Mid-State Regional Airport

Mid-State Regional Airport (ICAO: KPSB, FAA LID: PSB) (Mid-State Airport) is a small airport in Rush Township, Centre County in Pennsylvania, between Black Moshannon State Park to the east and Moshannon State Forest.

Mid-State Regional Airport
Main building
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMid-State Regional Airport Authority
ServesPhilipsburg, Pennsylvania
LocationRush Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania
Elevation AMSL1,909 ft / 582[1] m
Coordinates40°53′00″N 78°05′14″W[1]
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34[2] 5,711 1,741 Asphalt
6/24[2] 5,006 1,526 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations2,550

The airport is 9 miles (14 km) east of Philipsburg,[3] 5 miles (8.0 km) from U.S. Route 322 and 10 miles (16 km) from Interstate 80.[4]

History
Location of Mid-State Regional Airport and Black Moshannon State Park

"Black Moshannon Airport" was built on land taken from Black Moshannon State Park and Moshannon State Forest just before the Second World War,[5] and was operational by 1942, hosting a Civil Air Patrol training exercise for nearly 300 planes on May 30, 1942.[6] It was renamed "Mid-State Airport" in 1962.[7]

The March 1951 diagram shows the 163/343 runway 3400 feet long and the 056/236 runway 3000 feet. In May 1962 both runways were 5000 feet; in September 1968 16/34 was 5710 feet.

In 1949-53 All American Airways DC-3s stopped at Albert airport north of Philipsburg 40.9717°N 78.243°W / 40.9717; -78.243. Allegheny Airlines moved to PSB in 1953-54; Allegheny Commuter took over from 1973 to 1981. The airport is 20 miles (32 km) from State College and Pennsylvania State University; over 75% of the passengers were from the State College and Bellefonte area. In 1978 Allegheny Commuter began shifting to University Park Airport, owned by Penn State; Mid-State Regional Airport now has no scheduled airline.[8][9]

In 2008 the name is "Mid-State Regional Airport" and it has been designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ). The KOZ portion of the airport is on 484 acres (1.96 km2) to encourage business growth and is designated a KOZ through December 31, 2010.[4] However, there are limitations in state law that prohibit any further development on park or forest lands.[8]

Facilities

Mid-State Airport covers 500 acres (2.0 km2) and has two asphalt runways: 16/34 is 5,711 x 100 ft (1,741 x 30 m) and 6/24 is 5,006 x 100 ft (1,526 x 30 m). In the year ending June 30, 2007 the airport had 2,550 aircraft operations: 98% general aviation and 2% military. Two aircraft are based at the airport.[3]

Runway 16/34 is connected to the airport ramp by 69-foot (21 m) wide taxiway A and 50-foot (15 m) wide taxiways D and E. D and E connect to the east side of the runway, with D leading to the large hangar and E to the smaller T-hangar. Runway 6/24 is connected to the airport ramp by 96-foot (29 m) wide taxiway B, and 50-foot (15 m) wide taxiway C at the 24-end of the runway. All of the taxiways are asphalt except for E, which is turf for the last 240 feet (73 m) before the runway.[2]

Other Users

Based at Mid-State Regional Airport is the Civil Air Patrol Mid-State Composite Squadron 239. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry bases a fire fighting aircraft at the airport during forest fire season.

The Central Pennsylvania Region Sports Car Club of America holds autocross races at the airport.[10] The airport remains active during the races; when an aircraft wishes to land, the race will be suspended, the aircraft will land, and racing will resume. This is possible due to the nature of autocross racing, where one car is on the course at a time.

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References
  1. "Mid-State Airport". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 30, 1990. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  2. "Mid-State Regional Airport: Details". Mid-State Regional Airport Authority. Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  3. FAA Airport Master Record for PSB (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2007-12-20. Airport IQ 5010. Retrieved on April 18, 2008.
  4. "SZ-1: Mid State Regional Airport". SEDA - Council of Governments. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  5. "The ABC's of Centre County History". Centre County Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. "290 Fliers in Rendezvous; Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol Stages Training Operation". The New York Times. June 1, 1942. p. 28.
  7. "Pennsylvania Aviation History". Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2008-04-03. Note: this reference incorrectly gives the opening year as 1946
  8. Gary Thornbloom. "Corridor O Interchange Poses Threat to Moshannon State Forest Lands" (PDF). Pennsylvania Sierra Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-04-03. Note that this reference gives the founding date as 1940.
  9. Michael Bezilla. "Penn State: An Illustrated History - Equally Inaccessible from All Parts of the State". Archived from the original on 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  10. "Central Pennsylvania Region SCCA Locations". Sports Car Club of America. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
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