Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport
CHO · KCHO · Charlottesville, Virginia · Albemarle County · map
Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport is a public-use airport, 7 miles north of Charlottesville, Virginia, 640 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 03/21, is 6,801 feet of asphalt. It has a control tower, fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 62 based aircraft. The FAA counts about 120,261 takeoffs and landings a year. About 336,317 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Weather right now KCHO · observed 12:08 pm EDT (16:08 UTC), 15 minutes ago
IFR instrument conditions
- Wind from the northeast (040°) at 11 knots
- Visibility 2.5 miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 feet
- Weather: light rain, mist
- Temperature 61°F (16°C), dew point 60°F (16°C)
- Altimeter 30.00 inHg
The forecast issued Sun 7:24 am EDT (11:24 UTC), good until Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC)
- From Sun 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 12 knots, visibility 3 miles, rain, mist, a broken layer at 600 feet, overcast at 900 feet IFR
- From Sun 11:00 am EDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the northeast at 7 knots, visibility 3 miles, rain, overcast at 400 feet LIFR
- From Sun 4:00 pm EDT (20:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 5 knots, visibility 6 miles, light rain, scattered clouds at 400 feet, overcast at 600 feet IFR
- 30% chance between Sun 4:00 pm EDT (20:00 UTC) and 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): visibility 3 miles, thunderstorms with rain, overcast at 1,000 feet (thunderheads) MVFR
- From Sun 11:00 pm EDT (03:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 5 miles, light drizzle, mist, overcast at 300 feet LIFR
- From Mon 4:00 am EDT (08:00 UTC): wind from the west at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 1,000 feet MVFR
- From Mon 6:00 am EDT (10:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 2,500 feet VFR
The codes as issued (METAR and TAF)
SPECI KCHO 111608Z 04011KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR OVC007 16/16 A3000 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT NW CIG 005V012 P0001 T01610156 $
TAF KCHO 111124Z 1112/1212 02012KT 3SM RA BR BKN006 OVC009 FM111500 04007KT 3SM RA OVC004 FM112000 03005KT 6SM -RA SCT004 OVC006 PROB30 1120/1124 3SM TSRA OVC010CB FM120300 VRB03KT 5SM -DZ BR OVC003 FM120800 27005KT P6SM OVC010 FM121000 31006KT P6SM SCT025
From the National Weather Service's aviation weather service, refreshed every few minutes; times are local to the airport with UTC in brackets. For a flight, get your briefing from Flight Service or an approved provider.
Flight planning warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions · for planning, not a briefing
3 warnings in force over this field:
- SIGMET E83E: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 36,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 1:55 pm EDT (17:55 UTC).
- AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to cig blw 010 vis blw 3sm pcpn br fg).
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20kts or more below 2000 ft agl).
12 pilot reports within 100 nautical miles in the last three hours, the nearest three:
- E55P at 1,100 ft, 0 nm southeast, 12:16 pm EDT (16:16 UTC): overcast above 800 ft.
- TBM9 at 900 ft, 0 nm southeast, 12:02 pm EDT (16:02 UTC): overcast above 500 ft.
- B712 at 600 ft, 0 nm southeast, 11:01 am EDT (15:01 UTC): overcast above 20,000 ft.
Winds aloft at the nearest forecast point (RIC, 66 nm southeast), for use 14:00–21:00 UTC: 3,000 ft: 180° at 18 kt; 6,000 ft: 200° at 19 kt, 15 °C; 9,000 ft: 220° at 22 kt, 11 °C; 12,000 ft: 230° at 31 kt, 6 °C; 18,000 ft: 230° at 42 kt, -7 °C.
1 temporary flight restriction within 50 nautical miles:
- 4/9383 WASHINGTON, DC., USA 49 nm northeast · security
The full picture: all warnings and reports, winds to 39,000 ft, radar and forecast charts
From the government's aviation weather service and the FAA's restriction list, refreshed every few minutes. This is for planning; the legal briefing comes from Flight Service or the FAA's own tools. Ordinary notices to air missions (closed runways, lights out) are not shown: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time.
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.
