40°08′15″N 075°15′54″W / 40.13750°N 75.26500°W / 40.13750; -75.26500

Wings Field
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerWings Field Preservation Assoc.
OperatorflyADVANCED/flyGATEWAY
ServesPhiladelphia
LocationBlue Bell, Pennsylvania
Elevation AMSL302 ft / 92 m
Websitewww.flyadvanced.com
Map
LOM is located in Pennsylvania
LOM
LOM
Location of airport in Pennsylvania
LOM is located in the United States
LOM
LOM
LOM (the United States)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6/24 3,700 1,127 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Aircraft operations36,500
Based aircraft111

Wings Field (IATA: BBX, ICAO: KLOM, FAA LID: LOM) is a general aviation airport in Blue Bell, in Whitpain Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and serves the western and northern Philadelphia suburbs. The airport was founded in 1928. It is located about three miles (5 km) northwest of the Philadelphia city limits.

History

In May 1930, John Story Smith and Jack Bartow Founded "Wings Port". On 24 April 1932, The Philadelphia Aviation Country Club was founded at the field. The country club was the location of meetings of members that eventually founded the worldwide Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in 1939.[2]

In 2011, investor and aviation business owner Regis de Ramel was awarded the contract to manage all operations of Wings Field through his company flyADVANCED. The field currently provides flight lessons, flight charters, fuel, hangar space and aircraft management for light jet and prop aircraft.[3][4]

Facilities

Wings Field covers 217 acres (88 ha) and has one asphalt runway, 6/24, 3,700 ft × 75 ft (1,128 m × 23 m). In the year ending December 31, 2014, the airport had approximately 36,500 aircraft operations, an average of 100 per day: 83% general aviation, 17% air taxi and <1% military. 111 aircraft are based at this airport: 90% single-engine, 9% multi-engine, <1% jet and <1% helicopter.[1]

The Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) on site is FlyAdvanced[5] which was founded in 2011.

Ground Transportation

Road

Wings Field has road access from the Norristown interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276) in Plymouth Meeting.

Bus

SEPTA's Route 95 bus provides service to Willow Grove, Plymouth Meeting, and Gulph Mills, from a stop at the intersection of Norristown Road, Narcissa Road, and Stenton Avenue.

Rental cars

Rental cars are available via reservation through Enterprise. Additionally, a Chrysler Pacifica crew car is also available for transient pilots on a first-come, first-served basis for short-term use within the 10-mile area.

Past airlines

Wings Airways was a commuter airline based at Wings Field. Its main route was the short hop to Philadelphia International Airport, a flight of less than 15 minutes. From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, Wings Airways operated a shuttle between Wings Field and PHL with up to 22 round trip flights on weekdays[6] and flew nonstop to New York City JFK Airport at one point.[7] The airline used Britten-Norman Islanders, Britten-Norman Trislanders and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters.

Aircraft Boneyard

Wings Field has an on-site boneyard for derelict aircraft behind the upper hangars. This area is reserved for use as a storage location for damaged aircraft. Aircraft deemed a total loss by insurance companies awaiting transport are stored at this site. Additionally, this location serves as a storage location for abandoned aircraft.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 FAA Airport Form 5010 for LOM PDF, effective for 12 month period ending Mar 21, 2014
  2. ↑ Julie Summers (May 2014). "Where it all began". AOPA Pilot: 30.
  3. ↑ Powell, David (2014-03-07). "Under New Management, Wings Field Is Changing Course". Patch. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  4. ↑ Riley, Emily (July 2012). "Advanced Aircraft Services offers Main Liners a Quicker Route to the Shore". Main Line Today. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  5. ↑ "Home". flyadvanced.com.
  6. ↑ departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 & Dec. 15, 1989 Official Airline Guide (OAG)
  7. ↑ "Wings Airways".

Further reading

Spense, Charles, Wings Field Autobiography, Pavilion Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-4145-0697-5.

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