Quonset State Airport

Quonset State Airport (IATA: NCO, ICAO: KOQU, FAA LID: OQU) is a joint civil-military public airport located on Quonset Point, in northeastern North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, adjacent to Narragansett Bay. It is a general aviation airport and there is no scheduled airline service available. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a regional general aviation facility.[2]

Quonset State Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerRhode Island Airport Corp.
ServesNorth Kingstown, Rhode Island
Elevation AMSL18 ft / 5 m
Coordinates41°35′50″N 071°24′44″W
Websiteflyquonsetairport.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram as of January 2021
FAA airport diagram as of January 2021
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34 7,504 2,287 Asphalt
5/23 4,000 1,219 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Aircraft operations (year ending 4/30/2022)19,400
Based aircraft21

It was the site of the Naval Air Station Quonset Point from 1941 until the early 1970s, when the military presence in Rhode Island was drastically scaled down. Despite the Navy's departure, the airport remains the home of Quonset Point Air National Guard Station and the 143d Airlift Wing (143 AW) of the Rhode Island Air National Guard, flying the C-130J Hercules. The Rhode Island Army National Guard also maintains an Army Aviation Support Facility adjacent to the Air National Guard Station for the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, flying the UH-60 Blackhawk.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Quonset State Airport is assigned OQU by the FAA but is designated NCO by the IATA.[3]

Quonset State Airport is one of six active airports operated by the Rhode Island Airports Corporation. The other five airports include T.F. Green State Airport, North Central State Airport, Westerly State Airport, Newport State Airport, and Block Island State Airport.

In the early 1980s Providence Airline Corp had daily flights leaving Quonset to Boston, Massachusetts; Hartford County, Connecticut; Syracuse, New York; Buffalo, New York; Chicago, Illinois; and Romulus, Michigan.

On May 19, 2021, Air Force One carrying President Joe Biden landed at Quonset State Airport where he was greeted by Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee as well as Col. Adam Wiggins, the 143rd Airlift Wing Commander and other officials. He then continued on Marine One to the Coast Guard Academy in New London and returned later in the day to depart on Air Force One.[4][5]

Quonset State Airport (2021)

Facilities and aircraft

Quonset State Airport covers an area of 754 acres (305 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 16/34 measuring 7,504 x 150 ft (2,287 x 46 m) and 5/23 measuring 4,000 x 75 ft (1,219 x 23 m).[1]

The airport lies within Class D airspace and has an operating non-federal air traffic control tower (closed on Mondays).

For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2022, the airport had 19,400 aircraft operations, an average of 53 per day: 50% general aviation, 44% military and 6% air taxi. At that time there were 21 aircraft based at this airport: 8 single-engine, 1 jet, and 12 military.[1]

The fixed-base operator on field is FlightLevel Aviation.

The flight and aviation instruction and airplane rental company on field is Parker Aviation, LLC., which was established on field in 2012.

See also

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for OQU PDF, effective 2023-07-13
  2. "List of NPIAS Airports" (PDF). FAA.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. http://www.iata.org/publications/Pages/code-search.aspx) Archived 2019-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Anderson, Patrick. "President Joe Biden lands in RI on way to address U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  5. "Biden returns to Washington after Coast Guard speech, brief stops in RI". WPRI.com. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
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