Departure
91%
vs 95% ▼ 4
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Katama Airpark, sometimes referred to simply as Katama, is a small grass airfield on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard, in the Katama section of Edgartown, Massachusetts. It offers three unpaved runway pairs set amid open farmland close to South Beach and Katama Bay, giving visiting pilots a classic New England grass-strip experience within a short flight of the more built-up Martha's Vineyard Airport.
Katama Airpark is a public, grass-surfaced general aviation airfield owned by the Town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, situated in the Katama neighbourhood on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard. It is a low-key, low-traffic field with three unpaved runway pairs, appealing to sim pilots who enjoy flying into classic turf strips set among open farmland close to the sea.
The airfield lies in the Katama area of the town of Edgartown, on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard island. It sits between Edgartown Great Pond to the west, Katama Bay and Chappaquiddick Island to the east, and the open Atlantic coastline of South Beach immediately to the south. The field is a short distance from the historic village of Edgartown to the north.
Katama has three grass runway pairs, all unpaved. Runway 03/21 is the longest and the only lit runway, with a landing distance of about 3,028 ft available on the 03 threshold and 3,268 ft on the 21 threshold. Runway 06/24 is 2,456 ft long and unlit, and runway 17/35 is 2,187 ft long, also unlit. There is no ILS at the field.
Prominent visual references around the airfield include South Beach and the Atlantic coastline immediately to the south, Katama Bay and Chappaquiddick Island to the east, and Edgartown Great Pond to the west. Mattakesett Way runs along the eastern edge of the airfield, separating it from Katama Farm, and the Winnetu Ocean Resort buildings are a further landmark near the beach end of the area.
The Katama plains formed part of the outer defenses of Martha's Vineyard during the Second World War, when the island served as a training area for gunnery and pilots. Machine-gun and artillery fire was directed seaward from a position near the beach end of what is now Katama Road, and a sunken concrete strip running west from Mattakesett Way survives as a line of trees visible from the air near the airfield. In the summer of 1943, elements of the Third Army, later famous under General George Patton, camped at Katama and practised amphibious landings there before shipping out to England ahead of the D-Day preparations. Unexploded ordnance from wartime beach firing was later uncovered by erosion in the late 1980s, leading to a temporary closure of the beach while it was cleared.
Katama Airpark continues to operate as a public airfield with three unpaved runways, averaging around 22 flights per day and with roughly four aircraft based on the field. A restaurant, Katama Kitchen, operates at the airfield offering breakfast, lunch and dinner with views over the field, making it a popular stop for visiting pilots as well as a local dining destination.
