Departure
84%
vs 95% ▼ 11
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Beech Factory Airport is a privately owned airfield on the east side of Wichita, Kansas, home to Beechcraft's manufacturing and flight-test operations. Its single 8,000-foot hard runway, tower service and proximity to several other Wichita airfields make it a distinctive stop for the VFR pilot exploring the Air Capital of the World.
Beech Factory Airport (KBEC) is a public-use airfield in Wichita, Kansas, owned by Beechcraft. It sits amid a cluster of Wichita-area airports and is best known as the home field for Beechcraft's aircraft manufacturing and flight-test activity, as well as for a long-running employee flying club. For the simulator pilot, its long single runway, active tower and busy general-aviation and factory traffic make it an interesting and slightly unusual field to fly into, quite apart from its brush with aviation fame in the 2013 Dreamlifter wrong-airport landing saga.
The airport lies five nautical miles east of the central business district of Wichita, in Sedgwick County, Kansas. It is one of several airfields clustered around the city, with Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, Colonel James Jabara Airport, Cessna Aircraft Field, McConnell Air Force Base and Westport Airport all nearby. Arrivals and departures are worked by Wichita Approach/Departure on 134.8 MHz, placing the field within the wider Wichita terminal environment.
Beech Factory Airport has one physical runway, 01/19, oriented north-south. It is 8,000 feet long, has a hard surface, and is lit for night operations.
The field is served by Wichita Approach/Departure on 134.8 MHz and Wichita Clearance Delivery on 125 MHz. Local frequencies are CTAF 122.7 MHz, Ground 121.7 MHz, Tower 126.8 MHz and UNICOM 122.95 MHz. The airport has no ILS approach.
The airport traces its origins to 1928, when a 148-acre tract of land was purchased from the city to house the Knoll Aircraft Company. The Yellow Air Cab Company acquired the assets in 1930, and Beechcraft took ownership in 1940, establishing the field's long association with the manufacturer. In November 2013 the airport briefly became a point of confusion during a well-publicised incident: an Atlas Air Boeing 747-400 Dreamlifter en route to nearby McConnell Air Force Base landed instead at Colonel James Jabara Airport, with the crew initially believing they had put down at Beech Factory Airport before the error was resolved with air traffic control.
Beech Factory Airport remains privately owned by Beechcraft and covers some 1,280 acres. In the twelve months to May 2008 it recorded around 32,700 aircraft operations, roughly 89 a day, with 86 percent general aviation and 14 percent military traffic; at that time 77 aircraft were based there, comprising a mix of single-engine, multi-engine, jet and military types. Following the merger of the Cessna and Beechcraft employee flying clubs, the combined club relocated from Wichita Mid-Continental Airport to Beech Factory Airport, and it continues to operate from the field alongside Beechcraft's own manufacturing and test-flying activity.
