Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Raleigh County Memorial Airport (KBKW) lies in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia, about three miles east of Beckley, and offers a long ILS-equipped runway that makes it a useful all-weather diversion or destination for sim pilots exploring the region. The field is owned and operated by the Raleigh County Airport Authority and hosts general aviation, a subsidised passenger service and cargo feeder flights alongside flight training.
Raleigh County Memorial Airport, identified as KBKW, sits at Beaver, West Virginia, roughly three miles east of the city of Beckley. It is owned and operated by the Raleigh County Airport Authority and primarily serves general aviation, though it also supports a single subsidised passenger airline under the Essential Air Service programme and cargo feeder operations. For a simulator pilot, the airport's mountainous surroundings, long main runway and ILS approach make it a worthwhile stop when flying through the West Virginia hill country.
The airport lies in Raleigh County, West Virginia, close to Beckley, and receives approach and departure services from Charleston Approach/Departure on 118.95 MHz. Elkins Radio provides an additional remote communications frequency on 117.7 MHz for pilots operating in the wider area.
The airport has two physical runways. Runway 01/19 is 6,728 feet long with a hard surface, is lit, and runway 19 is served by an ILS approach. Runway 10/28 is 4,960 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit. The field elevation is 2,480 feet.
Air-to-ground and approach/departure services are provided by Charleston Approach/Departure on 118.95 MHz. Weather information is available via ASOS on 121.55 MHz and AWOS-3 on 124.65 MHz. Elkins Radio can be contacted on 117.7 MHz, and the field's CTAF/UNICOM frequency is 123 MHz.
The airport opened between 1950 and 1952 with a single 4,200-foot east-west runway, and the first airline flights, operated with Piedmont Airlines DC-3s, began in 1952; Piedmont's YS-11 service continued until 1981. The original runway was extended to 5,000 feet during the 1950s, and the current 6,750-foot runway 1/19 was constructed between 1975 and 1979. In 2005 the airport was noted as the least busy airport in the United States that still retained scheduled airline service, with only 2,578 passengers carried that year.
Raleigh County Memorial Airport continues to combine general aviation activity with a subsidised passenger service, currently operated by Contour Airlines to Charlotte with a seasonal link to Myrtle Beach. Cargo feeder flights are flown into the airport by Mountain Air Cargo for FedEx Feeder and by Air Cargo Carriers for UPS. The airport had 33 based aircraft as of 2022, comprising single- and multi-engine piston types, jets and a helicopter, and recorded an average of 63 aircraft operations a day, the majority general aviation. An industrial park is co-located with the airfield, and the airport also provides FAA Part 139 fire training for the local volunteer fire department alongside general flight instruction. The operator's own site notes that jet handling services are available at the field.
