Minute Man Air Field

Minute Man Air Field (IATA: MMN, FAA LID: 6B6) is a public-use airport located in Stow, Massachusetts. The airport is privately owned by Minute Man Airfield, Inc.[2]

Minute Man Air Field
Aerial Photo of Minute Man Air Field
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMinute Man Airfield, Inc.
OperatorDon McPherson
ServesStow
Location302 Boxboro Road
Stow, Massachusetts
United States
Opened
  • 1963 (1963)
    as Erikson Field
  • July 1, 1969 (1969-07-01)
    as Minute Man Air Field
Elevation AMSL268 ft / 82 m
Coordinates42°27′38″N 071°31′04″W
WebsiteOfficial website
Map
6B6
Location of airport in Massachusetts
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 2,770 844 Asphalt
12/30 1,600 488 Turf/Gravel
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations48,095
Based aircraft67

History

Started as a 1,700 ft (520 m) grass landing strip known as Erikson Field in 1963 by local pilots, the airport was purchased by Paul McPherson in 1966. Paul and his son, Don, paved and extended the 2,000 ft (610 m) runway, added a parallel taxiway, tie-downs for 50 planes, installed AVGAS pumps and constructed the Operations Building. The former grass strip was re-opened as Minute Man Air Field on July 1, 1969. Paul's wife and daughter also opened a small coffee shop on the field called "Peg's Place" later on.[3]

Over the decades, the airport has added aircraft maintenance and storage hangars, a runway extension, a second cross-wind runway, and aircraft parking aprons. In the early 1990s, 100 acres (0.40 km2) 100 acres of land, was added to the field's land holdings instead of becoming a housing development. The open space is being farmed and serves as home to many species of wildlife.[3] This acreage has recently been sold and is the site of a proposed 55+ active adult neighborhood consisting of 60+ housing units.

Minute Man now has a 2,800 ft (850 m) paved-lighted-instrumented runway and a 1,600 ft (490 m) gravel-visual runway.

The airfield is home to more than 60 based aircraft including 3 helicopters stored in four hangars and on tie-downs along the taxi-ways and aprons. In addition to Nancy's Air Field Café, reputed as a fly-in or drive-in destination for fine food and friendly service, the airport is home to numerous other businesses.

The airport is still owned and operated by Don McPherson, and the operations are overseen by a board of Airport Commissioners. The Board is made up of local business, government, and aviation professionals who voluntarily serve as Commissioners.

  • Dusk approach into runway 3 at Minute Man Airfield in a Cessna 172 with the runway lights visible.

Facilities and aircraft

Minute Man Air Field covers an area of 225 acres (91 ha) which contains two runways:[2]

  • Runway 3/21: 2,700 ft × 48 ft (823 m × 15 m), Surface: Asphalt
  • Runway 12/30: 1,600 ft × 70 ft (488 m × 21 m), Surface: Turf/Gravel

For 12-month period ending 1 August 2009 the airport had 48,095 aircraft operations, an average of 132 per day: 99% general aviation, <1% air taxi and <1% military. There are 67 aircraft based at this airport: 60 single engine, 1 multi engine, 3 helicopters and 3 ultralight.[2]

The runway was repaved (to meet FAA required standards for safety) in the summer of 2015. The work also included removing a small hill which was a danger to people in airplanes landing from the south.[4]

Flight School

Aptis Aviation is a part 61 flight school based on Minute Man Air Field. They are the only flight school on the airport, and have been in business since November 2014 taking over after Noble Airventures left the field. They operate 5 rental planes, 3 club planes, and one simulator. The school is staffed with 2 full-time instructors, and a few part-time instructors. Their Chief Flight Instructor, Devan Wiebe, earned the FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate in August 2015. In addition to offering Private, instrument, and commercial instruction, Aptis Aviation can facilitate the training required to obtain the Tail Wheel and Complex aircraft endorsements. Two ground schools are run through the school, one geared towards private pilot students and one for instrument students. These classes run on request of the students provided there is enough demand.

Fleet

Rental Aircraft[5]

Aptis Access Club

References
  1. "Airline and Airport Code Search". IATA. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. FAA Airport Form 5010 for 6B6 PDF, retrieved 2009-12-30
  3. "About Us". Minute Man Air field. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  4. Minuteman Airfield Don's Blog July 2015 NOTAM
  5. "Private Plane Rentals". Aptis Aviation. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
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