Pierce County/Thun Field
PLU · KPLU · Puyallup, Washington · Pierce County · map
Pierce County/Thun Field is a public-use airport owned by Pierce County, 5 miles south of Puyallup, Washington, 538 feet above sea level. Its one runway, 17/35, is 3,651 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas) and about 205 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 107,000 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Pierce County/Thun Field?
Its FAA code is PLU, and its ICAO code is KPLU.
Where is Pierce County/Thun Field?
It is 5 miles south of Puyallup, Washington, 538 feet above sea level.
How long is the runway at Pierce County/Thun Field?
Its one runway, 17/35, is 3,651 feet long, asphalt.
Does Pierce County/Thun Field have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Pierce County/Thun Field?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas.
Are there flight schools at Pierce County/Thun Field?
2 flight schools, flying clubs or college flight programmes are based within about 15 miles of it: Safety In Motion Flight Center INC and Clover Park Technical College. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Pierce County/Thun Field?
17 pilot examiners and 36 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 Pierce County/Thun 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 PLU · ICAO KPLU
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Pierce County
- Elevation
- 538 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- every day, 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas; the services card below
- On the chart
- Seattle sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 15E
- In the FAA's files since
- September 1945
Runway
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17/35 | 3,651 × 60 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 17: PAPI, four lights on the left, trees 75 ft high 2,800 ft from the end
- Runway 35: PAPI, four lights on the right, road 13 ft high 242 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 122.7 | |
| Clearance delivery | 121.85 | |
| Approach and departure | 126.5 | |
| Plu and aWOS-3 | 128.575 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3), by phone 253-848-2748.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bottled oxygen (low-pressure)
- Also here
- avionics, flight instruction, aircraft rental
Nearest fields reporting jet fuel: Auburn Municipal (14 nm north), Tacoma Narrows Airport (15 nm northwest), Seattle-Tacoma International (21 nm north), Renton Municipal (24 nm north).
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 Washington · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Estabd prior to 15 may 1959.
- Ultralights prohibited.
- Activate runway end identifier lights runways 17 and 35; PAPI runways 17 and 35 and medium-intensity runway lights runway 17/35 -CTAF.
- Pilots bring own TIE-DOWNS.
- Fuel available 24 hours with credit card.
- Noise sensitive all quadrants.
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 | 194 |
| multi-engine | 9 |
| helicopters | 2 |
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 107,000, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 3,388 |
| general aviation, travelling | 69,463 |
| general aviation, local | 34,149 |
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 Puyallup from the FAA register
135 aircraft are registered to owners in Puyallup, Washington: 123 piston singles, 6 piston twins, 2 turboprops, 2 business jets, 1 weight-shift or powered parachute. 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 Washington.
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:
- Safety In Motion Flight Center INC 11 aircraft · Puyallup Safety in Motion Flight Center is a flight school and fixed base operator in the Pacific Northwest.
- Clover Park Technical College 23 aircraft · Lakewood, 13 miles away
Charter operators and airlines based in Puyallup:
- Port Townsend Air LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate
- Jorgensen Air Service 1 aircraft on the certificate
Repair stations in Puyallup:
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
17 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 14 for private pilot, 13 for commercial and instrument, 6 for airline transport pilot, 9 for flight instructor, 6 for sport pilot; 12 for airplanes, 6 for multi-engine airplanes, 3 for seaplanes, 1 for helicopters, 1 for gliders. Also nearby: 2 sport aviation examiners, 36 aviation medical examiners, 5 mechanic examiners, 3 airworthiness representatives (maintenance), 5 airworthiness representatives (manufacturing), 32 engineering representatives, 1 parachute rigger examiner, 1 aircraft dispatcher examiner, 8 training center evaluators, 52 aircrew program designees, 3 training center examiners, 1 administrative pilot examiner.
- Marie Fox Kellermann private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes · Puyallup, WA (0 nm) · (253) 273-2380 · [email protected]
- Galey William Corby instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates · Federal Way, WA (12 nm) · (206) 769-3398 · [email protected]
- James Edward Simon private pilot, commercial and instrument, sport pilot; airplanes · Kent, WA (17 nm) · (253) 820-8781 · [email protected]
- Peter Kim private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Des Moines, WA (17 nm) · (909) 730-8141 · [email protected]
- Maureen Claire Mayo private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Gig Harbor, WA (18 nm) · (564) 225-2443 · [email protected]
- Thomas Scott Crichton Jones 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 · Skyport/Intercept Aviation · Gig Harbor, WA (18 nm) · (253) 720-0050 · [email protected]
- Efren James Jamir foreign pilot certificates · Seattle, WA (21 nm) · (206) 833-9093 · [email protected]
- Grant Carl Moshner 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 · Tukwila, WA (21 nm) · (253) 709-3167 · [email protected]
All 166 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-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
- 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.
- DADE: Designated Aircraft Dispatcher Examiner: tests candidates for the dispatcher certificate.
- TCE: Training Center Evaluator: gives tests at a simulator training center.
- 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.
- 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.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 14 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 Puyallup 135 aircraft · 123 piston singles, 6 piston twins, 2 turboprops
- Epic Aviation Leasing LLC 12 aircraft in town
- Spanaflight LLC 10 aircraft in town
- Safety In Motion Flight Center INC 9 aircraft in town
- Raw Racing INC 7 aircraft in town
- Port Townsend Air LLC 1 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Jorgensen Air Service 1 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Safety In Motion Flight Center INC 11 aircraft · flight school
- Clover Park Technical College 23 aircraft · university or college with a flight programme
- Northwest Propeller Service INC · repair station
- Raw Spencer LLC · repair station
- Wings West Governor Exchange and Overhaul INC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 14 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Washington 2,709 since 1982 · 359 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Washington 131 landing places
- Washington 10,571 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/PLU.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 26, 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.