Bolton Field is a public
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
in
Columbus,
Franklin County,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, United States.
It is a towered airport operated under the
Columbus Regional Airport Authority. It is one of 12 general aviation reliever airports in Ohio recognized in the
National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) is an inventory of U.S. aviation infrastructure assets. With the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of September 3, 1982, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was required to develop a ...
(NPIAS) and is a reliever airport for
John Glenn Columbus International Airport
John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also overs ...
.
Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter
location identifier
A location identifier is a symbolic representation for the name and the location of an airport, navigation aid, or weather station, and is used for staffed air traffic control facilities in air traffic control, telecommunications, computer program ...
for the
FAA and
IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
, but Bolton Field is TZR to the FAA and has no IATA code.
History
Bolton Field opened on October 24, 1970, a day after Franklin County Common Pleas Court rejected a move by a nearby private airport (located on
Darby Dan Farm) to stop it. Major Harry Charles Davidson, a WWII veteran residing in Groveport, Ohio, was the first airport manager at Bolton Field. Major Harry Charles Davidson was appointed by Mayor of Columbus, Jack Sensenbrenner. The airport is named after long-time Port Columbus International Airport Superintendent Francis A. "Jack" Bolton, honored posthumously when the city dedicated the airfield to him at its opening. The airport was built to handle personal and business aviation, freeing Port Columbus for commercial traffic.
In 1980, the operation of John Glenn International Airport (formerly Port Columbus International Airport) and Bolton Field Airport was transferred from the City of Columbus to the Columbus Airport Authority; in 2003, the Columbus Airport Authority and the Rickenbacker Port Authority merged to create the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which manages John Glenn Columbus International (CMH),
Rickenbacker International Airport
Rickenbacker International Airport is a civil-military public airport south of downtown Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, near Lockbourne, Ohio, Lockbourne in southern Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The south end of the ...
(LCK) and Bolton Field (TZR) airports.
The airport is home to regular events hosted by the
Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles Program.
Facilities and aircraft
Bolton Field covers and has one
asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
runway
In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...
(4/22), which measures .
Fuel is available; planes can use tiedowns or
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s for parking.
Capital City Jet provides flight instruction,
fixed-base operations, and air charter services. FBO amenities include a conference room, a crew lounge, snooze rooms, a courtesy car, and more.
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 19 ...
has an Aviation Maintenance Training Program on the field.
Scioto Valley 99s and Central Ohio Balloon Club are aviation organizations located on the grounds. There is also a barbecue restaurant on the field, which offers dinner and airplane rides each year on Valentine's Day.
For the 12-month period ending ending June 7, 2022, the airport had 26,932 aircraft operations, average 74 per day. It was nearly 100%
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
as well as <1%
air taxi
An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.
History
The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...
and <1%
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
. For the same time period, 64 aircraft are based at this airport: 57 single-engine and 6 multi-engine
airplane
An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
s as well as 1
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
.
This is down from 74,511 aircraft operations and 82 based aircraft in 2011.
Incidents and accidents
* On October 8, 1992, an aircraft veered left and departed the runway while landing at Bolton Field. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane.
* On June 18, 1993, upon approach for landing on grass runway 22, a
Glasflügel H-101 glider registered N101AZ, encountered a powered airplane, which had entered the landing pattern. The pilot extended his base leg to the approach to accommodate the aircraft. He then decided that it would be difficult to complete the landing on the planned runway, so he switched to a site he was unfamiliar with. During this landing, the glider impacted a ditch. The ultra-light aircraft suffered damage to its tail section.
* On March 23, 2003, a
Piper PA-22
The PA-20 Pacer and PA-22 Tri-Pacer, Caribbean, and Colt are an American family of light strut-braced high-wing monoplane aircraft built by Piper Aircraft from 1949 to 1964.
The Pacer is essentially a four-place version of the two-place PA ...
was substantially damaged during takeoff from Bolton Field. A CFI onboard was providing instruction to the private pilot flying, who himself had not flown since 1983. On the accident takeoff, the aircraft was almost at takeoff speed when it began to veer to the right. The CFI took control of the airplane and attempted to correct; however, the airplane departed the right side of the runway, and ground-looped. The left main landing gear collapsed and the left wing struck the ground. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot under instruction's failure to maintain directional control, and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action.
* On February 14, 2017, a
Beech D55 Baron impacted runway 22 at the Bolton Field Airport following a loss of left engine power during takeoff. Just after takeoff, the left engine began to lose power and its rpm began dropping. The left seat pilot transferred control to the right seat passenger, who tried to land the aircraft on the remaining runway. The aircraft landed hard, but the right seat pilot managed to stop the aircraft on the runway surface. The left main gear was found to have collapsed. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the partial loss of left engine power during takeoff and initial climb, which led to a hard landing in gusting crosswind conditions; the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined because postaccident examination of the left engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
See also
*
List of airports in Ohio
This is a list of airports in Ohio (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such as airports that we ...
References
External links
*
Capital City Jet Center(fixed-base operator)
*
*
{{Transportation in Columbus, Ohio
Buildings and structures in Columbus, Ohio
Airports in Ohio
Transportation in Columbus, Ohio
Transportation buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio
Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio
Transportation in Franklin County, Ohio