Cold, and Other Issues

Perhaps just a normal regional airport, Westfield-Barnes in Massachusetts, gives us more than its share of things to consider.

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Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 08:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (KBAF) is a historic joint military/civilian facility that features distinct ILS approaches for Runway 20, including a HI-ILS for faster aircraft (Category C, D, E) with higher RVR minimums and a standard ILS for all aircraft categories.
Designated as a Cold Temperature Airport (CTA), KBAF requires pilots to apply altitude corrections during instrument approaches, particularly on the final segment, to compensate for altimeter inaccuracies caused by cold, dense air and ensure safe terrain and obstacle clearance.
Pilots must calculate and apply these temperature-corrected altitudes, either manually using FAA tables or through modern avionics, and should inform Air Traffic Control (ATC) when utilizing these adjusted values for operational safety.

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Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (KBAF) is located on grounds that date back as far as 1905, when it was a summer training facility for the Massachusetts Army National Guard in western Massachusetts. Aviation arrived at Westfield in July 1914 when a pilot flew a Wright biplane over the town of Westfield, and the pilot was hired to drop leaflets to claim prizes from local merchants.

In 1923, the citizens of Westfield and nearby Holyoke convinced Vincent E. Barnes, the owner of the land, to sell the land to the City of Westfield for an airport. Instead, Barnes donated the land, and over the next 10 years, additional land was donated and leased by the Barnes family, amounting to about 350 acres. In 1923, it was officially named Westfield Aviation Field.