The airport
- Codes
- FAA CHO · ICAO KCHO
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Elevation
- 640 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- A control tower · 6:00 am to 11:00 pm
- Attended
- around the clock
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- Notes
- landing fee · certified for airline service (Part 139)
- On the chart
- Washington sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 8W
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03/21 | 6,801 × 150 ft | Asphalt, good | High-intensity lights |
- Runway 03: ILS with DME, PAPI, four lights on the left, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR)
- Runway 21: PAPI, four lights on the right
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · Tower | 124.5 | Charlottesville |
| UNICOM | 122.95 | |
| ATIS (recorded airport information) | 118.425 | Charlottesville |
| Ground | 121.9 | Charlottesville |
| Approach (secondary) Departure (secondary) | 120.525 | Charlottesville |
| Approach and departure | 132.85 | Charlottesville |
| Emergency | 121.5 | Charlottesville |
Automated weather (ASOS), by phone 434-975-0110.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 48 |
| multi-engine | 4 |
| jets | 8 |
| helicopters | 2 |
Takeoffs and landings a year about 120,261, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| airline | 5,418 |
| air taxi and commuter | 26,106 |
| general aviation, travelling | 42,206 |
| general aviation, local | 34,581 |
| military | 11,950 |
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.
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 Charlottesville from the FAA register
61 aircraft are registered to owners in Charlottesville, Virginia: 39 piston singles, 10 turboprops, 4 business jets, 3 helicopters, 2 gliders. 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 Virginia.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Also here
- charter flights, flight instruction, aircraft rental
- Notes
- landing fee charged
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Orange County (20 nm east), Shenandoah Valley Regional (22 nm west), Louisa County/Freeman Field (24 nm east).
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 Virginia · avgas.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Fuel and service companies in Charlottesville, by their names on the register (a start, not a directory):
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes in Charlottesville, by their names on the register:
- Angel Flyers LLC 1 aircraft
- Three Chopt Flying Club 1 aircraft Three Chopt Flying Club is a non-profit 501(c)(7) social flying club based at Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport in Virginia.
Repair stations in Charlottesville:
Companies in the same town as this airport; 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
5 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 5 for private pilot, 4 for commercial and instrument, 2 for airline transport pilot, 4 for flight instructor, 3 for sport pilot; 4 for airplanes, 3 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for seaplanes, 1 for helicopters, 1 for gliders. Also nearby: 7 aviation medical examiners, 1 mechanic examiner, 1 airworthiness representative (manufacturing), 1 engineering representative, 1 parachute rigger examiner, 3 administrative pilot examiners.
- Bradley Palmer private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Charlottesville Albemarle Airport · Charlottesville, VA (0 nm) · (814) 591-2823 · bradjpalmer@yahoo.com
- Steven Earl Nixon private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, commercial pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, helicopters · Culpeper Regional Airport · Brandy Station, VA (35 nm) · (540) 729-9859 · senixon2016@gmail.com
- Spencer Reed Watson private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Warrenton-Fauquier Airport · Midland, VA (46 nm) · (571) 931-5868 · stubird2@gmail.com
- Michael Arthur Pearson private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot; airplanes, seaplanes · Fredericksburg, VA (48 nm) · (540) 903-7003 · mapsr@aol.com
- Piet Edward Barber private pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, commercial pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; gliders · Front Royal Warren County Airport · front royal, VA (48 nm) · (703) 951-7438 · pb@pietbarber.com
All 19 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.
- Admin-PE: Administrative Pilot Examiner: handles certificate paperwork rather than flight tests.
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.
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 19 since 1982, 6 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
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Existed prior to 1959.
- Deer and birds on and in the vicinity of airport.
- When the control tower closed high-intensity runway lights runway 03/21, and taxiway lights preset low intst. To activate and increase intst approach lights (MALSR) runway 03; runway end identifier lights runway 21; high-intensity runway lights runway 03/21 and taxiway lights - the common traffic frequency.
- Landing fee only for aircraft over 7000 pounds.
- X104.
- +7 feet obstruction lighted eqpt box rack 78 feet from aer, 250 feet L.
- Unusable beyond 6.5 degrees L of rcl.
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Charlottesville 61 aircraft · 39 piston singles, 10 turboprops, 4 business jets
- Blue Falcon LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Taylor Aviation Services LLC 1 aircraft · FBO or fuel seller
- Angel Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Three Chopt Flying Club 1 aircraft · flying club
- Clear Sky Aviation, LLC · repair station
- Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation, LLC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 19 since 1982 · 6 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Virginia 1,361 since 1982 · 230 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Virginia 64 landing places
- Virginia 5,986 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/CHO.json.
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 9, 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.