Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Grand Strand Airport is a county-owned general aviation field on the northern edge of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, built as a wartime auxiliary strip and now home to a busy single-runway operation with a control tower and instrument approach. Its single paved runway, 05/23, carries an ILS to runway 23, making it a practical and well-equipped stop for visiting pilots along the Grand Strand.
Grand Strand Airport (KCRE) is a public, county-owned airfield serving North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It began life as a rough World War II auxiliary landing strip and later served as the area's commercial airport before Myrtle Beach International Airport opened; today it is a general aviation field with a control tower, an ILS-equipped runway, and a resident FBO, making it an interesting and useful destination for visiting VFR and IFR pilots exploring the Grand Strand coastline.
The airport lies one nautical mile northwest of the central business district of North Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, close to the Atlantic coast. It sits within the wider Myrtle Beach area, sharing regional airspace with Myrtle Beach International Airport (KMYR) and handled on approach and departure by Myrtle Beach Approach/Departure. Other general aviation fields in the vicinity include Conway-Horry County Airport (KHYW) and Georgetown County Airport (KGGE).
Grand Strand Airport has a single physical runway, 05/23, 6,002 feet long with a hard surface and lighting. Runway 23 is equipped with an ILS approach, giving pilots a precision option into the field; runway 05 is available for visual arrivals and departures from the opposite direction. Field elevation is 30 feet.
Myrtle Beach Approach/Departure works arriving and departing traffic on 119.2 MHz, with the airport ATIS on 119.625 MHz. Ground movements are handled by Strand Ground on 121.8 MHz, with Anderson Radio also listed on 123.6 MHz. Strand Tower operates on 124.6 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF when the tower is closed. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. The field is equipped with an ILS to runway 23.
Traffic at Grand Strand Airport is worked by Strand Tower on 124.6 MHz during its hours of operation, with the same frequency serving as CTAF outside those hours; pilots should monitor and make appropriate calls when the tower is closed. The tower and the resident FBO both operate from 0700 to 2100 local year-round, with after-hours service available by arrangement.
The airport sits close to Crescent Beach, from which its ICAO/IATA code CRE is derived, and lies just northwest of the North Myrtle Beach town centre, making the coastline and beachfront development useful visual references when inbound from the sea or along the Grand Strand.
The origins of the airfield are not precisely recorded, but it was most likely built during the Second World War by the United States Army Air Forces as the Wampee Flight Strip, used as an auxiliary landing field for Myrtle Beach Army Airfield. After the war it was closed and handed over for local government use by the War Assets Administration. From 1956 it served as the commercial airport for Myrtle Beach and the wider Grand Strand area, with Piedmont Airlines providing scheduled service, until the opening of what is now Myrtle Beach International Airport in 1976 at the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. Since then the field has operated purely as a general aviation airport serving the North Myrtle Beach area.
Grand Strand Airport today handles a steady flow of general aviation and air taxi traffic, with a small proportion of military movements, and has around 38 based aircraft including single and multi-engine types, a jet, and a helicopter. The field is served by an on-site FBO, Beach Aviation Services (formerly Ramp 66), offering full-service and self-service fuelling in both Jet A and 100LL, along with typical transient support such as ramp parking, tie-downs, towing, and hangar rentals. The FBO and control tower both operate from 0700 to 2100 local year-round, with after-hours service available by arrangement.
