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) offers distinct "military" (HI-ILS) and "civilian" (ILS) approaches for Runway 20, differing in aircraft category applicability, required descent rates, and Runway Visual Range (RVR) minimums.
KBAF is designated a "Cold Temperature Airport" (CTA), necessitating altimeter corrections during instrument approaches when temperatures are below -21°C to prevent dangerously low actual altitudes.
Cold temperature corrections, which increase charted altitudes (e.g., Decision Altitude), can be calculated manually or by advanced avionics, and pilots must advise Air Traffic Control when applying them.

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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.