/aviation/ Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]-->
*[https://wsdot.wa.gov/travel/aviation/airports-list/felts-field Washington State Department of Transportation] – Felts Field
* {{FAA-diagram|00402}}
* {{FAA-procedures|SFF}}

{{US-airport-ga|SFF}}

{{Airports in Washington}}
{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II}}
{{Transportation in the Spokane, WA–Coeur d'Alene, ID region}}

[[Category:Airports in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:Transportation in Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:1913 establishments in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1913]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Spokane County, Washington]]