What is the deal with Blackhawk Airport (87Y)?

ScottM

ScottM

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iBazinga!
I was out doing some CONUS Challenge flying today. Hitting some of the airports that I have been wanting to stop at but never had a reason to before. One of those was Black hawk just east of Madison. I remember not too long ago hearing lots of people talking on MSN apporach about going into Blackhawk. SO when I went there I was kinda of expecting a vibrant GA airport. It is near a major city and has good access. But I saw there was so sad!!

The runways were in terrible shape, the weeds were growing everywhere and the runways were almost like landing in grass. A road is being built straight up to runway 9 so that it looks like they will convert the runway to an access road. The windsock is ripped to shreds and the FBO building has a song on it stating the building is not safe for human habitation.

Anyone know what is the deal with this airport? It sure looks like it it is going to close soon.
 
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Re: What is the deal with Balckhawk Airport (87Y)?

Dang on two counts! One, I hate to see an airport fall like that. Two, that was on my list of airports to try to get to this summer for ConUS!
 
Re: What is the deal with Balckhawk Airport (87Y)?

smigaldi said:
Anyone know what is the deal with this airport? It sure looks like it it is going to close soon.
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Neighbors hate it. Displaced threshold keeps getting longer and longer due to someone who doesn't like the airport growing trees into the final approach path. No FBO, so very little in the way of transient activity.

Part of the problem is also that the other airports in the area are doing so well! There are four total within the outer confines of MSN's class C:

1) MSN (Dane Co Regional/Truax Field): New, very nice GA terminal, 24-hour full service FBO with no ramp fees (and free coffee and cookies), restaurant facing the field inside the FBO, very active flight school, maintenance and avionics shops, 3 runways from 5800 to 9000 feet long (all 150 wide), 3 ILS and a dozen or so total approaches, and very friendly controllers. Lots of stuff fairly close via courtesy car.

2) C29 (Middleton Municipal/Morey Field): New, very nice GA terminal, full-service FBO with no ramp fees, also self-serve fuel if you want, flight school, maintenance shop, Air Graphics (decal shop, dunno if they do paint), 4000x75 paved, tons of new hangars, several instrument approaches. Unfortunately Scott's Pastry Shoppe in the terminal has closed :( but hopefully something else will take its place. Tallard's Station restaurant is right across the street. No courtesy cars, but there are rental cars.

3) 6P3, Waunakee. This is an airpark type setup with homes lining the runway with a garage on the front and a hangar on the back. There's also a bunch of new hangars springing up on the East end.

4) 87Y, Blackhawk. No FBO, unfriendly neighbors, not in the best condition, one instrument approach.

Given a choice between the above, is it any wonder Blackhawk is dying? The others are really thriving. There are quite a few aircraft based at 87Y, or at least there's quite a few hangars. I'd think that if someone really wanted to, they could make this into a thriving field like the rest. But, they need an FBO and a very energetic and politically savvy manager to do so.
 
Re: What is the deal with Balckhawk Airport (87Y)?

flyingcheesehead said:
The others are really thriving. There are quite a few aircraft based at 87Y, or at least there's quite a few hangars. I'd think that if someone really wanted to, they could make this into a thriving field like the rest. But, they need an FBO and a very energetic and politically savvy manager to do so.
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EdFred challenge?
 
As Kent pointed out, there are other airports in the area, and they are nicer and GA-friendly.

In 2003, the owners attempted to sell 87Y to the Village of Cottage Grove, but that didn't happen:

http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2003/01/21/0301210187.php
http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2003/04/04/0304040155.php

Not sure what has happened since then.

Personally, 87Y is amongst my least-favorite airports. Never liked practicing there when I was getting my private, but I suppose it is good challange compared to the other airports in the area.

--david
 
Re: What is the deal with Balckhawk Airport (87Y)?

gprellwitz said:
No, the Kate Bernard Airpark
Owned and Operated by Kent Shook
:blowingkisses::yes:
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:goofy: :D :yes: :rofl:

I picked a good time to catch up on the board!
 
Black hawk was under new management as of Feburary, 2008. They took care of the care problem and so at least the airpost looks a little more decent, and despite the new industrial park behing runway 9, the airport has been much more active than last year with quite a few more planes being stored in the newly renovated hangars. :)

As for old runway 22, completely useless; there is a stream from the swamp next to it passing through it about halfway and too many trees to the front and to the side of it to even get in there with a normal sized cessna (even for a gyrocopter). Nevertheless, the new owners fixed up that once-POS FBO building and put an "Information" sign on the front window with an actual worker in there for a couple of hours a day. (except on sundays) B)
 
Exeter said:
Black hawk was under new management as of Feburary, 2008. They took care of the care problem and so at least the airpost looks a little more decent, and despite the new industrial park behing runway 9, the airport has been much more active than last year with quite a few more planes being stored in the newly renovated hangars. :)

As for old runway 22, completely useless; there is a stream from the swamp next to it passing through it about halfway and too many trees to the front and to the side of it to even get in there with a normal sized cessna (even for a gyrocopter). Nevertheless, the new owners fixed up that once-POS FBO building and put an "Information" sign on the front window with an actual worker in there for a couple of hours a day. (except on sundays) B)
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Hey Jake,

Glad to hear it, and welcome to the board! (Do I know you? Hmmm...) Grab a beverage, pull up a chair, and stick around a while. :yes:

I'll have to pop over to 87Y again one of these days and see what they've done.
 
