Departure
92%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Albert Lea Municipal Airport is a city-owned general aviation field three miles north of Albert Lea, Minnesota, sitting close to the interchange of Interstates 35 and 90. It offers a long, lit main runway and a shorter crosswind strip, making it a straightforward VFR destination in southern Minnesota, and it is notable among simulator pilots and glider enthusiasts alike as a long-running venue for national soaring contests.
Albert Lea Municipal Airport is a public-use general aviation airport owned and operated by the City of Albert Lea, located three miles north of the city in Freeborn County, Minnesota. It is a modest but well-equipped field with a single fixed base operator, and it holds a particular place in American gliding history as a repeated host of national soaring championships, which gives it a distinctive character for visiting VFR pilots.
The airport lies in Freeborn County, Minnesota, about three miles north of the city of Albert Lea, and is conveniently sited near the interchange of Interstate 35 and Interstate 90. Instrument traffic in the area is worked by Rochester Approach/Departure, with Minneapolis Center providing en-route control further out.
Albert Lea Municipal has two physical runways. Runway 17/35 is the primary strip, 4,960 feet long, with a hard surface and runway lighting. Runway 05/23 is the crosswind runway, 2,855 feet long, also hard-surfaced but unlit. Field elevation is 1,257 feet.
The field is served by a common Unicom/CTAF frequency of 123 MHz. Rochester Approach/Departure can be contacted on 119.8 MHz, and Minneapolis Center on 132.35 MHz. An automated weather observing system (AWOS-3) broadcasts on 109.8 MHz. A remote radio outlet for Princeton Radio is available on 122.05 MHz for flight service contact. The airport has no ILS.
There is no published local circuit procedure in the available material beyond the standard use of the CTAF/Unicom frequency for self-announcing intentions and coordinating with other traffic in the pattern.
The airport's proximity to the junction of Interstate 35 and Interstate 90 provides a clear and reliable visual landmark for pilots approaching from the south or east, with the city of Albert Lea itself lying just to the south of the field.
The airport originated as a private airfield in the 1920s on the west side of Albert Lea before relocating to its current site on the north side of the city in the 1950s. In the early 2010s the main runway was relocated and rebuilt with the help of federal funding exceeding $3 million, with the crosswind runway also rehabilitated; the combined project cost around $9.5 million and gave the airport its present 5,000-foot main runway, with the old runway converted into a taxiway. Further investment followed in 2017 and 2018, when the U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of Minnesota and the City of Albert Lea jointly funded a new arrival and departure building and parking lot at a total cost of roughly $2.15 million. The airport has a long association with competitive soaring, hosting Region 7 and national glider championships in numerous years from 1992 through 2019, and claims to be the only site in the United States to have hosted all seven classes of glider competition. From 1990 to 2008 it also hosted the International Aerobatic Club's Doug Yost Challenge Aerobatic Competition, before the event moved to Spencer, Iowa.
The airport remains a general aviation field with a single fixed base operator offering aviation fuel, aircraft rental, maintenance, restoration and sales. A 2018 arrival/departure building, connected to an 80 by 80 foot steel hangar, provides a passenger waiting area, pilots' lounge, shower, restrooms and a conference room. Hangars are available for rent. The airport continues to host regional and national gliding competitions.
