Columbia Basin, Ephrata, WA | Ron..NE ILL..10/48 - 12/24/2025 09:10
. When one says a "bigger airport", let me say that Statesville is a general aviation dream. 7000' x 100' runway. That is BIG. Full ILS is down to 200' x 1/2 mis. Nothing better for this plane. Even with a tail wind, the Citation could probably roll to a stop on 4000' with no braking unless one had a lot of touchdown speed, which it didn't appear they would've had..
I guess when I say “bigger airport” what I really have in mind is a towered airport with emergency response vehicles on site. 7,000’ is no doubt plenty for a citation, but when there’s trouble and the possibility of a questionable landing, a fleet of foam trucks, ambulances, and a tower to coordinate them doesn’t sound so bad.
My perspective of a bigger airport is probably sort of skewed though… there are 8-3/4 miles (about 130 acres) of good runway within ten miles of my house. The “big airport” where I tell my kids to go if we are flying and I pass out or something has a 13,500 x 200, and emergency response crews.
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Biffle plane crash?