Welcome to the boards, Jake. I flew over 87Y on Sunday flying from MSN to UES. It's nice to see an airport move in the right direction.
 
Now that is just sad.

I flew out of there in the 80's. Place was owned by David Strassman. There was only one runway at the time, 9/27. There was a decent shop, 100LL, the place was fairly well cared for, grass mowed, snow plowed. We had hangar parties, cookouts, and the skydiving club from Columbus sometimes came over when their grass was too wet. One of my buddies flew their C182 on the weekends.

It's a shame to let what was once a decent airport go downhill like that.
 
Anyone here know if there are still aircraft based at this field? Are there hangars, fuel, services available? Whats the story with this place as of now?
 
Viperfixr said:
Anyone here know if there are still aircraft based at this field? Are there hangars, fuel, services available? Whats the story with this place as of now?
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AFAIK, there are still planes based there and hangars, but no fuel. Looking for a stop on the way to OSH, or for a new home base? I might be able to scope it out for you.
 
I am part of a chapter that is based at 87Y. There is one plane that is there that I know of. And one being built. We have no ownership of the place, otherwise it would be 100% better looking than it is. We try to keep it clean and orderly the best we can, but that is a lot of work for people to juggle around. We try to do young eagles events, and we do have an annual Brat and Bean as well that has good attendance. Want to make it a stop on your way to AirVenture? I would be more than happy to work something out. As far as fuel, I am not sure about that part. I have no clue if that pump is functional.
 
larson said:
I am part of a chapter that is based at 87Y. There is one plane that is there that I know of.
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All those hangars (37, by my count), and only one plane based there? :eek:

I s'pose it makes sense, since a lot of "west siders" moved from KMSN to C29 when they started building all the hangars over there, which opened up plenty of spaces at KMSN (with all its approaches, ATC service, 24x7 FBO for fuel, etc.) for the east siders that may have been based at 87Y... But, that's sad.
 
Whats the latest on this airport?
 
I drove up there this past weekend out of sheer curiosity, as this is the airport my dad flew out of for his training to get his certificate back in about 2003.

It's still in sad shape. 9/27 has some vegetation growing in the cracks a couple inches tall but is clearly mowed every now and then. I can't even tell, by looking down 9, where the other runway is. The grass around the runway is mowed, and somewhat around the hangars. One hangar door was open and a vehicle parked down there but I didn't drive down.

Windsock is tattered and mostly gone. Beacon is still on the corner of the building, but it's either broken or they do not turn it on, as I drive by on I-94 every night on my way home from work and you can't see it(I remember seeing it flash over the trees as a kid). Runway lights are there, whether or not they work or are ever turned on is beyond me.

Bunch of cars(apparently not running or someone is storing them, they mostly look like 80s and 90s vehicles) parked against the building.

My instructor has suggested flying into it. He's from northern IL and doesn't know the condition. I think you could fly in and out of it safely. Kind of depressing the condition that it's in. I may go over there again this weekend and snap some pictures. If anyone is in the one open hangar again I'll stop and chat with whomever it is.
 
I flew a Beech Sundowner into 87Y two weeks ago to do a Young Eagle's flight. Was my first time there. Wind favored 04, which is right traffic. I turned right base and couldn't see the runway. By the time I was south of the airport and could see the runway between the trees, I was going to turn final too late. I over flew the runway and tried again.

Second time, I flew final high because of trees and brush in front of the runway. Landing was uneventful, but I was surprised at how close trees and tall brush overhang the runway.

I taxied to a hangar where I saw a pilot closing up. He heard me land on 04 but couldn't see me. He laughed and said, "You feel like a bush pilot?" He told me that local pilots use 9/27 nearly all the time.

I don't recommend 87Y unless you can use the shorter 9/27 runway or handle your airplane very well.

There are plenty of friendly airports nearby. KMSN (Madison) is class C. KRYV (Watertown) has a good FBO and services.

-- Mark
 
And, several things were done a few months ago to IMPROVE the airport.

-New wind sock
-Beacon is actually operational again(I drive I-94 home most nights and can see it).
-The vegetation was so bad on 04/22 that you couldn't have landed, but they cut a lot of it down, even some stumps flush with the surface.

Haven't landed there since my primary training and probably won't. Maybe for kicks sometime.
 
I was there a few days ago. They did recently spray weed killer in the 6 inch weeds growing on the runways.
 
