Departure
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MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport (KOSC) is a public-use aerodrome in Iosco County, Michigan, occupying the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base site a few miles northwest of Oscoda's town centre. Its single but exceptionally long paved runway, a legacy of the field's Strategic Air Command days, makes it an unusual and interesting destination for the sim pilot exploring northern Michigan.
Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport sits on the grounds of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda, Michigan, and today operates as a civilian general aviation and cargo field under the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport Authority. Its most striking feature for any visiting pilot is the sheer scale of its single runway, a relic of the base's former role hosting heavy bombers, which now serves light aircraft, business jets and freight operations alongside a scattering of former military infrastructure.
The airport lies in Iosco County, Michigan, about three nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Oscoda. It is a public-use, non-towered field, with air traffic handled on a common frequency rather than by a local control tower.
Oscoda-Wurtsmith has one physical runway, 07/25, an exceptionally long hard-surfaced strip measuring 11,776 feet, lit for night operations. An ILS approach is available to runway 25.
Weather information is broadcast on AWOS at 116.1 MHz. IFR traffic and overflights are worked by Minneapolis Center on 118.525 MHz. Local traffic advisories, arrivals and departures use the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 123 MHz, reflecting the airport's non-towered status. An ILS is available for runway 25.
The airfield is identifiable from the air by its unusually long paved runway and the extensive former air base infrastructure surrounding it, set apart from the town of Oscoda, which lies about three nautical miles to the southeast.
The airport occupies the site of Wurtsmith Air Force Base and opened as a public airport on 1 December 1993 following the base's closure. It was initially operated by the State of Michigan through the Wurtsmith Base Conversion Authority, before the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport Authority assumed responsibility on 1 October 1994. The Authority was organised under Michigan Act 206 of 1957 and is made up of five municipal constituents: Oscoda Township, AuSable Township, Greenbush Township, Iosco County and Alcona County.
More than 40 private businesses and public agencies now make use of the former Air Force facilities and infrastructure at the site, supporting over 1,300 jobs in the area. Kalitta Air operates from the airport under an 18-year lease with the Airport Authority, using a large hangar built with state funding in 2008 to accommodate 747 aircraft. The surrounding district is also home to aviation heritage sites, including the Wurtsmith Air Museum.