Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Fort Smith Regional Airport (KFSM) is a joint civil-military field in west-central Arkansas, three nautical miles southeast of downtown Fort Smith, offering a long ILS-equipped main runway and a crosswind runway beneath Class D airspace. It combines scheduled regional airline service with a significant Air National Guard presence and a busy general aviation and corporate fleet, making it a useful and well-equipped destination for VFR and IFR training flights alike.
Fort Smith Regional Airport is a joint civil-military airport serving the city of Fort Smith in western Arkansas, close to the Oklahoma border. It hosts scheduled American Eagle service alongside a large population of corporate and general aviation aircraft, and has been home since 1953 to the Arkansas Air National Guard's 188th Wing. For a simulator pilot the field offers the interest of mixed airline, military and GA traffic operating from a tower- and TRACON-controlled airport with a full ILS approach.
The airport lies within controlled Class D airspace and underlies the Fort Smith Traffic Radar Service Area (TRSA), with air traffic services provided by an FAA control tower and TRACON. It sits about three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas, near the Interstate 540 freeway.
Fort Smith Regional has two physical runways, both hard-surfaced and lit. Runway 08/26 is the primary instrument runway at 8,000 feet and is served by an ILS. Runway 02/20 is the shorter crosswind runway at 5,001 feet.
ATC and advisory frequencies at Fort Smith include Tower/CTAF on 118.3 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz, ATIS on 126.3 MHz and Clearance Delivery on 133.85 MHz. Approach and departure control is provided as Razorback Approach on 135.357 MHz and 120.175 MHz, with Departure also on 120.9 MHz. Unicom is available on 122.95 MHz, and a remote radio outlet for Jonesboro Radio operates on 122.2 MHz. The primary runway, 08/26, is equipped with an ILS.
As a Class D, tower-controlled airport underlying a TRSA, arriving VFR traffic should expect to establish contact with Fort Smith Tower on 118.3 MHz well before entering the airspace, with the TRACON handling approach and departure sequencing under Razorback Approach. Runway 8/26, the primary instrument runway, carries precision markings, and runways 20 and 26 both have adjoining parallel taxiways, which pilots should note when taxiing after landing.
The airport is readily identified from the air by its position just southeast of downtown Fort Smith and its proximity to the Interstate 540 freeway, which runs near the field and provides a useful lead-in feature for VFR arrivals.
Fort Smith was first served by Braniff International Airways and Mid-Continent Airlines in the mid-1940s, with Braniff operating Douglas DC-3s on a long multi-stop routing linking Denver with Memphis. Braniff later introduced Convair 340/440 propliners, Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprops, and in 1965 became the first airline to bring scheduled jet service to Fort Smith with British Aircraft Corporation BAC One-Eleven twin jets, flying nonstop and interchange services to cities including Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Memphis, Minneapolis-St Paul, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Omaha. Frontier Airlines arrived in the 1970s, adding nonstop service to Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Little Rock. Since 1953 the airport has also been home to the Fort Smith Air National Guard Station, latterly the 188th Wing, which has operated the F-4 Phantom II, F-16 Fighting Falcon (A/B/C variants) and A-10 Thunderbolt II over the decades; the A-10s were withdrawn by 2014. Airline service consolidated through the 2000s, and Delta Connection's service ended in 2020, leaving American Eagle as the sole scheduled carrier with flights to Dallas-Fort Worth.
Today Fort Smith Regional Airport is served by American Eagle with flights to Dallas-Fort Worth, alongside a substantial general aviation and corporate fleet; a Federal Aviation Administration survey recorded 77 based aircraft, comprising single- and multi-engine piston types, jets, a helicopter and a glider. A full-service fixed-base operator, Signature Flight Support, handles general aviation, airline and military traffic. The Arkansas Air National Guard's 188th Wing remains based at the field, now flying remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft alongside intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and space-focused targeting missions. The Fort Smith Air Museum is located within the terminal building.
