Van Wert County Airport

Van Wert County Airport
IATA: none ICAO: KVNW FAA LID: VNW
Summary
Owner/Operator	Van Wert County, Ohio
Serves	Van Wert, Ohio
Location	Van Wert County, Ohio
Built	1930
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (-5)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (-4)
Elevation  AMSL	787 ft / 240 m
Coordinates	40°51′53″N084°36′35″W / 40.86472°N 84.60972°W / 40.86472; -84.60972
Website	https://vwairport.com/
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 9/27 4,000 1,219 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Aircraft Movements 27,375

The Van Wert County Airport (ICAO: KVNW, FAA LID: VNW) is a publicly owned, public use airport located 2 miles southwest of Van Wert in Van Wert County, Ohio. The airport is primarily a general aviation facility and serves small, privately owned aircraft. ^[1]

The airport partners with Purdue University to be a satellite training facility for aviation, allowing students to earn credits towards a degree. ^{[2] [3]}

The airport hosts a regular fly in/cruise in with planes, cars, and motorcycles on display. ^[4]

Facilities and aircraft

Facilities

The airport has two runways. Runway 9/27 measures 4,000 x 75 ft (1219 x 23 m) and is paved with asphalt; runway 18/36 measures 2558 x 95 ft (780 x 29 m) and is made of turf. ^[1]

The airport has a county-operated fixed-base operator. It sells fuel, both Avgas and Jet A; offers services such as general maintenance, catering, hangars, courtesy transportation, and rental cars; and provides amenities such as conference rooms, pilot supplies, a crew lounge, snooze rooms, and showers. ^[5]

Facility Upgrades

The FBO's terminal building was upgraded in 2021, and its grand opening featured tours; airplane rides and tours; and more. ^{[3] [6]} The project cost $1.6 million and was built with private funds. New facilities included classrooms, a new lounge, and space to stay overnight. ^[2]

In 2023, an airport expansion went up for debate, including a potential runway expansion in order to handle bigger jets. The airport is pursuing both public and private funding options to support the growth. ^[7]

Later in 2023, the airport received nearly $90,000 from the FAA to upgrade its lighting system. Relevant projects included reconstructing the runway lighting system, constructing a lighting vault to meet FAA standards, and installing replacement runway end identifier lights to make the airport more accessible by improving approaches to the runway. ^[8]

Aircraft

For the 12-month period ending September 24, 2020, the airport had 27,375 aircraft operations, an average of 75 per day; it was entirely general aviation. For the same time period, 22 aircraft were based at the airport: 20 single-engine airplanes, 1 multi-engine airplane, and 1 jet. ^[1]

Accidents & incidents

• On October 15, 2008, a Cessna 172 was damaged while taxiing at the Van Wert County Airport. The pilot was taxiing on grass parallel to the runway when the aircraft went into a ditch. The aircraft's tail and propeller were damaged. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane while taxiing on wet grass. ^[9]

References

1. "AirNav: KVNW - Van Wert County Airport". www.airnav.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
2. "New terminal coming to Van Wert County Regional Airport". Your Hometown Stations. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
3. Mosier, Dave (August 9, 2021). "Airport dedicates new J L Rice terminal « The VW independent". The Van Wert Independent. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
4. "2nd Annual VWFC/VW Regional Airport Fly In/Cruise In". AllEvents.in. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
5. "Van Wert County Regional FBO Info & Fuel Prices at Van Wert County (KVNW)". FlightAware. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
6. Shelton, Adrienne (2021-08-07). "New airport terminal in Van Wert welcomes the community to check it out". Your Hometown Stations. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
7. TRUXELL, SCOTT (January 11, 2023). "Possible airport expansion plans outlined". The Van Wert Independent. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
8. "Brown Announces More Than $735,000 to Improve Airports in Northwest Ohio | U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio". www.brown.senate.gov. Archived from the original on 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
9. "Cessna 172 crash in Ohio (N20745) | PlaneCrashMap.com". planecrashmap.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.