Departure
90%
vs 95% ▼ 6
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Hunter Army Airfield (KSVN) is a US Army airfield on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia, sharing its single very long runway with Coast Guard Air Station Savannah and a range of Army aviation and special operations units. Its 11,374-foot hard-surfaced runway, equipped with an ILS, makes it one of the longest strips on the eastern seaboard and a notable diversion or practice-approach destination for military jets and turboprops from across the region.
Hunter Army Airfield sits in Savannah, Georgia, and is a subordinate installation of Fort Stewart, the US Army's power-projection post headquartered at Hinesville. The field is best known among aviators for its single, exceptionally long runway, which supports the rapid deployment of the 3rd Infantry Division's aviation brigade and hosts a resident Coast Guard helicopter search-and-rescue unit. For a simulator pilot it is an interesting destination because of its scale, its military character, and its long history stretching back to the earliest days of Savannah's municipal aviation.
The airfield lies in the Savannah, Georgia area, within Fort Stewart's Hunter Army Airfield installation. It is a military field with no scheduled airline service, and operations there are integrated with the surrounding military and civil airspace structure serving coastal Georgia.
Hunter has a single physical runway, 10/28, of hard surface construction and 11,374 feet in length. Both directions are lit, and runway 28 is equipped with an ILS approach, making it usable in a wide range of weather conditions.
Savannah Approach/Departure operates on 118.4 MHz. The field's ATIS broadcasts on 32.312 MHz, and the common traffic advisory frequency is 133.55 MHz. Ground control works on 121.8 MHz and tower on 46.7 MHz, with a PTD frequency of 126.2 MHz also listed. Additional miscellaneous frequencies serve US Coast Guard Savannah air operations (34.5 MHz), Army National Guard operations (38.15 MHz) and PMSV Metro (30.9 MHz).
The site began in 1929 as Savannah Municipal Airport, built on the 730-acre Belmont Tract after the Savannah City Council's General Aviation Committee recommended its purchase from J. C. Lewis for 35,000 dollars. The airport joined the Eastern Air Transport route network in December 1931. In May 1940, during Savannah Aviation Week, the field was renamed Hunter Municipal Airfield in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Frank O'Driscoll Hunter, a Savannah-born World War I flying ace, who made a surprise visit while en route to France. The US Army Air Corps was approved to build a base there in August 1940, and the field was formally dedicated as Savannah Army Air Base on 19 February 1941, initially under the Southeast Air District and later Third Air Force. The 27th Bombardment Group, flying Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bombers and later Douglas A-24 Banshee dive bombers, was the first unit assigned, before deploying to the Philippine Islands in October 1941 and returning to Hunter in May 1942 after heavy losses in the Battle of the Philippines.
Hunter Army Airfield remains an active US Army installation, home to aviation units of the 3rd Infantry Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, alongside Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard tenants. Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, flying MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, provides round-the-clock search-and-rescue coverage from the field. The long runway and extensive apron support rapid deployment of personnel and equipment, and NASA once identified Hunter as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiter. Military jets and turboprops based at Moody, Robins, Dobbins, Savannah Air National Guard, NAS Jacksonville, Jacksonville ANG, MCAS Beaufort, Charleston AFB and Shaw AFB continue to make regular use of the runway for local training, including practice instrument approaches and landings. There is no scheduled airline service at the field.