Flight Simulator Flights at LTAE Akıncı Air Base

Akıncı Air Base, historically known as Mürted, is a Turkish Air Force installation roughly 35 kilometres northwest of Ankara, notable for its very long twin runways and its central role in the failed coup attempt of July 2016. Once home to F-16 fighter squadrons, the base is now associated with Turkish Aerospace Industries and remains a closed military field with no public access.

Overview

Akıncı Air Base sits some 35 kilometres northwest of Ankara on the Mürted Lowland, and was built to provide air defence for the Turkish capital. Operated by the Turkish Air Force, it was for decades a front-line fast-jet base hosting F-16C/D squadrons, and it later became a byword in Turkish history for its role in the events of July 2016. For a simulator pilot the field is of interest for its unusually long, hardened parallel runways, its full ILS approach, and the dramatic history attached to the site, though as an active military installation it offers no scope for civil visits.

Airspace & Location

The base lies within Turkish military airspace close to Ankara, roughly 35 kilometres to the northwest of the city, and shares the wider approach environment with Ankara Esenboğa Airport, whose approach control provides service in the area on 119.1 MHz. As a military airfield it sits under restricted airspace appropriate to its status.

Runways

Akıncı has two parallel hard-surfaced runways, both lit. The main runway, 03/21, is 10,978/10,977 feet long and is equipped with an ILS on runway 03. A second, closely parallel runway, 03L/21R, measures 10,956/10,955 feet. Field elevation is 2,746 feet.

Radio & Navigation

Esenboğa Approach provides approach control on 119.1 MHz, with an ATIS broadcast on 264.15 MHz and a tower frequency of 122.1 MHz. The main runway, 03, is served by an instrument landing system.

History

The airfield was originally established as Mürted and opened in 1960 to defend Ankara, becoming the main jet base (Ana Jet Üssü) of the Turkish Air Force's 4th Air Wing under the 1st Air Force Command. It was one of the Turkish installations allocated to the United States in 1950, and from 1965 hosted a US Air Force munitions support squadron, later redesignated the 739th MUNSS, which formed part of the nuclear weapons custodian organisation based at İncirlik; the nuclear mission at the base was deactivated in 1996, though several Weapons Storage and Security System vaults remained in stand-by status afterwards. The base was renamed Akıncı in 1993 and hosted F-16C/D squadrons, the 141st (fighter), 142nd (bomber) and 143rd (training, formerly the

The Airfield Today

The base is now associated with Turkish Aerospace Industries. It is an active military installation with no public access and strict security restrictions, and it does not function as a civil aerodrome; any flight planning in the area should account for its status as restricted military airspace rather than as a field available for general aviation use.