MY FS FLIGHTS
Santa Maria Airport (SBSM) serves the city of Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and is one of the region's principal airfields with a long paved runway equipped for instrument approaches. For a visiting VFR pilot it offers a straightforward arrival with radar-served approach control and tower on frequency, plus a choice of runway alignments to suit the wind.
Santa Maria Airport lies at Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and is identified by the ICAO code SBSM and IATA code RIA. It sits at an elevation of 269 feet and is built around a long hard-surfaced main runway fitted with an instrument landing system, supplemented by a shorter crosswind runway, making it a capable medium-sized aerodrome for both airline and general aviation traffic in this part of southern Brazil.
The airport is located at approximately 29.71 degrees south, 53.69 degrees west, at a field elevation of 269 feet above mean sea level. Approach control is available on 119.35 MHz and tower on 118.3 MHz, indicating that the aerodrome operates within controlled airspace with a dedicated approach service for arriving and departing traffic.
Santa Maria has two physical runways. The main runway, 11/29, is 8,799 feet long with a hard surface, lit, and served by an ILS on runway 11. The secondary runway, 02/20, has a hard surface and is also lit, with the 02 threshold offering 5,786 feet of landing distance and the 20 threshold offering 4,943 feet.
Approach control can be contacted on 119.35 MHz, with the tower operating on 118.3 MHz. Runway 11 is served by an ILS, giving pilots a precision instrument approach into the airport's main runway; the remaining runway directions rely on visual or non-precision procedures.