Point Lonely Short Range Radar Site

Point Lonely Short Range Radar Site
IATA: LNI – ICAO: PALN – FAA LID: AK71 Point Lonely SRRS Location of airstrip in Alaska, United States
Summary
Airport type		Military
Owner		U.S. Air Force
Location		North Slope Borough, Alaska
Elevation AMSL		17 ft / 5 m
Coordinates		70°54′39″N 153°14′32″W / 70.91083°N 153.24222°W / 70.91083; -153.24222
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
7/25	5,000	1,524	Gravel
Statistics (1977)
Aircraft operations			15,500
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Point Lonely Short Range Radar Site (IATA: LNI, ICAO: PALN, FAA LID: AK71) is a United States Air Force Short Range Radar Site located in the North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, 84 miles (135 km) east-southeast of Point Barrow, Alaska. It is not open for public access.^[1]

Facilities and aircraft

The facility contains a rough airstrip at an elevation of 17 feet (5 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 7/25 with a gravel surface measuring 5,000 by 100 feet (1,524 x 30 m). For the 12-month period ending July 12, 1977, it had 15,500 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 42 per day.^[1]

History

The airstrip was built in 1957 to support the Distant Early Warning Line radar station at Point Lonely (POW-1). The station was logistically supported by the Point Barrow Main DEW Line Station (POW-MAIN). It was operated by civilian contract workers. DEW Line operations ceased in October 1990, and the personnel were relieved from their duties.

The radar station was upgraded with new radars and in 1994 was re-designated part of the North Warning System (NWS) as a Short Range Radar Site, A-18, equipped with an minimally attended AN/FPS-124 surveillance radar. In 1998 Pacific Air Forces initiated "Operation Clean Sweep", in which abandoned Cold War stations in Alaska were remediated and the land restored to its previous state. The site remediation of the radar and support station was carried out by the 611th Civil Engineering Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, and remediation work was completed by 2005.

The site is controlled by the Pacific Air Forces 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf. The airstrip remains open to provide contractor support access to the military radar site.

See also

• North Warning System
• Distant Early Warning Line
• Alaskan Air Command
• Eleventh Air Force

References

	United States Air Force portal
	Military of the United States portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

1. ^ ^{a b c} FAA Airport Master Record for AK71 (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 11 February 2010.

• The DEW Line

External links

• Lonely, Alaska (POW-1)
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for AK71
  • ASN accident history for LNI
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for AK71