Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM) is a busy general-aviation and business-aviation reliever field in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, about ten to fourteen miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis and the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport it serves as a reliever for. With three lit asphalt runways, an ILS approach, and an FAA control tower, it is the busiest of the Metropolitan Airports Commission's reliever airports, hosting flight schools, corporate operators and a large based fleet.
Flying Cloud Airport sits in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and is operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission as the busiest of its reliever airports serving the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area, with more than 100,000 takeoffs and landings a year. It is a hub for corporate jets, flight training and general aviation, offering full-service fixed-base operators, an ILS-equipped primary runway and an FAA control tower, which makes it a practical and interesting destination for a simulator pilot flying in the Twin Cities area.
The airfield lies roughly ten to fourteen miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis and the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, within the wider Minneapolis-St Paul terminal area. Aircraft using Flying Cloud are restricted by the FAA to 60,000 pounds or less, except in emergencies or when operated by the US Government, reflecting its role as a general aviation and business aviation reliever rather than an airline field.
Flying Cloud has three physical runways. Runway 10R/28L is the primary strip at 5,000 feet, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving runway 10R. Runway 10L/28R is 3,892 feet, hard-surfaced and lit. The crosswind runway 18/36 is the shortest, at 2,697 feet, also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 899 feet.
Flying Cloud is served by an ATIS on 124.9 MHz. The tower and common traffic advisory frequency is 118.1 MHz, with ground and clearance delivery on 121.7 MHz, and a UNICOM available on 122.95 MHz. Minneapolis Approach/Departure also works traffic in the vicinity. The field has a precision ILS to runway 10R, along with non-precision instrument approaches to runways 10R, 28L, 28R and 36, and a published precision approach procedure for helicopters.
The control tower at Flying Cloud operates daily, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in winter and with an extra hour of coverage, until 10 p.m., in summer. The airport uses
A notable landmark near the airport is the Valleyfair amusement park, whose ride heights are restricted under FAA regulations because of its proximity to Flying Cloud's flight paths, making it a useful visual reference for pilots orienting themselves near the field.
Flying Cloud Airport began life in 1941, when the US Navy arranged with local farmer Martin "Pappy" Grill to use a grass landing strip for training pilots during the Second World War, with aircraft from Wold-Chamberlain Field, now Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, using it to practise approaches. After the war Grill sold the field and adjoining land to American Aviation, Inc, and John Stuber named it Flying Cloud Airport in reference to local Native American lore and to flight. The Metropolitan Airports Commission purchased the airport in 1948 and paved the runway, later building a control tower in 1963. By 1966 Flying Cloud was ranked the second-busiest airport in the central United States, behind Chicago O'Hare, and in 1968 it recorded 446,198 takeoffs and landings, making it the ninth-busiest airport in the country that year.
Today Flying Cloud is designated by the FAA as a reliever airport and remains the busiest in the Metropolitan Airports Commission's reliever system, recording over 100,000 aircraft operations annually and supporting several hundred based aircraft, from single-engine trainers to jets and helicopters. It is home to numerous fixed-base operators offering corporate aircraft services, flight training, aircraft rental, sales, maintenance and fuel, as well as the Viking Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. The airport is noise-sensitive, and pilots are encouraged to follow published Fly Neighborly guidance and the Operational Implementation Plan agreed between the Metropolitan Airports Commission and the City of Eden Prairie to reduce noise impact on surrounding neighbourhoods.
