Point Roberts Airpark

Point Roberts Airpark
The Airpark's runway (left)
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Robin Lamb
Serves Point Roberts, Washington
Elevation AMSL 10 ft / 3 m
Coordinates 48°58′47.0″N 123°04′44.0″W / 48.979722°N 123.078889°W / 48.979722; -123.078889
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
16/34 2,265 690 Turf
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations 200
Sources: FAA[1]

Point Roberts Airpark (FAA LID: 1RL) is a single-grass-runway airport located in the town of Point Roberts, Washington. The airport, along with the marina, provide the only access to the rest of Washington state without first having to pass through British Columbia.

In 2000,[2] a new five-plane hangar was built. It also features several couches and serves as a makeshift waiting room.[3]

History

Point Roberts Airpark was created by Ray Young. He was a cartoonist at Buena Vista Studios who had a lifelong interest in flying. Ray moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1967 and purchased land in Point Roberts, developing it into an air strip he called Ray Young Field. He moved to Point Roberts with his wife, Uvon, in 1972. Later, he bought more land and extended the runway to its current length. Ray died in 1985; wife Uvon closed the runway and put the land up for sale in 1990. In 1996, she sold it to Robin Lamb, a retired Air Canada captain with 22,000-plus hours total flight time.[2][4]

In the 1996-1998 period, using a 1955 Galion grader and a 1956 International TD-91 bulldozer, the airstrip was made usable again. The bulldozer cleared the trees, the grader put a 3-foot (0.91 m) crown on the runway and cleared the 8 acres (32,000 m2) of the parking/air park area.

In November 1998, the runway was seeded with a low-maintenance turf. In the intervening years, except for mowing, the runway has needed no further maintenance and is used year-round.

Lamb died in 2012, and surviving family members named Romi Singh, a local pilot and airport consultant, as manager. Plans for the future include hangar homes and more hangar space. A GPS approach and customs clearance are being worked on.

Airlines and destinations

References

  1. ↑ FAA Airport Master Record for 1RL (Form 5010 PDF)
  2. 1 2 "Parcel 405309 534540 0000 Appeals/Permits/Sales". Whatcom County Assessors Office. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  3. ↑ Lamb, Robin. "PRAP Features". Archived from the original on 2006-04-23. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  4. ↑ Relyea, Kie (2005-05-22). "Get to the Point". The Bellingham Herald. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved 2009-09-06. ...boasts Robin Lamb, a nine-year resident and owner of Point Roberts Airpark.


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