Spartanburg Downtown Meml/Simpson Field
SPA · KSPA · Spartanburg, South Carolina · Spartanburg County · map
Spartanburg Downtown Meml/Simpson Field is a public-use airport owned by the City of Spartanburg, 3 miles southwest of Spartanburg, South Carolina, 802 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 05/23, is 5,852 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 79 based aircraft. The FAA counts about 33,390 takeoffs and landings a year. About 16 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Weather right now KSPA · observed 10:55 am EDT (14:55 UTC), 42 minutes ago
MVFR flyable but watch the ceiling and visibility
- Wind from the southwest (230°) at 7 knots
- Visibility 10 miles or more
- Sky: a broken layer at 1,400 feet, a broken layer at 2,700 feet, a broken layer at 3,600 feet
- Temperature 68°F (20°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter 29.94 inHg
No terminal forecast is issued for this station. The nearest forecast is usually at the closest larger airport.
The codes as issued (METAR and TAF)
METAR KSPA 111455Z AUTO 23007KT 200V260 10SM BKN014 BKN027 BKN036 20/16 A2994 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT E
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.
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
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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 SPA · ICAO KSPA
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- City of Spartanburg
- Elevation
- 802 feet above sea level
- Pattern altitude
- 800 feet above the airport
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- every day, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- On the chart
- Charlotte sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 5W
- In the FAA's files since
- November 1937
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05/23 | 5,852 × 100 ft | Asphalt, excellent | High-intensity lights |
- Runway 05: ILS with DME, PAPI, four lights on the right, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR), tree 88 ft high 3,504 ft from the end
- Runway 23: PAPI, four lights on the left, 5,452 ft available for landing
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 123.0 | |
| Clearance delivery | 120.55 | |
| Approach and departure · Departure procedure (BIMMR) · Departure procedure (BWALL) | 119.4 | |
| Spa and aWOS-3 | 133.925 | |
| Owing and center (remote transmitter) Low | 135.35 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3), by phone 864-587-2529.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 55 |
| multi-engine | 12 |
| jets | 3 |
| helicopters | 4 |
| other | 5 |
Takeoffs and landings a year about 33,390, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 5,566 |
| general aviation, travelling | 12,649 |
| general aviation, local | 14,785 |
| military | 390 |
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 Spartanburg from the FAA register
67 aircraft are registered to owners in Spartanburg, South Carolina: 39 piston singles, 10 business jets, 5 turboprops, 5 piston twins, 3 helicopters. 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 South Carolina.
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
- gliders, flight instruction, aircraft rental
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Greenville Spartanburg International (13 nm west), Greenville Downtown Airport (20 nm west), Donaldson Field (23 nm southwest).
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 South Carolina · avgas.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes in Spartanburg, by their names on the register:
- Carolina Soaring Association 2 aircraft Carolina Soaring Association is a flying club based in Spartanburg, South Carolina that offers glider flight training, discovery flights, and recreational soaring.
- 182 Flyers LLC 1 aircraft
- Spartanburg Area Flight Education LLC 1 aircraft
Charter operators and airlines based in Spartanburg:
- Aloft Aviation Services LLC 2 aircraft on the certificate
- Gb Airlink INC 1 aircraft on the certificate
Repair stations in Spartanburg:
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
8 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 8 for private pilot, 8 for commercial and instrument, 4 for airline transport pilot, 4 for flight instructor; 8 for airplanes, 5 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 1 sport aviation examiner, 16 aviation medical examiners, 4 mechanic examiners, 3 airworthiness representatives (manufacturing), 3 engineering representatives, 1 parachute rigger examiner, 2 training center examiners.
- William Porcher Dubose private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Spartanburg Memorial Downtown Airport · Spartanburg, SC (0 nm) · (803) 256-3544 · info@scdpe.com
- Brett Avery Zukowski private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Greenville, SC (20 nm) · (864) 201-9356 · bzukowski@usaeroflight.net
- Gregory Collins private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot; airplanes · Rutherford County Airport FBO · Rutherford, NC (26 nm) · (828) 460-3646 · smokiescfi1@gmail.com
- Leonard Litton private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instructor renewals, military competency; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Piedmont, SC (27 nm) · (703) 389-7709 · landslitton@gmail.com
- David Alan Smith private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes · Fletcher, NC (40 nm) · (828) 458-8484 · david@pitchvy.com
- 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 (43 nm) · (803) 526-1153 · darrinmurphy17@gmail.com
- Harrison Grady Smith private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Central, SC (43 nm) · (864) 986-9664 · harrisonsmith@me.com
- 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 · Gastonia Municipal Airport · Gastonia, NC (43 nm) · (757) 435-7865 · bogeee71@gmail.com
All 38 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- DPE: Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings.
- SAE: Sport Aviation Examiner: gives the tests for sport pilot certificates and light-sport aircraft.
- 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.
- 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.
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 19 since 1982, 2 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
- Airport existed prior 1958.
- Activate rotating beacon - the common traffic frequency.
- Activate approach lights (MALSR) runway 05; runway end identifier lights runway 23; PAPI runway 05 and 23; high-intensity runway lights runway 05/23 - the common traffic frequency.
- Pattern altitude: 800 feet above ground level for piston aircraft, 1300 feet above ground level for turbo prop aircraft and small jets.
- Glider operations.
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Spartanburg 67 aircraft · 39 piston singles, 10 business jets, 5 turboprops
- Aloft Aviation Services LLC 5 aircraft in town
- Business As Usual LLC 3 aircraft in town
- Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office 2 aircraft in town
- Pivotal Aviation LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Aloft Aviation Services LLC 2 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Gb Airlink INC 1 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Carolina Soaring Association 2 aircraft · flying club
- 182 Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Spartanburg Area Flight Education LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Airflow Performance, LLC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 19 since 1982 · 2 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in South Carolina 1,035 since 1982 · 172 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in South Carolina 67 landing places
- South Carolina 3,109 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/SPA.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.