Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Helena Regional Airport (KHLN) sits on the eastern edge of Montana's capital city, serving as the primary gateway to the state's southwestern region. It is a towered, ILS-equipped field with a substantial main runway and a long-standing relationship with the U.S. military, making it a straightforward and well-equipped stop for visiting pilots.
Helena Regional Airport is the public airport serving Helena, the capital of Montana, and is owned and operated by the Helena Regional Airport Authority, a body created in 1993 by the City of Helena and Lewis and Clark County. It handles scheduled airline service as well as general aviation traffic, and its long main runway and full ILS make it usable in a wide range of weather for a sim pilot practising instrument approaches in mountainous terrain.
The airport lies within Lewis and Clark County, Montana, on the eastern edge of the city of Helena. It is a towered field with its own approach/departure and ground control frequencies, indicating controlled airspace around the aerodrome that pilots should expect to work with before arrival or departure.
Helena Regional has three physical runways. The main runway, 09/27, is 8,973 feet long with a hard surface and lit, and carries an ILS on runway 27. A secondary runway, 05/23, is 4,623 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit. A shorter crosswind runway, 17/35, measures approximately 3,053 feet on the 17 heading and 2,982 feet on the 35 heading, also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 3,845 feet.
Helena Tower operates on 118.3 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF. ATIS is broadcast on 120.4 MHz, ground control on 121.9 MHz, and approach/departure on 119.5 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz, and a Great Falls Radio frequency of 122.55 MHz is also listed, alongside an Army National Guard operations frequency of 40.65 MHz. The airport is equipped with an ILS on runway 27.
As a towered airport, arriving and departing traffic should expect to work Helena Tower on 118.3 MHz for sequencing and circuit instructions; no specific published circuit heights or noise-abatement procedures are given in the available material.
The Helena Regional Airport Authority was established in 1993 by the City of Helena and Lewis and Clark County under Title 67 of the Montana Code, created to run the airport as a self-sustaining entity independent of local tax funding. The airport has had a long-standing relationship with the U.S. military dating back to the 1930s.
The airport is owned and operated by the Helena Regional Airport Authority, governed by a seven-member board with three appointees each from the City and County and one joint appointee, and is managed day to day by an Airport Director. It hosts the Rocky Mountain Emergency Services Training Center, described as providing realistic first responder training, and maintains its long relationship with the U.S. military. U.S. Customs landing rights are available on the south side of the airfield off Taxiway C, and pilots arriving internationally must make prior arrangements with the on-duty Customs and Border Protection officer before landing. An Airport Master Plan Update covering the airport's roughly 1,400-acre campus is currently underway to plan development over the next twenty years.
