Spencer Municipal
SPW · KSPW · Spencer, Iowa · Clay County · map
Spencer Municipal is a public-use airport owned by the City of Spencer, 3 miles northwest of Spencer, Iowa, 1,339 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 12/30, is 6,001 feet of concrete. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 29 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 11,200 takeoffs and landings a year. About 6 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Spencer Municipal?
Its FAA code is SPW, and its ICAO code is KSPW.
Where is Spencer Municipal?
It is 3 miles northwest of Spencer, Iowa, 1,339 feet above sea level.
How long is the longest runway at Spencer Municipal?
The longest of its 2 runways, 12/30, is 6,001 feet long.
Does Spencer Municipal have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Spencer Municipal?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Where can you fly nonstop from Spencer Municipal?
Airline flights go to 1 airport, the busiest of them Witham Field. Every route
Are there flight schools at Spencer Municipal?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Northwest Iowa Flyers LLC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Spencer Municipal?
3 pilot examiners and 4 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 Spencer Municipal…
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 SPW · ICAO KSPW
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- City of Spencer
- Elevation
- 1,339 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm; weekends, 8:00 am to 5:00 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
- Omaha sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 5E
- In the FAA's files since
- March 1942
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/30 | 6,001 × 100 ft | Concrete, fair | Medium-intensity lights |
| 18/36 | 5,100 × 75 ft | Concrete, good | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 12: ILS, VASI, four boxes on the left, medium-intensity approach lights with runway alignment lights (MALSR)
- Runway 30: VASI, two boxes on the left, threshold displaced 490 ft, road 15 ft high 750 ft from the end
- Runway 18: PAPI, four lights on the left
- Runway 36: PAPI, four lights on the left, road 18 ft high 560 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 123.0 | |
| Spw and automated weather (ASOS) | 126.625 | |
| Fairmont and center (remote transmitter) Low | 127.75 |
Automated weather (ASOS), by phone 712-262-8885.
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
- avionics, charter flights, flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Estherville Municipal (25 nm northeast), Sheldon Regional (28 nm west), Cherokee County Regional (30 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 Iowa · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Existed prior to 1959.
- Activate medium-intensity runway lights runways 12/30 and 18/36; approach lights (MALSR) runway 12; VASI runways 12 and 30; PAPI runways 18 and 36; runway end identifier lights runways 30; 18 and 36 - the common traffic frequency.
- Approach slope 50:1 from displaced threshold.
- Waterfowl in the vicinity of airport.
- Runway 12 is calm wind runway.
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.
Scheduled and charter flights from here the DOT's airline reports · August 2025 to July 2026
Airlines reported 1 departures from SPW in those twelve months, carrying 1 passengers in 8 seats (12% filled), to 1 destination on 1 airline.
| Where to | Flights | Passengers | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Municipal → Witham Field SPW–SUA | 1 | 1 | Tradewind Aviation |
All 1 destinations, the airlines and the aircraft, month by month
From the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' T-100 table: every segment an airline reported flying, three months in arrears. Private, business and training flights are not in it; the live picture is in the activity card.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 25 |
| multi-engine | 3 |
| jets | 1 |
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 11,200, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 2,724 |
| general aviation, travelling | 5,008 |
| general aviation, local | 3,468 |
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 Spencer from the FAA register
16 aircraft are registered to owners in Spencer, Iowa: 10 piston singles, 3 piston twins, 2 drones, 1 business jet. 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 Iowa.
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:
- Northwest Iowa Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · Everly, 6 miles away
Repair stations in Spencer:
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
3 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 3 for private pilot, 3 for commercial and instrument, 2 for airline transport pilot, 3 for flight instructor, 1 for sport pilot; 3 for airplanes, 3 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 4 aviation medical examiners, 1 administrative pilot examiner.
- Dwayne Alan Hoss private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Spencer, IA (0 nm) · (507) 399-6100 · [email protected]
- John Brent Mclaughlin private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Estherville Municipal Airport · Estherville, IA (25 nm) · (515) 724-4164 · [email protected]
- Daniel Dean Vander Weide private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Orange City, IA (39 nm) · (712) 540-4142 · [email protected]
All 8 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.
- 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 · 5 since 1982, 1 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 Spencer 16 aircraft · 10 piston singles, 3 piston twins, 2 drones
- Donaldson Bros Flying Circus LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Camm Air 2 aircraft in town
- Northwest Iowa Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Spencer Avionics INC · repair station
- Witham Field (SUA) 1 flights in twelve months · Tradewind Aviation
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 5 since 1982 · 1 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Iowa 869 since 1982 · 129 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Iowa 112 landing places
- Iowa 4,509 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/SPW.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.