Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base

Coordinates: 18°20′19″N 064°56′27″W / 18.33861°N 64.94083°W / 18.33861; -64.94083
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Charlotte Amalie Harbor Seaplane Base

St. Thomas Seaplane Base
Summary
Airport typePrivate
OwnerVirgin Islands Port Authority
LocationCharlotte Amalie, St. Thomas,
U.S. Virgin Islands
Elevation AMSL0 ft / 0 m
Coordinates18°20′19″N 064°56′27″W / 18.33861°N 64.94083°W / 18.33861; -64.94083
Map
SPB is located in the U.S. Virgin Islands
SPB
SPB
Location in the Virgin Islands
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
E/W 10,000 3,048 Water
N/S 4,000 1,219 Water
Statistics (2005)
Enplanements71,555
The terminal

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]

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[edit]

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[edit]

AirlinesDestinations
Seaborne Airlines St. Croix–Harbor

Historical air service[edit]

Historically, Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle[3][4][5][6] 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. During the 1970s, Antilles Air Boats[7][8][9][10][11][12] 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, Grumman Mallard, Short Sandringham S-25 and Vought Sikorsky VS-44.

Renaming the seaplane terminal[edit]

The terminal was named the Charles F. Blair, Jr.[13][14][15][16][17] terminal in honor of Charles F. Blair, Jr., an aviation pioneer and the founder of the seaplane airline, Antilles Air Boats.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for VI22 PDF, retrieved 2011-08-15
  2. ^ FAA Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data: 2005
  3. ^ "Virgin Island Seaplane Shuttle".
  4. ^ VI Seaplane Shuttle, retrieved 2024-03-26
  5. ^ Virgin Island Seaplane Shuttle, retrieved 2024-03-26
  6. ^ "Aviation Photo Search". Airliners.net. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  7. ^ http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch==Antilles%20Air%20Boats&distinct_entry=true Antilles Air Boats on airliners.net
  8. ^ http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?airline=Antilles%20Air%20Boats%20 Antilles Airboats on jetphotos.net
  9. ^ http://www.jetphotos.net/showphotos.php?airline=Antilles%20Air%20Boats%20Inc. Antilles Airboats on jetphotos.net
  10. ^ Antilles Air Boats - St. Croix, U.S.V.I. - Cyril E.King Memorial Services 1978, retrieved 2024-03-26
  11. ^ Antilles Air Boats STT - March 1979, retrieved 2024-03-26
  12. ^ Antilles Air Boats - The Earlier Years 1963-1970, retrieved 2024-03-26
  13. ^ https://www.cardcow.com/334880/antilles-airboat-terminal-st-thomas-caribbean-islands/ Antilles Airboat Terminal
  14. ^ http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2013/08/27/seaplane-terminal-named-charles-blair[permanent dead link] Seaplane Terminal Named for Charles Blair
  15. ^ http://stthomassource.com/content/commentary/op-ed/2013/08/27/remembrance-capt-charles-f-blair A Remembrance of Capt. Charles F. Blair
  16. ^ http://www.viport.com/documents/Events/2013%20Aug%2026%20Program%20Charles%20F.pdf Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Dedication Program
  17. ^ http://www.viport.com/seaports/seaports.html Archived 2015-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Seaports & Marine Facilities

External links[edit]