Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport
IATA: SFM ICAO: KSFM FAA LID: SFM
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Town of Sanford
Location	Sanford, Maine
Elevation AMSL	244 ft / 74 m
Coordinates	43°23′38″N 070°42′29″W / 43.39389°N 70.70806°W / 43.39389; -70.70806
Map
SFM Location in Maine Show map of Maine SFM Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Runway
Runway Length Surface ft m 7/25 6,389 1,947 Asphalt 14/32 4,999 1,524 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 76,010 Based aircraft 78
Source: Federal Aviation Administration

Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport (IATA: SFM, ICAO: KSFM, FAA LID: SFM) is a public airport in Sanford, Maine. It is about 4 miles (6 km) southeast of the town center. This airport is owned by the Town of Sanford.

Long ago, from 1943 to 1946, it was a special naval air facility. It helped the main naval air station in Brunswick, Maine.

What's at the Airport?

Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport covers a large area, about 1,115 acres (451 hectares). It has two main runways for planes to land and take off.

• Runway 7/25: This runway is 6,389 feet (1,947 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide. It is made of asphalt.
• Runway 14/32: This runway is 4,999 feet (1,524 meters) long and 100 feet (30 meters) wide. It is also made of asphalt.

In one year (ending August 29, 2006), there were 76,010 aircraft operations. This means planes took off or landed about 208 times each day! Most of these (96%) were "general aviation" flights. These are usually private planes, not big airlines. A small number were air taxis or military flights.

The airport is home to 78 aircraft. Most of them (92%) are single-engine planes. The rest are multi-engine planes.

Learning to Fly Here

The airport has a special service called a Fixed-Base Operator (FBO). It also has several schools where you can learn to fly.

Fixed-Base Operator

The FBO at Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport is Southern Maine Aviation. They provide fuel for airplanes, like jet fuel and aviation gasoline. They also fix airplanes and have a flight school. Pilots and passengers can use their facilities while waiting for flights.

Flight Schools

There are three different flight schools at the airport:

• Southern Maine Aviation: This school teaches you to fly single-engine airplanes. They have different types of planes, including Cessna 172-SPs. They also use a special RedBird Simulator to help students practice.
• York County Helicopters: If you want to fly a helicopter, this is the place! They teach students using Robinson R22s and R44s.
• Sanford Soaring: This school teaches people how to fly gliders. Gliders are planes that fly without an engine, using air currents. This school is for club members.

Airport History

Sanford Naval Air Station Administration Building--Control Tower, Former
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The old NAAS tower, around 1995
Area	less than one acre
Built	1942 (1942)
Built by	United States Navy
Architectural style	WWII naval control towers
NRHP reference No.	97000603
Added to NRHP	20 June 1997

The Sanford Airport started in the 1930s. A company called Sanford Mills built a small airfield with one runway and a hangar.

When the United States joined World War II in 1941, the United States Navy made the airfield bigger. In 1943, it became an official Naval Auxiliary Air Facility. It was a support base for the main Naval Air Station Brunswick. The Navy made the runways longer and paved them. They also built barracks (places for soldiers to live) and a control tower.

In 1944, a torpedo squadron and a fighter squadron were based here. They used the airfield for training exercises. After the war ended, many buildings were closed down. However, the airport remained open with some staff until the 1960s.

Only a hangar and the control tower/administration building from the Navy days survived. The old control tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. But it was in very bad shape. It was also seen as a danger to planes. So, it was taken down between 2006 and 2007.

Plane Manufacturing and Records

In 1955, a company called Colonial Aircraft started building a special type of plane in Sanford, Maine. This plane was called the Skimmer. It was an amphibian plane, meaning it could land on both land and water.

Later, in 1959, another company called Lake Aircraft Corporation took over. Lake Aircraft kept making improved versions of the Skimmer. They built planes like the Lake Buccaneer and Lake Renegade in Sanford until 1994.

Some amazing record-breaking flights happened from Sanford Airport! In 1988 and 1989, pilots Robert Mann and Peter Foster flew Lake Renegade planes. They set new altitude records for piston amphibian planes. They flew as high as 27,300 feet (about 8,321 meters)!