Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Hickory Regional Airport (KHKY) lies in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains about three miles west of Hickory, North Carolina, and is the primary general aviation gateway for the western part of the state. Owned and operated by the City of Hickory, it offers a long ILS-equipped main runway, an operating control tower, and a busy mix of training, business and recreational flying that makes it a useful and interesting VFR or IFR destination for simulator pilots.
Hickory Regional Airport is a city-owned general aviation field serving the Hickory metropolitan area in Catawba County, North Carolina. It sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, roughly midway between the Appalachians and Charlotte, and today handles a steady flow of general aviation, air taxi and some military traffic, along with flight training and based aircraft. Its long history as a pilot training centre in the Second World War, its scheduled airline past, and its present role as a well-equipped towered GA airport make it a rewarding stop for a simulator pilot exploring the Carolinas.
The airport lies about three miles west of the city of Hickory, in Catawba County, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains between the main Appalachian range and Charlotte. It has an operating air traffic control tower, and traffic in the surrounding airspace is worked by Atlanta Center on the frequencies noted below when outside the immediate airport environment.
Hickory Regional has two paved runways. The main runway, 06/24, is 6,371 feet long with a hard surface and is lit; runway 24 is equipped with an ILS. The secondary runway, 01/19, is 4,368 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 1,158 feet.
The airport uses the callsign Hickory Tower on 128.15 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF. Ground control operates on 121.7 MHz, and clearance delivery is combined with ground on the same 121.7 MHz frequency. Weather is available from the ASOS on 118.325 MHz. En route air traffic control is provided by Atlanta Center on 125.15 MHz, and Raleigh Radio can be reached on 122.2 MHz. Runway 24 is served by a full Instrument Landing System, commissioned in 1977, together with a MALSR approach lighting system.
Hickory Regional has an operating control tower daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and pilots joining or departing the pattern should expect to work with Hickory Tower on 128.15 MHz during these hours; outside tower hours this frequency serves as the CTAF for self-announced traffic. No specific circuit altitude or noise abatement procedure is given in the sources consulted.
The airport is located about three miles west of downtown Hickory, making the city itself, along with the surrounding Catawba County terrain in the Blue Ridge foothills, a useful general reference when inbound from the east. No published visual reporting points are detailed in the sources consulted.
Hickory Municipal Airport opened on 17 May 1940 with two unpaved runways of 2,700 and 3,100 feet. The runway later designated 6/24 was soon lengthened and both runways were paved. On 2 August 1941 Pennsylvania Central Airline, later Capital Airlines, began the airport's first scheduled service with a Boeing 247 flying between Norfolk and Knoxville, though this was suspended in May 1942. During the Second World War the airport served as a military pilot training centre. In 1947 the Civil Aeronautics Administration opened an Interstate Airways Communications Station on the south side of the field. In May 1950 the City of Hickory contracted for a new north-south runway, 1/19, 4,400 feet long, and Capital Airlines resumed service in August 1951 before Piedmont Airlines took over service in August 1952. Runway 6/24 was extended twice to its present length, and a full Instrument Landing System with a MALSR approach lighting system was installed on runway 24 and commissioned in 1977. The current terminal building opened in 1960, when airport operations moved from the south side of the field, and the Fixed-Base Operator, then Cannon Aviation, Inc., relocated alongside it; the FBO later traded under the name Carolina Airways, Inc., and changed hands several times thereafter. In 1969 a high-intensity runway lighting system was installed on 6/24 together with parallel taxiway lighting, a new lit taxiway was built alongside 1/19, runway 6/24 was overlaid for added pavement strength, and a new airport beacon was installed. In the autumn of 1973 the Federal Aviation Administration commissioned an air traffic control tower at Hickory, which continues to operate today under contract. The most recent scheduled airline service, a Delta Connection route to Atlanta, ceased in 2005. Riverhawk Aviation, long the airport's sole FBO, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and on 8 December 2011 a bankruptcy court found it could not continue viably; the City of Hickory assumed all FBO operations the following day to keep general aviation services running without interruption. On 23 October 2017 an EF2 tornado struck the north side of the airport with winds estimated up to 125 mph, destroying two hangars along with several privately owned aircraft and vehicles; a replacement hangar was completed in early 2021.
Hickory Regional Airport remains a general aviation airport, owned and operated by the City of Hickory, with an FAA Part 139 certificate for commercial service though it is not currently served by a scheduled airline. The control tower operates daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The City operates the field's Fixed-Base Operation directly, providing fuel and aircraft services, and the terminal building, built in 1960, also houses airport administration, a cafe, rental cars, a bus service and the Hickory Aviation Museum. A separate building constructed in 2003 serves the general aviation community. Several flight instructors are based at the airport, offering Part 61 instruction for sport, private and commercial pilots, alongside Part 141 training run through the flight school at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. The Hickory Fire Department provides continuous aircraft rescue and firefighting cover from a dedicated ARFF unit.
