Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
St Louis Downtown Airport (KCPS) is a busy public-use airfield on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River at Cahokia, just east of the Gateway Arch riverfront in St Louis. It offers a long ILS-equipped main runway, a full-time control tower, and a mix of flight training, charter and helicopter activity that makes it a useful and interesting destination for the visiting simulator pilot.
St Louis Downtown Airport is a large, publicly owned general aviation field sitting on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River at Cahokia, roughly a mile east of the town and close to downtown St Louis and the Gateway Arch riverfront. It is owned by the Bi-State Development Agency and combines an active control tower, a precision ILS approach and over a thousand acres of airport land with a busy mix of flight training, charter, aircraft maintenance and helicopter operations, giving it plenty of variety for a visiting VFR or IFR pilot.
The airfield lies in St Clair County, Illinois, about one nautical mile east of Cahokia and close to the St Louis metropolitan area on the opposite bank of the Mississippi River. It falls within Kansas City Center (ZKC) airspace and is tied in to the St Louis Flight Service Station. Several navaids in the wider area are useful for orientation, including the Cardinal VOR/DME, the Troy VORTAC, and the St Louis VORTAC, along with the St Louis Lambert and Spirit of St Louis VOTs.
St Louis Downtown has three physical runways. Runway 12R/30L is the longest, at 6,953 feet, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving Runway 30L. Runway 12L/30R is 5,272 feet, hard-surfaced and lit. Runway 05/23 is the shortest, at 2,796 feet, hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 407 feet.
The tower callsign is Downtown Tower, operating on 119.925 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF. Ground is on 121.8 MHz, ATIS on 121.45 MHz, approach/departure on 123.7 MHz, and clearance delivery on 121.8 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. Runway 30L is served by an ILS with an approach lighting system, and both Runway 12R and 30L have PAPI visual glideslope indicators.
Traffic patterns vary by runway direction: left-hand patterns apply to Runway 05, 12L and 30L, while right-hand patterns apply to Runway 23, 30R and 12R. Pilots should be alert for student training and helicopter operations in the vicinity of the airfield. Prior permission is required for aircraft over 120,000 lbs, and taxiway B4 is excepted from this requirement. When the tower is closed, the MALSR on Runway 30L and the HIRL on Runway 12R/30L can be activated by the pilot, and the REIL on Runway 30R is available via CTAF; medium intensity lighting is preset on Runway 12R/30L outside tower hours.
The airfield sits on the east bank of the Mississippi River about a mile east of Cahokia, with the St Louis skyline and Gateway Arch riverfront visible across the river to the west, providing a strong visual reference for pilots approaching from the St Louis side.
St Louis Downtown remains a busy, publicly owned general aviation airport with a staffed control tower and a wide range of based services, including major airframe and power plant repair, charter operations, flight instruction, aircraft rental and sales, and bulk oxygen supply. 100LL fuel is available, and transient aircraft can be accommodated in hangars or on tie-downs. Prior permission is required for aircraft over 120,000 lbs.
