Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field
VBT · KVBT · Bentonville, Arkansas · Benton County · map
Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field is a public-use airport owned by the City of Bentonville, 2 miles south of Bentonville, Arkansas, 1,298 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 18/36, is 5,053 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 49 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The receiver network heard 5 different aircraft arrive or depart here in the last seven days. The FAA counts about 32,300 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field?
Its FAA code is VBT, and its ICAO code is KVBT.
Where is Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field?
It is 2 miles south of Bentonville, Arkansas, 1,298 feet above sea level.
How long is the longest runway at Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field?
The longest of its 2 runways, 18/36, is 5,053 feet long.
Does Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Are there flight schools at Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field?
One flight school, flying club or college flight programme is based within about 15 miles of it: Game Composites Flying Club. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden Field?
6 pilot examiners and 7 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 Bentonville Muni/Louise M Thaden 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 VBT · ICAO KVBT
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- City of Bentonville
- Elevation
- 1,298 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- October to March, every day, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm; April to September, every day, 7:30 am to 4:00 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
- Kansas City sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 1E
- In the FAA's files since
- September 1946
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18/36 | 5,053 × 75 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
| 17/35 | 2,448 × 75 ft | Grass |
- Runway 18: PAPI, two lights on the left, threshold displaced 257 ft, 4,196 ft available for landing, brush 19 ft high 510 ft from the end
- Runway 36: PAPI, two lights on the right, threshold displaced 600 ft, 4,196 ft available for landing, pole 12 ft high 615 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 122.975 | |
| Clearance delivery | 121.05 | |
| Approach and departure | 121.0 | |
| Fayetteville and center (remote transmitter) Low | 126.1 | |
| Vbt and aWOS-3PT | 134.975 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3PT), by phone 479-273-9198.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Oxygen
- bottled oxygen (high-pressure)
- Also here
- charter flights, flight instruction, aircraft rental, aircraft sales
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Northwest Arkansas Ntl Airport (6 nm southwest), Rogers Executive - Carter Field (6 nm east), Springdale Municipal (11 nm southeast).
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 Arkansas · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Beginning 60 feet beyond north end of runway 18 pavement, gnd has aproxly 12 feet drop over 60 feet length to pond.
- Activate PAPI runway 18 and 36, medium-intensity runway lights runway 18/36 - the common traffic frequency.
- Approach ratio 38:1 to dthr.
- Migratory birds on and in the vicinity of airport
- Runway 17/35 VFR daylight operations only.
- Simul use of runways 17/35 and 18/36 NA.
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 | 42 |
| multi-engine | 4 |
| jets | 1 |
| 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 aircraft heard arriving or departing are the site's own record from the volunteer receiver network, airliners included; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 32,300, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 200 |
| general aviation, travelling | 11,000 |
| general aviation, local | 21,000 |
| military | 100 |
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 Bentonville from the FAA register
126 aircraft are registered to owners in Bentonville, Arkansas: 89 piston singles, 16 business jets, 8 helicopters, 5 turboprops, 5 piston twins. 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 Arkansas.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Fuel and service companies in Bentonville, by their names on the register (a start, not a directory):
Flight schools, flying clubs and college flight programmes based within about 15 miles:
- Game Composites Flying Club 1 aircraft · Bentonville
Charter operators and airlines based in Bentonville:
- Legends Air Center, LLC 4 aircraft on the certificate Legends Air Center is an FBO and charter operator at Thaden Field (VBT) in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Repair stations in Bentonville:
- King Aerospace Arkansas INC King Aerospace Arkansas Inc operates two divisions: King Aerospace Commercial Corporation (KACC), an FAA-approved repair station specializing in maintenance, avionics, interiors and paint for Boeing Business Jets and VVIP corporate aircraft
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
6 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 6 for private pilot, 6 for commercial and instrument, 1 for airline transport pilot, 5 for flight instructor, 2 for sport pilot; 5 for airplanes, 2 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for helicopters. Also nearby: 2 sport aviation examiners, 7 aviation medical examiners, 1 airworthiness representative (manufacturing), 3 engineering representatives, 1 parachute rigger examiner, 4 training center examiners.
- Chad Maxwell Cox private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor; helicopters · Bentonville, AR (0 nm) · (501) 732-0658 · [email protected]
- Joshua Paul Jones private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes · FBO · Bentonville, AR (0 nm) · (303) 913-4218 · [email protected]
- Reginald Howell Henderson private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes · Bentonville Thaden Field · Bentonville, AR (0 nm) · (479) 651-1919 · [email protected]
- Zachary Duane Caldwell 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 · Bentonville, AR (0 nm) · (479) 650-0245 · [email protected]
- Dustin Garard private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Grove, OK (30 nm) · (918) 521-4181 · [email protected]
- Nathan Keith Leming private pilot, commercial and instrument, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes · Branson West Jet Center · Branson West, MO (45 nm) · (417) 204-9132 · [email protected]
All 24 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.
- 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.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 8 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 Bentonville 126 aircraft · 89 piston singles, 16 business jets, 8 helicopters
- Echo Matrix LLC 19 aircraft in town
- Game Aerospace LLC 18 aircraft in town
- Legends Air Center LLC 15 aircraft in town
- Walmart INC 6 aircraft in town
- Aces Hangar LLC 2 aircraft · FBO or fuel seller
- Ace'S Hangar LLC 1 aircraft · FBO or fuel seller
- Airwerks Aviation Services LLC 1 aircraft · FBO or fuel seller
- Legends Air Center, LLC 4 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- Game Composites Flying Club 1 aircraft · flying club
- King Aerospace Arkansas INC · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 8 since 1982 · 1 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Arkansas 1,580 since 1982 · 175 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Arkansas 101 landing places
- Arkansas 3,493 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/VBT.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 23, 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.