Sikorsky Memorial Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport

---

image-width = 200
caption = Photo as of 17 April 1991


image2-width = 150
caption2 = FAA airport diagram
IATA = BDR
ICAO = KBDR
FAA = BDR
type = Public
owner = City of Bridgeport
operator =
city-served = Bridgeport, Connecticut
location = Stratford, Connecticut
elevation-f = 9
elevation-m = 3
coordinates = coord|41|09|51|N|073|07|32|W|type:airport
website =
r1-number = 6/24
r1-length-f = 4,677
r1-length-m = 1,426
r1-surface = Asphalt
r2-number = 11/29
r2-length-f = 4,761
r2-length-m = 1,451
r2-surface = Asphalt
h1-number = H1
h1-length-f = 40
h1-length-m = 12
h1-surface = Asphalt
stat-year = 2007
stat1-header = Aircraft operations
stat1-data = 77,617
stat2-header = Based aircraft
stat2-data = 241
footnotes = Source: Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA-airport|ID=BDR|use=PU|own=PU|site=02785.*A, effective 2008-04-10]

Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport Airport codes|BDR|KBDR|BDR, formerly known as Bridgeport Municipal Airport, is a public airport located in Stratford, three miles (5 km) southeast of the central business district of Bridgeport, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. In the past, the airport was usually referred to on destination maps and flight status displays as "Bridgeport", the largest city in Connecticut.

The airport has a passenger terminal, general aviation terminal, and several private hangars. The passenger terminal contains airline check-in counters and offices, three arrival/departure gates, rental car desks, and a restaurant. Currently the only commercial service at the airport is provided by US Helicopter, with scheduled service to New York's Downtown Manhattan Heliport, and continuing service to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Facilities and aircraft

Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport covers an area of 800 acres (324 ha) at an elevation of 9 feet (3 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 6/24 measuring 4,677 by 150 feet (1,426 x 46 m) and 11/29 measuring 4,761 by 150 feet (1,451 x 46 m). It also has one helipad measuring 40 by 40 feet (12 x 12 m).

For the 12-month period ending February 28, 2007, the airport had 77,617 aircraft operations, an average of 212 per day: 96% general aviation, 3% air taxi and 1% military. There are 241 aircraft based at this airport: 72% single engine, 11% multi-engine, 15% jet aircraft, 2% helicopters and <1% ultralight.

Airlines and destinations

* US Helicopter (Downtown Manhattan Heliport, New York-JFK, Newark)

History

The airport was originally Avon Field, a racetrack where aircraft landed on the grass infield. It was the site of the country's first air show held in 1911.Fact|date=September 2008 It became known as Mollison Field after Captain Jim Mollison's crash landing there in 1933 during an attempt to fly across the Atlantic. The City of Bridgeport purchased the airport in 1937, after which it became Bridgeport Municipal Airport. In 1972, it was rededicated as the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport, honoring the airport's most famous tenant, Igor Sikorsky, who selected Stratford as the site for his Sikorsky Aviation Corporation in 1929. [ [http://ci.bridgeport.ct.us/history1.aspx History of Sikorsky Memorial Airport] from City of Bridgeport website]

Controversy

At one time in the 1980s, the airport was simultaneously serviced by three carriers, US Airways Express, Delta Connection, and Continental Connection, however service to the airport declined rapidly in the 1990s. Airlines complained that the short length of the runway was preventing them from flying larger planes into the airport, and reducing profit.Fact|date=September 2008 Continental Connection discontinued service to the airport in 1994, followed soon after by Delta Connection, which ended service in 1997. Finally, in November 1999, US Airways Express ended service to the airport, leaving Bridgeport with no commercial service.

The airport has been the subject of heated debate in the municipalities of Stratford and Bridgeport. While the City of Bridgeport owns the airport, the entirety of the property is located in the Town of Stratford. Before the end of World War II there was little more than salt marshes surrounding the airport, but in the 1950s and 1960s Stratford permitted extensive residential development in the Lordship area adjacent to the airfield. Bridgeport has pushed for runway and terminal expansion, hoping to attract new service to the airport, arguing that service to the airport is necessary for the growth of Bridgeport's economy. Stratford has opposed terminal expansion and any runway lengthening that would interfere with existing local roads. Even when the airport was served by major carriers, Stratford advocated for strict limits on flights in and out the airport because of noise impinging upon the Lordship and South End neighborhoods. In 2003, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated the lengthening of the two runways to accommodate unpaved safety overruns at each end. Stratford and Connecticut officials have vigorously resisted the FAA effort to install the overruns, but the FAA has notified Stratford, Bridgeport and state officials that it may obtain a federal court order to use eminent domain to complete necessary work to add the overruns.

In June 2006, US Helicopter began scheduled service to New York's Downtown Manhattan Heliport, with continuing service to John F. Kennedy International Airport. This marked the first time since 1999 that the airport welcomed regularly scheduled commercial airline flights.

In February 2007, state legislators from Bridgeport, in an effort to force expansion, introduced legislation allowing the State of Connecticut to take over the airport. Officials from Stratford would prefer the town take ownership of the airport and oppose the proposed state takeover.

ee also

* Connecticut World War II Army Airfields
* List of airports in Connecticut

References

External links

* [http://ci.bridgeport.ct.us/airportsikor.aspx Sikorsky Memorial Airport] at City of Bridgeport website
* [http://www.lordshiphistory.com/LordshipAviation.html Lordship Aviation]
*WikiMapia|41.1635|-73.1262|13|Sikorsky Memorial Airport
*FAA-diagram|00621
*FAA-procedures|BDR
*US-airport-ga|BDR