Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Chippewa County International Airport (KCIU) lies in Kincheloe, Michigan, about 15 nautical miles south of Sault Ste Marie and close to the International Bridge crossing into Canada. Built on the site of the former Kincheloe Air Force Base, it retains a long ex-military runway alongside a shorter crosswind strip, and today combines a small scheduled Delta Connection operation with general aviation traffic under an unmanned tower using UNICOM procedures.
Chippewa County International Airport sits on the former Kincheloe Air Force Base near Kincheloe, Michigan, and now serves as the public airport for the Sault Ste Marie area. It is operated by the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation and hosts a mix of scheduled airline service to Detroit and Minneapolis-St Paul alongside general aviation movements, making it an interesting stop for a visiting VFR pilot thanks to its oversized Cold War-era runway and quiet, largely uncontrolled operating environment.
The airport is located roughly 15 nautical miles south of the central business district of Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, and close to the International Bridge crossing to Canada. The original US Air Force control tower on the field is unmanned and non-operational, so traffic is handled on a common traffic advisory frequency rather than by local ATC; wider area traffic is worked by Toronto Center and Green Bay Radio as listed under radio and navigation.
The airport has two physical runways. Runway 16/34 is 7,209 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving runway 16. Runway 10/28 is 4,989 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 794 feet.
Automated weather is broadcast on AWOS at 127.575 MHz. En route ATC coverage in the area is provided by Toronto Center on 132.65 MHz, with Green Bay Radio available on 123.65 MHz. Airport traffic is coordinated on the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 123 MHz, since the original tower is unmanned and non-operational; runway 16 is served by an ILS.
With the tower unmanned, pilots are expected to self-announce and coordinate on the UNICOM/CTAF frequency of 123 MHz rather than receive control instructions. No specific circuit height, joining procedure or noise abatement restriction is described in the available material.
No published visual reference points are given, but the field's location close to the International Bridge over the St Marys River, and its position some 15 nautical miles south of Sault Ste Marie's town centre, provide useful general orientation for a pilot inbound from either direction.
The airport occupies the site of Kincheloe Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command installation that closed in 1977. During its military life the main runway, now numbered 16/34, was originally built to 12,000 feet to accommodate B-52 and KC-135 operations, though roughly 4,800 feet of that original length has since gone unmaintained and is no longer usable for takeoffs or landings. Following conversion to civilian use the field became a non-hub primary commercial service airport under the Federal Aviation Administration's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, opened a new passenger terminal in September 2002, and received federal COVID-19 relief funding in 2020 before a further terminal upgrade, part-funded by a 5.5 million dollar federal grant, was completed in 2022.
Today the field is used mainly for general aviation alongside a limited scheduled service, with Delta Connection flying to Detroit and Minneapolis-St Paul and a seasonal United Express service to Chicago-O'Hare. An FBO on the field offers AvGas and Jet A fuel, along with catering, a courtesy car, a conference room and a crew lounge. The airport's proximity to the International Bridge allows straightforward onward crossing into Canada for arriving traffic.