Yes, the owners of the place seem to have cleaned it up a bit. I am a member of EAA chapter 93, which is based out of 87Y. I remember recieving an email around February or March of this year from our administration board saying that the owners were going to be sponsoring a brush cleanup on the weekend of May 10-11. I personally wasn't able to go due to scheduling conflict. However, I flew in there recently after it was done, and the difference was profound. Runway 4/22 is no longer encompassed by a tunnel of trees on it's southwest end, and the trees at the northeast end no longer back right up to the end of the runway. All of the prairie grasses and small trees that previously came right up to the runway edges (and in several spots did their darnedest to lean right over the runway pavement) have been removed, allowing for ten feet of clearance off the runway edges on either side. The taxiway coming off runway 4/22 has been cleaned up a bit as well, as a friend of mine told me that the brush surrounding that was hacked away as well. I also observed that the small tree he would routinely clip the wing of his citabria on was gone as well. This last summer, during my trips by the airport, I noted that they have fixed the beacon, and they put up a new windsock there as well. This airport has definitely started to trend in the right direction.
 
MDA53226 said:
I flew a Beech Sundowner into 87Y two weeks ago to do a Young Eagle's flight. Was my first time there. Wind favored 04, which is right traffic. I turned right base and couldn't see the runway. By the time I was south of the airport and could see the runway between the trees, I was going to turn final too late. I over flew the runway and tried again.

Second time, I flew final high because of trees and brush in front of the runway. Landing was uneventful, but I was surprised at how close trees and tall brush overhang the runway.

I taxied to a hangar where I saw a pilot closing up. He heard me land on 04 but couldn't see me. He laughed and said, "You feel like a bush pilot?" He told me that local pilots use 9/27 nearly all the time.

I don't recommend 87Y unless you can use the shorter 9/27 runway or handle your airplane very well.

There are plenty of friendly airports nearby. KMSN (Madison) is class C. KRYV (Watertown) has a good FBO and services.

-- Mark
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agentbylaw said:
Yes, the owners of the place seem to have cleaned it up a bit. I am a member of EAA chapter 93, which is based out of 87Y. I remember recieving an email around February or March of this year from our administration board saying that the owners were going to be sponsoring a brush cleanup on the weekend of May 10-11. I personally wasn't able to go due to scheduling conflict. However, I flew in there recently after it was done, and the difference was profound. Runway 4/22 is no longer encompassed by a tunnel of trees on it's southwest end, and the trees at the northeast end no longer back right up to the end of the runway. All of the prairie grasses and small trees that previously came right up to the runway edges (and in several spots did their darnedest to lean right over the runway pavement) have been removed, allowing for ten feet of clearance off the runway edges on either side. The taxiway coming off runway 4/22 has been cleaned up a bit as well, as a friend of mine told me that the brush surrounding that was hacked away as well. I also observed that the small tree he would routinely clip the wing of his citabria on was gone as well. This last summer, during my trips by the airport, I noted that they have fixed the beacon, and they put up a new windsock there as well. This airport has definitely started to trend in the right direction.
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Welcome to PoA, Mark and Anton. Thanks for the update on this airport. Sounds like it is just barely hanging on.
 
AuntPeggy said:
Welcome to PoA, Mark and Anton. Thanks for the update on this airport. Sounds like it is just barely hanging on.
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Yeah, it is barely hanging on. If you go on Airnav, it lists the owner as Blackhawk Airfield, Inc. That particular entity is owned by a road construction company, and I must say that this compounded with the condition of the runway pavement there creates a great deal of irony. The place is owned by a road construction company and landing on the runways feels like landing on grass. Tell me how that makes sense.
 
My understanding is that the owners don't really give a damn about the airport, and would rather sell it to a developer.
 
The put a new roof on what was the maintenance hangar, which became the defunct auto repair shop. That building does not appear to be occupied anymore, and the junk cars are gone. Not sure why they bothered with the new roof. :)
 
Not relevant to the thread but this brought back old memories. I lived near Cottage Grove in the late 60's after I got out of the navy. Acewood Blvd. at Cottage Grove Road
 
Anything going on out there recently? Saw a bit about a fire a while back...
 
I heard something about a fire too, apparently it was the "main" building. Don't know if it burned to the ground or what. I haven't landed there since I got my ticket in November of 2013.

Flew right over it yesterday but didn't bother even looking down.

It could potentially be a great little airport but it would need owners willing to make it that way. Probably take a lot of cash to get it up to speed too. I know there are a few planes hangared there... Not sure how many.
 
Hmmm, fires in buildings whose owners defer maintenance and have unsuccessfully tried to sell...
 
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Thanks for the clarification. Looks like the rumor I heard was just that.

I've been meaning to stop over there and have a quick look around, but I keep forgetting to.
 
Heres a few pics from a flight today:

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ACtC-3fT4DyQ626aNrmQFJaE_xwAYXCjcQqv0Bb9AQCtB9ta_o7QHM94VgvUAtddEcwTzSEZ_Xx_909J8ur-ss0jyrABhbzswwgLrZZCB1rQx982j4swYs3llDEpCo0jEaKYcW5usLSTREJVsAMZ1QdLzBz33Q=w1174-h881-no

ACtC-3fb92iNYF5f-7LTWagJ48T8fqO8kWq3L_q99gj9wiGFUce7k2PCPSmdjYqS4-skbiKn9rMaBiWFdWuqu0adxSXU9S8jNlkKpapTRLt8coIxFsVI4UI4uxYVbwKPAazaWSd7yxY87M3nAnV12tq0HixWVA=w1174-h881-no
 
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