Albert Lea Municipal Airport
Albert Lea Municipal Airport | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | City of Albert Lea | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Albert Lea, Minnesota | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,261 ft / 384 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°40′52″N 093°22′05″W / 43.68111°N 93.36806°W | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www.cityofalbertlea.org | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  AEL Location of airport in Minnesota/United States  AEL AEL (the United States) | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Statistics (2011) | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Albert Lea Municipal Airport (IATA: AEL, ICAO: KAEL, FAA LID: AEL) is a city owned public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) north of the central business district of the city of Albert Lea, in Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States.[1]
Albert Lea Municipal Airport was recently granted over $3 million in federal economic stimulus funds to relocate the main runway. The announcement follows another recent grant to rehabilitate the airport's crosswind runway.
Facilities and aircraft
Albert Lea Municipal Airport covers an area of 273 acres (110 ha) at an elevation of 1,261 feet (384 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 17/35 is 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m) and 5/23 is 2,898 by 75 feet (883 x 23 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending September 30, 2011, the airport had 26,175 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 91% general aviation, 8% air taxi and 1% military. At that time there were 52 aircraft based at this airport: 75% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, 5% glider and 15% ultralight.[1]
Soaring contests
In the last 15 years, there have been 8 major soaring contests at the Albert Lea Airport. The airport holds the distinction of being the only site in the United States to have hosted all seven classes of glider competition.
- 1992 U.S. Region 7 Contest
- 1993 1-26 Championships
- 1995 U.S. Sports Class Nationals
- 1997 U.S. 15m Nationals
- 1999 U.S. World Class Nationals and Region 7 Contest
- 2002 U.S. Region 7 Contest
- 2005 U.S. Region 7 Contest
- 2007 U.S. Open Class Nationals
- 2007 U.S. 18 m Class Nationals
- 2007 U.S. Region 7 Sport Class Contest
From 1990-2008 Albert Lea was the host site for the International Aerobatic Club[2] Doug Yost Challenge Aerobatic Competition. This contest was moved to Spencer, Iowa due to construction in the area needed for the contest.
References
- ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for AEL PDF, effective 2014-02-06.
- ^ International Aerobatic Club Chapter 78
External links
- Aerial photo as of 17 April 1991 from USGS The National Map
- FAA Terminal Procedures for AEL, effective May 16, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for AEL
- AirNav airport information for KAEL
- ASN accident history for AEL
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart, Terminal Procedures