Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Billings Logan International Airport sits atop the Rims, the dramatic sandstone escarpment overlooking downtown Billings, Montana, making it one of the more visually striking approaches in the northern Rockies. As Montana's principal commercial airport, it offers a full-length ILS runway, radar and tower services, and a mix of airline, cargo and general aviation traffic that gives the visiting VFR or IFR pilot a genuinely busy Class C field to work into.
Billings Logan International Airport is the primary airport serving Billings, Montana, and is owned and operated by the City of Billings through its Department of Aviation and Transit. It sits on top of the Rims, a 500-foot cliff overlooking the city, and covers some 2,500 acres. For a simulator pilot it offers an interesting combination of a long ILS-equipped main runway, two shorter crosswind strips, an active control tower, and a role as a regional hub for commuter and cargo operators, all set against a dramatic clifftop backdrop.
The airport lies in Yellowstone County, Montana, about two miles northwest of downtown Billings, and is classified as Class C airspace. It is served by an operating control tower and approach/departure control, giving arriving pilots a full ATC service rather than the uncontrolled procedures typical of smaller Montana fields.
Billings Logan has three physical runways. The main runway, 10L/28R, is 10,487 feet long, hard-surfaced, lit, and equipped with an ILS. A parallel shorter runway, 10R/28L, is 3,791 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit. The crosswind runway, 07/25, runs 5,482 feet on the 07 heading and 5,714 feet on the 25 heading, is also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 3,586 feet.
Air-to-ground and approach/departure services are provided on 119.2 MHz. The ATIS broadcasts on 126.3 MHz. Clearance delivery and ground control both use 121.9 MHz. The tower operates on 124.2 MHz, and UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. A remote radio outlet for Great Falls Radio is listed on 122.55 MHz. The main runway, 10L/28R, is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airport's position atop the Rims, the prominent cliff line overlooking downtown Billings, is the single most useful visual reference for pilots approaching the field, with the city and the Yellowstone River valley clearly visible below to the south and east.
The first recorded flight in the Billings area took place on Memorial Day 1913, when local dentist Dr Frank Bell flew a home-built Curtiss O-X-5 aircraft from Billings to Park City and back, a 40-mile round trip later commemorated in a painting displayed in the airport terminal. The City of Billings approved funds and land atop the Rims for an airfield in 1927, and a 1,820-foot runway built with horse-drawn equipment opened on 29 May 1928. Northwest Airlines began the first scheduled passenger service in 1933, and the field subsequently hosted Inland Air Lines, Western Airlines and the original Frontier Airlines through the propeller era, progressing to Convair, DC-6 and DC-7 equipment by the 1950s and 1960s. Runway lighting was added in 1935, and the airport was renamed Billings Logan Field in 1957 in honour of airport manager Dick Logan, becoming Billings Logan International Airport in 1971. The jet age arrived in 1966 with Northwest Boeing 727 service, and by 1968 the airport had nonstop 727 flights to Chicago, Minneapolis-St Paul, Great Falls and Spokane along with through service to several eastern cities. Terminal expansions followed in 1958, 1972 and 1992, and a new 120-foot air traffic control tower was completed in 2005.
Billings Logan remains Montana's busiest airport by most measures and serves as a hub for Cape Air, which operates Tecnam P2012 commuter flights within Montana to Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Sidney and Wolf Point, as well as a base for several regional and national airlines with nonstop service to hubs such as Denver, Minneapolis-St Paul, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Chicago. General aviation traffic is handled by two fixed-base operators, Beacon Air Group and Edwards Jet Center, both offering fuel, maintenance, charter and crew facilities.
