Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Grand Forks International Airport lies five miles northwest of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and is best known to pilots as the home of the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, whose training flights account for roughly 90 percent of all movements here. With four runways, a control tower and an ILS approach, it offers a busy but well-organised environment for both airline and general aviation traffic.
Grand Forks International Airport (KGFK) sits five miles northwest of the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and is owned and operated by the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority. It carries the informal name Mark Andrews Field, after the former U.S. Representative and Senator Mark Andrews, and holds an "international" designation because it provides customs clearance for arrivals from Canada and other countries, even though it has no scheduled international passenger service. The field is dominated by flight training: the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is based here and generates around 90 percent of all airport operations, making GFK one of the busier towered fields in the region and a useful case study for pilots flying into a mixed airline, cargo and heavy training environment.
The airport lies within Grand Forks city limits, on U.S. Highway 2 and about four miles west of Interstate 29, in a detached section of the city surrounded by Rye Township. It is served by its own approach/departure control and a tower, indicating controlled airspace around the field; pilots should expect to work with Grand Forks approach and tower frequencies rather than operating under an uncontrolled traffic pattern.
Grand Forks International has four physical runways, all hard-surfaced and lit. The primary runway, 17R/35L, is 7,336 feet long and equipped with an ILS on runway 35L. Runway 09L/27R measures 4,203 feet. A secondary parallel runway, 17L/35R, is 3,907 feet long, and the shortest runway, 09R/27L, is 3,293 feet. Field elevation is 840 feet.
Grand Forks Tower operates on 118.4 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF. Ground control is on 124.575 MHz, with a secondary radio channel on 122.2 MHz. ATIS is broadcast on 119.4 MHz, and approach/departure control operates on 118.1 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. An ILS approach serves runway 35L, providing an instrument approach into the field's main runway.
Grand Forks International Airport traces part of its identity to Mark Andrews, after whom it is sometimes informally known as Mark Andrews International Airport; Andrews served North Dakota in both the U.S. House and Senate. The airport is owned by the Grand Forks Regional Airport Authority, a joint public partnership between Grand Forks County and the City of Grand Forks. In 2009 its FAA control tower ranked as the 23rd-busiest in the nation, handling 346,165 tower operations, a reflection of the intensive flight training activity based on the field. The original 1964 passenger terminal was eventually replaced after a 2005 engineering study identified structural and safety problems; construction of a new terminal began in July 2009 and it opened in August 2011 as the Byron L. Dorgan Terminal, named for the retired North Dakota senator. FedEx operated cargo services from the airport until February 2016, when it announced a move to Fargo's Hector International Airport.
The University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the airport's largest tenant and operates a large fleet of training aircraft, including Cessna 172s and 150s, Piper Seminoles and Archers, Beechcraft King Air 90s and American Champion Decathlons, supported by dedicated hangars, a dispatch centre and maintenance facilities. This training activity accounts for the great majority of operations at the field. General aviation support is available through an FBO offering fuel and handling services, and the airport also hosts air ambulance operations. Scheduled airline service is provided by Delta Air Lines and Allegiant. The airport has been undergoing a multi-phase airfield development programme, including an extension of runway 9L/27R by approximately 2,500 feet to the west and reconstruction of the existing runway pavement. Grand Forks International Airport covers 1,618 acres.
