![Paine Field is a tactical hub for the region, housing more than 500 aircraft of all categories. [Credit: Snohomish County]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/painefield-scaled-2.jpg)
Tucked under the north side of Seattle’s very busy Class B airspace is Seattle Paine Field International (KPAE) in Everett, Washington. The airport is home to the Boeing factory, the largest building on earth by volume, airline operations, and a robust general aviation contingent.
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![The approach to Seattle Paine Field International Airport (KPAE) in Washington state [Image: Jeppesen]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-04-at-8.56.28-AM.png)
The GA side of the field is a short ride from the aerospace giant’s plant—a bucket-list destination that FLYING technical editor Meg Godlewski tours in the January issue. Getting into KPAE might find a pilot utilizing the ILS Y or LOC Y to Runway 16R.
A) Feeder Route From CVV VOR
Denoted by the heavy arrow line starting at the Penn Cove (CVV) VOR, a feeder route is depicted that could be used to get established onto the approach at the EYWOK intersection. The intersection is defined by the VOR’s 096 degree radial and the ILS inbound course of 163 degrees.
B) DME From the VOR
The EYWOK waypoint, the final approach fix at ITIPE, and the missed approach point (if the approach is
being flown as a localizer-only or circling approach) are all demarcated by the DME from the PAE VOR,
although the EYWOK waypoint could also be identified using 19.3 DME from the CVV VOR. If you are transitioning from that point to the inbound localizer, make sure you switch your VOR source to the PAE VOR if you aren’t using an IFR GPS to identify the points along the approach.
C) No Circling to 34R at Night
A note indicates that a pilot flying this approach would not be able to circle to land on Runway 34R (the smaller of the two parallel runways) if the approach was flown at night.
D) Not Available for Faster Planes
The approach plate depicts minimums for aircraft flying in approach speeds category A and B only. Aircraft with approach speeds greater than 120 knots are not authorized to fly this particular approach.
E. PAPI Available
The airport diagram offers a “P” with a circle around it as a symbol. This is a notation that the runway is served with a PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) lighting system that a pilot can use to transition to for their glide path once they have visually acquired the runway environment. The location of the symbol matches where the pilot would look for it in relation to the runway, in this case, on the right side of Runway 16R.
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F) Parallel Runways
Noted as an approach to 16R (right), the title alone is a hint that there is another parallel runway. You can also see this in the airport diagram, where there is the bigger runway and another one on the east side of the airport that has the same alignment (16L/34R) but is much smaller, in this case, at 3,004 feet by 75 feet compared to the 9,010 by 150 of 16R/34L.
G) Dots Down the Runway
The dots down the runway for 16R/34L are another lighting indication. They designate that the runway will have centerline lighting to help a pilot see it in lower visibility. The color of the lights help identify how much of the runway remains, as the lights alternate red and white when there is 3,000 feet of runway remaining and are solid red for the last 1,000 feet.
This column first appeared in the January Issue 966 of the FLYING print edition.
