Ferndale Airfield
53U · Bigfork, Montana · Flathead County · map
Ferndale Airfield is a public-use airport, 3 miles northeast of Bigfork, Montana, 3,072 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 15/33, is 3,500 feet of grass.
The airport
- Codes
- FAA 53U
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Elevation
- 3,072 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- unattended
- Repairs
- airframe: major repairs; engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tiedown
- On the chart
- Great Falls sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 18E
- In the FAA's files since
- June 1976
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15/33 | 3,500 × 95 ft | Grass, good |
- Runway 15: trees 100 ft high 477 ft from the end
- Runway 33: trees 100 ft high 600 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) | 122.9 |
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
Aircraft registered in Bigfork from the FAA register
94 aircraft are registered to owners in Bigfork, Montana: 73 piston singles, 7 piston twins, 4 business jets, 3 turboprops, 2 weight-shift and powered parachutes. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Companies and organisations in town with two or more aircraft:
Individuals are counted, never named. All aircraft registered in Montana.
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 5 since 1982, 2 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file
- Provided compatible ingress/egress are established in order to avoid congested areas and assume safety to persons and property on the surface.
- Departure procedure straight out through pattern altitude of 4072 feet above sea level (1000 feet above ground level).
- 15/33 non-standard markings - white cones mark full runway length. Red traffic cones mark each runway threshold with 100 foot displaced threshold
- Runway 15 +100 feet trees 1570 feet from end of runway on centerline; runway 33 +80 feet trees 1500 feet from end of runway; runway 15 +15 feet road 250 feet from end of runway on centerline.
- Trees in transition surface both sides of runway full length.
- Free bicycles for airport use located in storage shed. To access use emergency frequency on lock.
- Runway 33 +50 feet tree on centerline 500 feet from end of runway at 10:1.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 1, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 5, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.