Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base
Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base (IATA: SPB, FAA LID: VI22), also known as St. Thomas Seaplane Base, is located in the harbor by Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. This private-use airport is owned by the Virgin Islands Port Authority.[1]
Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base St. Thomas Seaplane Base | |||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Private | ||||||||||||||
Owner | Virgin Islands Port Authority | ||||||||||||||
Location | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | ||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 0 ft / 0 m | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 18°20′19″N 064°56′27″W | ||||||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() VI22 Location in the Virgin Islands | |||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2005) | |||||||||||||||
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As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this seaplane base had 76,820 passenger boardings (enplanements) in calendar year 2004 and 71,555 enplanements in 2005.[2]
Facilities
Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base covers an area of 3 acres (12,000 m2) and has two seaplane landing areas:[1]
- Runway E/W: 10,000 ft × 4,000 ft (3,048 m × 1,219 m), surface: Water
- Runway N/S: 4,000 ft × 4,000 ft (1,219 m × 1,219 m), surface: Water
Airlines and destinations
Seaborne Airlines operating de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop seaplanes between Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base on St. Thomas and Christiansted Harbor Seaplane Base St. Croix.
Historical Air Service
Historically, Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle[3][4][5] operated scheduled passenger service during the 1980s from the Charlotte Amalie seaplane base with Grumman Mallard aircraft. These Grumman amphibious aircraft were powered either by piston engines or by turboprop engines via a powerplant conversion program.[3] During the 1970s, Antilles Air Boats[6][7][8][9][10][11] operated several different types of seaplanes in scheduled passenger service from the harbor as well including the Consolidated PBY Catalina (Super Catalina version), Grumman Goose, Short Sandringham (S-25), Vought Sikorsky VS-44, and Grumman Mallard.
Renaming the seaplane terminal
The terminal was named the Charles F. Blair, Jr. [12][13][14][15][16] terminal in honor of Charles F. Blair, Jr., an aviation pioneer and the founder of the seaplane airline, Antilles Air Boats.
References
- FAA Airport Master Record for VI22 (Form 5010 PDF), retrieved 2011-08-15
- FAA Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data: 2005
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvbHJ8IPmW4 VI Seaplane Shuttle
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcBwo6TMH3U Virgin Island Seaplane Shuttle
- http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch==Virgin%20Islands%20Seaplane%20Shuttle&distinct_entry=true V.I Seaplane Shuttle from airliners.net
- http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch==Antilles%20Air%20Boats&distinct_entry=true Antilles Air Boats on airliners.net
- http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?airline=Antilles%20Air%20Boats%20 Antilles Airboats on jetphotos.net
- http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?airline=Antilles%20Air%20Boats%20Inc. Antilles Airboats on jetphotos.net
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPjlPpJSnnQ Antilles Air Boats - St. Croix, U.S.V.I. - Cyril E.King Memorial Services 1978
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPl99keWoi0 Antilles Air Boats - The Earlier Years 1963-1970 - YouTube
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfK5R1eVnsw Antilles Air Boats - The Earlier Years 1963-1970
- https://www.cardcow.com/334880/antilles-airboat-terminal-st-thomas-caribbean-islands/ Antilles Airboat Terminal
- http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/08/27/seaplane-terminal-named-charles-blair%5B%5D Seaplane Terminal Named for Charles Blair
- http://stthomassource.com/content/commentary/op-ed/2013/08/27/remembrance-capt-charles-f-blair A Remembrance of Capt. Charles F. Blair
- http://www.viport.com/documents/Events/2013%20Aug%2026%20Program%20Charles%20F.pdf Dedication Program
- http://www.viport.com/seaports/seaports.html Archived 2015-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Seaports & Marine Facilities
External links
- Airport information for VI22 at AirNav
- Aeronautical chart for VI22 at SkyVector
- Accident history for SPB at Aviation Safety Network