Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Central Wisconsin Airport (KCWA) is a public, tower-controlled airfield at Mosinee, Wisconsin, roughly midway between Wausau and Stevens Point. It offers two long, lit concrete runways with ILS approaches, making it a straightforward and well-equipped destination for both airline traffic and general aviation visitors flying VFR or IFR.
Central Wisconsin Airport, known locally as "C-Way", is a public airport owned jointly by Marathon and Portage counties and operated by the Central Wisconsin Joint Airport Board. It sits close to Mosinee, Wisconsin, roughly midway between Wausau and Stevens Point, and serves a wide area of central Wisconsin including Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids. For a simulator pilot it offers the appeal of a modest but fully equipped regional field, with two lit, hard-surfaced runways, an operating control tower, ILS approaches and a mix of scheduled airline and general aviation traffic, including a resident airline maintenance base.
The airport lies about 3 nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Mosinee, in Marathon County, Wisconsin, with the boundary shared with Portage County. It is roughly 10 miles south-southeast of Granite Peak Ski Area in Rib Mountain State Park, and sits between the communities of Wausau to the north and Stevens Point to the south. The field is served by Minneapolis Center on 124.4 MHz and has an operating control tower, placing it within controlled airspace during tower hours.
Central Wisconsin Airport has two paved runways. Runway 08/26 is 7,600 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving Runway 08. Runway 17/35 is 6,462 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving Runway 35. Field elevation is 1,257 feet.
The airport is served by a control tower and ground control. Tower/CTAF is on 119.75 MHz, with ground control on 121.9 MHz. ATIS and AWOS-3 weather information are broadcast on 127.45 MHz. Green Bay Radio provides flight service on 122.525 MHz, and Unicom is available on 122.95 MHz. Minneapolis Center handles en-route control on 124.4 MHz. Instrument approaches include ILS procedures to both Runway 08 and Runway 35.
As a towered field, arriving and departing traffic operates under the direction of Central Wisconsin Tower on 119.75 MHz, with ground movements coordinated on 121.9 MHz; pilots should expect to receive specific joining and circuit instructions from the tower rather than following a fixed traffic pattern.
Useful landmarks for locating the field include the town of Mosinee itself, immediately northwest of the airport, and Rib Mountain State Park with the Granite Peak Ski Area, which lies about 10 miles to the north-northwest. The airport sits on the direct line between the built-up areas of Wausau to the north and Stevens Point to the south, which helps orientate a VFR approach from either direction.
Central Wisconsin Airport opened in October 1969 as a centralised commercial airport built to replace the separate airfields that had previously served Wausau and Stevens Point. North Central Airlines was the first carrier, flying to Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis-St Paul, and the new airport allowed North Central to upgrade from propeller aircraft to Douglas DC-9 jets. North Central later merged with Southern Airways to form Republic Airlines in 1979, which was itself absorbed into Northwest Airlines in 1986; Northwest in turn merged into Delta Air Lines in 2010, and Delta has continued to serve the airport through its Delta Connection feeder carriers. Following airline deregulation in 1978, other carriers such as Skyway Airlines (for Midwest Express) also served the airport, and American Eagle and United Express have operated feeder services to Chicago at various times. The terminal was modernised in 1997 with new gates, and a further ten-million-dollar modernisation programme began in 2012, during which the airport also gained a geothermal heating and cooling system.
Central Wisconsin Airport remains an active regional commercial and general aviation field. American Eagle operates services to Chicago-O'Hare and Delta Connection to Minneapolis-St Paul, with United Express due to resume service to Chicago-O'Hare from October 2026. The airport is also home to an Endeavor Air maintenance base supporting Delta Connection operations. As of 2024 there were 27 based aircraft, comprising single- and multi-engine types, jets, a helicopter and a glider, and general aviation activity accounts for a significant share of total operations alongside scheduled airline and a small amount of military traffic. T-hangars are available for lease, and operators may also construct their own hangars on the field.
