Departure
89%
vs 95% ▼ 6
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Put-in-Bay Airport (3W2) is a small public airfield on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, serving the resort village of Put-in-Bay in Ottawa County, Ohio. Operated by the Put-in-Bay Township Port Authority, it is the main air link for the island community, handling charter flights, air tours and inter-island traffic rather than flight training. Its single paved runway and proximity to the towering Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial make it a distinctive and rewarding destination for visiting VFR pilots.
Put-in-Bay Airport is a small public-use aerodrome on South Bass Island, serving the lakeside village of Put-in-Bay in Ottawa County, Ohio. It is owned and operated by the Put-in-Bay Township Port Authority and functions as the principal air gateway to the island, supporting mail, passenger and charter flights to nearby Lake Erie islands and the Ohio mainland, along with recreational air tours. There is no flight training or touch-and-go circuit work permitted, and the field's single runway with its close-in monument obstruction gives it a character quite different from a typical training airfield, making it an interesting and slightly unusual stop for a simulator pilot exploring the Lake Erie islands.
The airport sits in the centre of the southern half of South Bass Island, in Lake Erie, within Ottawa County, Ohio, close to the village of Put-in-Bay. It lies beneath uncontrolled airspace with no air traffic control tower on the field. The nearest larger airports with fuel and services are Erie-Ottawa International Airport at Port Clinton and the airport at Sandusky on the Ohio mainland, both across the lake from the island.
The airfield has a single hard-surfaced runway aligned 03/21. The database records a length of 2,411 ft for runway 03 and 2,204 ft for runway 21. The surface is asphalt, and the runway is not lit, so no departures are possible after dusk. There is no ILS or other instrument approach aid associated with the field.
No communications frequencies are published for Put-in-Bay Airport. The field is uncontrolled with no tower, so pilots should use standard self-announce procedures on the appropriate common frequency for the area and maintain a good visual lookout, particularly given the proximity of Perry's Victory Monument to the approach and departure paths.
Runway 21 is the preferred landing direction and uses a left-hand traffic pattern, while runway 3 uses a right-hand pattern. The airport is open for arrivals and departures only from dawn to dusk, since the runway is unlit; no departures are permitted after dusk. No student training or touch-and-go operations are conducted at the field. Pilots should expect moderate turbulence on approach and departure when winds exceed 10 knots. Aircraft landing on runway 21 or departing runway 03 must remain at least 1,000 feet clear of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, which stands 942 feet MSL (352 feet AGL) about one and a half miles northeast of the airport and lies almost in line with the runway.
The dominant visual landmark for the approach is Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, a tall monument standing 942 feet MSL some one and a half miles northeast of the airport and almost exactly on the extended centreline of runway 21; it must be given a 1,000-foot clearance and serves as a useful, if hazardous, reference for lining up the approach. The airfield itself sits in the middle of the southern half of South Bass Island, surrounded by the waters of Lake Erie, with the village of Put-in-Bay and its harbour providing further orientation for pilots approaching from over the lake.
The airport has long served South Bass Island's community and visitors, with airport-data listings noting operations there predating 1959. A number of documented incidents illustrate the character of flying at the field: on 29 December 1937 an aircraft crashed half a mile from the airport while flying low in fog, and on 19 August 1984 a Piper PA-28 Cherokee crashed into the water while going around after the pilot saw another aircraft still on the runway. On 20 January 2003 a Cessna 207A Skywagon suffered a forced landing into trees shortly after departing runway 03 due to fuel mismanagement, and in July 2004 a Griffing Flying Service aircraft suffered a bird strike shortly after departure. More recent incidents include a goose strike during landing in April 2014 and a hard landing by a Cessna 182 in June 2014 after an unstable approach. The airport received funding in 2014 to reconstruct its main taxiway and build an additional taxiway serving the hangars, and in 2023 was awarded close to two million dollars under the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act to replace its decades-old terminal building.
Today the airport is used mainly for charter flights, mail and passenger services to other Lake Erie islands and the Ohio mainland, and is home to several air tour operators offering recreational flights from the field. Griffing Flying Service operates charter flights from Put-in-Bay to Kelleys Island, Middle Bass, North Bass, Pelee Island and Rattlesnake Island. There is no fuel available on the island, so pilots should arrive with sufficient reserves or plan to refuel at Port Clinton or Sandusky beforehand. Facilities at the airport include a pilot lounge, vending refreshments, rest rooms and golf-cart rental for getting into the village. The field operates only during daylight hours, from dawn to dusk, owing to its unlit runway.
