| Aviation in Alabama | |
|---|---|
| Aviation in the United States | |
 Alabama State Flag | |
| Airports | |
| Commercial – primary | 5 |
| Commercial – non-primary | 1 |
| General aviation | 65 |
| Other public-use airports | 24 |
| Military and other airports | 9 |
| First flight | |
| 10 March 1910 | |
Alabama's first aeronautical event was on 10 March 1910 with the flight of a Wright biplane flown by Orville Wright in Montgomery, Alabama. [1]
73,000 jobs are based in Alabama in support of aerospace. [4]
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A JetRanger civilian helicopter.
Madison County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 388,153, and according to a 2023 population estimate the county has become the second-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Huntsville. Since the mid-20th century it has become an area of defense and space research and industry. The county is named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States and the first President to visit the state of Alabama. Madison County covers parts of the former Decatur County. Madison County is included in the Huntsville, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the county seat of Madison County with portions extending into Limestone County and Morgan County. It is located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama south of the state of Tennessee.
Redstone Arsenal is a United States Army base adjacent to Huntsville, Alabama in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. A census-designated place in Madison County, Alabama, United States, it is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a host to over 75 tenant agencies including the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and NASA's largest field center, the Marshall Space Flight Center.
The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of Western Europe. It was the first US missile to carry a live nuclear warhead, in the 1958 Pacific Ocean weapons test Hardtack Teak.
Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, is a civil-military airport serving Birmingham, Alabama. The airport also provides scheduled airline service for the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa metropolitan areas. It is located in Jefferson County, five miles northeast of Downtown Birmingham, near the interchange of Interstates 20 and 59.
Mobile Regional Airport is a public/military airport 13 miles (21 km) west of Mobile, in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The airport is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority, a self-funded entity that receives no local tax dollars.
Huntsville International Airport is a public airport and spaceport ten miles southwest of downtown Huntsville, in Madison County, Alabama, United States. The FAA has designated the Huntsville International Airport as a Re-entry site for the Dream Chaser, a spaceplane operated by Sierra Space to make reentries from Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is a museum operated by the government of Alabama, showcasing rockets, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program. Sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum", astronaut Owen Garriott described the place as, "a great way to learn about space in a town that has embraced the space program from the very beginning."
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events and/or public order incidents. They may employ rotary-wing aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft, nonrigid-wing aircraft or lighter-than-air aircraft. In some major cities, police rotary-wing aircraft are also used as air transportation for personnel belonging to SWAT-style units. In large, sparsely populated areas, fixed-wing aircraft are sometimes used to transport personnel and equipment.
Montgomery Regional Airport is a civil-military airport seven miles southwest of Montgomery, the capital of Alabama. Owned by the Montgomery Airport Authority, it is used for general aviation and military aviation, and sees two airlines.
The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, which presents Alabama Aviation History through collective biography.
Bessemer Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Bessemer, a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013, it is categorized as a reliever airport for the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport.
Auburn University Regional Airport with the Robert G. Pitts Field is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) east of the central business district of Auburn, a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. The airport is owned by Auburn University and was formerly known as Auburn–Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.
Redstone Army Airfield or Redstone AAF is a military airport located at Redstone Arsenal, six miles southwest of the city of Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States. The airfield was originally constructed for munitions testing for the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Air Forces through the 6th AAF Base Unit. It is currently used to support the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, NASA, and other U.S. government aviation and space activities.
Northeast Alabama Regional Airport is five miles southwest of Gadsden, in Etowah County, Alabama. It is owned by Gadsden Airport Authority and it used to be Gadsden Municipal Airport. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013 categorized as a general aviation facility.
Huntsville Executive Airport, also known as Tom Sharp Jr. Field and formerly Madison County Executive Airport, is a public-use airport in Madison County, Alabama, United States. It is owned by the Executive Flight Center and located eight nautical miles (14.80 km) northeast of the central business district of Huntsville. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013, it is categorized as a general aviation facility.
Maryland's first aeronautical event was the flight of 13-year-old Edward Warren from Baltimore in Peter Carne's tethered hot air balloon in 1784.
Southern Airways Express is a commuter airline operating across the United States with headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida. Southern Airways Express, commonly referred to as 'Southern', acts as a local service airline for dozens of cities across all U.S. time zones. The majority of Southern's routes are subsidized through the Essential Air Service program by the United States Department of Transportation.
