Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, lies four miles north of downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and combines scheduled airline service with a busy general aviation and military presence. Its long, ILS-equipped runways and control tower with associated approach control make it a straightforward and well-equipped destination for the visual or instrument sim pilot working the Baton Rouge area.
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (KBTR/BTR), historically known as Ryan Field, is a public-use airport serving Baton Rouge, the state capital of Louisiana. It handles a mix of scheduled regional-jet airline flights, general aviation, air taxi and military traffic, including use by the Louisiana State Police Air Support Unit. For a simulator pilot it offers long hard-surfaced runways, an ILS, and full air traffic control, making it a good hub for both airline and GA operations in south Louisiana.
The airport sits in East Baton Rouge Parish, about four miles north of the Baton Rouge central business district, and lies within controlled airspace served by dedicated air traffic controllers in the tower as well as a Terminal Radar Approach Control facility. It is one of the larger fields in the state, positioned within reach of New Orleans' Armstrong International Airport to the southeast, whose proximity has historically limited the scale of commercial traffic through Baton Rouge.
Baton Rouge Metropolitan has three physical runways, all with hard surfaces and lighting. The primary runway, 04L/22R, is 7,502 feet long, with an instrument landing system serving runway 22R. The second long runway, 13/31, is listed at 6,384 feet on the 13 threshold and 6,667 feet on the 31 threshold, with an ILS serving runway 13. The shorter runway, 04R/22L, measures 3,794 feet and is lit but has no instrument approach.
Radio services at Baton Rouge Metropolitan include an air/departure frequency of 120.3 MHz, ATIS on 125.2 MHz, a clearance delivery frequency, ground control on 121.9 MHz, and tower/CTAF on 118.45 MHz. Unicom is available on 122.95 MHz, and a further radio outlet is listed on 122.2 MHz. The field is equipped with an ILS, as noted in the runway details above, supporting instrument approaches to both 22R and 13.
The airport began life as Harding Field during the Second World War, when it was operated by the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply base. It was also used to train pilots on the P-47 Thunderbolt, along with other wartime types including the P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra, A-36 Apache and B-26 Marauder. One of the P-47 trainees at Harding Field, Quentin Aanenson, survived the war and later appeared in Ken Burns' 2007 PBS documentary The War, which noted that five of the forty pilots in his training group died before ever being sent overseas. Little of the wartime military installation survives today beyond the runways themselves.
Today the airport operates as Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, also known as Ryan Field, with scheduled service historically provided by American Eagle, Delta Air Lines and United Express to hub airports including Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston-Intercontinental, Charlotte and Washington-National. Air traffic services are provided by controllers in the tower together with an associated approach control facility. The field also supports significant general aviation and military activity, and is the primary airport used by the Louisiana State Police Air Support Unit. Pilots should note that runway 4R/22L has at times been permanently closed while still depicted on the airport diagram, meaning a clearance to cross it is required whether active or not, and bird activity has been reported on and around the airfield.
