Rutherford County/Marchman Field
FQD · KFQD · Rutherfordton, North Carolina · Rutherford County · map
Rutherford County/Marchman Field is a public-use airport owned by Rutherford County Arpt Auth, 3 miles north of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, 1,077 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 01/19, is 5,000 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive) and about 55 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 12,150 takeoffs and landings a year. About 5 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Rutherford County/Marchman Field?
Its FAA code is FQD, and its ICAO code is KFQD.
Where is Rutherford County/Marchman Field?
It is 3 miles north of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, 1,077 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Rutherford County/Marchman Field?
Its one runway, 01/19, is 5,000 feet long, asphalt.
Does Rutherford County/Marchman Field have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Rutherford County/Marchman Field?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive.
Are there flight schools at Rutherford County/Marchman Field?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Skyhawk Aviation LLC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Rutherford County/Marchman Field?
9 pilot examiners and 20 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Rutherford County/Marchman Field…
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.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA FQD · ICAO KFQD
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Rutherford County Arpt Auth
- Elevation
- 1,077 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- every day, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive; the services card below
- On the chart
- Charlotte sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 5W
- In the FAA's files since
- November 1975
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/19 | 5,000 × 100 ft | Asphalt, excellent | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 01: localizer with DME, PAPI, two lights on the left, trees 59 ft high 1,891 ft from the end
- Runway 19: PAPI, two lights on the left, trees 22 ft high 470 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 122.8 | |
| Approach and departure | 119.4 | |
| Fqd and aWOS-3 | 118.275 | |
| Sugarloaf Mountain Center (remote transmitter) Low | 132.625 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3), by phone 828-287-6498.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A-1 with additive
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Also here
- flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Shelby-Cleveland County Regional (19 nm southeast), Foothills Regional (28 nm northeast), Asheville Regional (30 nm west).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in North Carolina · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Runway 01 has 100 feet DROP-OFF 315 feet from threshold offset 140 feet rite and 160 feet L of centerline; and 100 feet DROP-OFF 700-900 feet alg centerline offset 80 feet rite.
- Activate runway end identifier lights runway 01 and 19; PAPI runway 01 and 19; medium-intensity runway lights runway 01/19 - the common traffic frequency.
- 100LL and jet a 24 self service fuel available with credit card.
- Deer in the vicinity of airport.
- Taxiway a twd runway 01 has 30 feet DROP-OFF 60 feet rite of centerline.
- Runway 19 has 12 feet unmkd power lines 440 feet from threshold both sides of centerline.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 41 |
| multi-engine | 8 |
| jets | 3 |
| helicopters | 3 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 12,150, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| general aviation, travelling | 8,000 |
| general aviation, local | 3,650 |
| military | 500 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Rutherfordton from the FAA register
24 aircraft are registered to owners in Rutherfordton, North Carolina: 17 piston singles, 3 helicopters, 2 piston twins, 1 turboprop, 1 drone. 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, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in North Carolina.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Skyhawk Aviation LLC 8 aircraft · Rutherfordton Skyhawk Aviation Flight School offers flying lessons and aircraft rental at Rutherford County Airport in Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
Companies in the same town as this airport, and schools within about 15 miles of it (each placed at the main public airport of its town, or at the town's centre); not every one of them works from this field. All operators · all repair stations · all flight schools · all FBOs.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
9 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 9 for private pilot, 9 for commercial and instrument, 4 for airline transport pilot, 4 for flight instructor, 1 for sport pilot; 9 for airplanes, 4 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 20 aviation medical examiners, 5 mechanic examiners, 3 airworthiness representatives (manufacturing), 3 engineering representatives, 1 parachute rigger examiner, 39 aircrew program designees, 3 training center examiners.
- Gregory Collins private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot; airplanes · Rutherford County Airport FBO · Rutherford, NC (6 nm) · (828) 460-3646 · [email protected]
- David Alan Smith private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes · Fletcher, NC (25 nm) · (828) 458-8484 · [email protected]
- Brandon NeSmith private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot; airplanes · Foothills Regional Airport · Morganton, NC (28 nm) · (828) 638-5370 · [email protected]
- William Porcher Dubose private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Spartanburg Memorial Downtown Airport · Spartanburg, SC (31 nm) · (803) 256-3544 · [email protected]
- Brett Avery Zukowski private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Greenville, SC (40 nm) · (864) 201-9356 · [email protected]
- Darrin Murphy private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Gastonia Municipal Airport KAKH · Gastonia, NC (41 nm) · (803) 526-1153 · [email protected]
- Melissa Curtis private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Lincolnton - Lincoln County Airport · Iton Station, NC (41 nm) · (757) 435-7865 · [email protected]
- Charles Rosenstein private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Stanley, NC (44 nm) · (704) 277-2596 · [email protected]
All 83 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DME: Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant).
- DAR-F: Designated Airworthiness Representative, manufacturing: issues airworthiness certificates for newly built aircraft and parts.
- DER-T: Designated Engineering Representative: approves engineering data for repairs and alterations on the FAA's behalf.
- DPRE: Designated Parachute Rigger Examiner: tests candidates for the parachute rigger certificate.
- APD: Aircrew Program Designee: an airline's own check pilot who gives the FAA's tests to the airline's pilots.
- DCTO-E: Designee at a certificated training organisation.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 5 since 1982, 0 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Rutherfordton 24 aircraft · 17 piston singles, 3 helicopters, 2 piston twins
- Skyhawk Aviation LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Rutherford County Air Rescue Squad 3 aircraft in town
- Skyhawk Aviation LLC 8 aircraft · flight school
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 5 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in North Carolina 1,759 since 1982 · 304 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in North Carolina 106 landing places
- North Carolina 7,120 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/FQD.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 29, 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 28, 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.