Friday Harbor Seaplane Base
W33 · Friday Harbor, Washington · San Juan County · map
Friday Harbor Seaplane Base is a public-use seaplane base owned by the Port of Friday Harbor in Friday Harbor, Washington, 0 feet above sea level. It has 2 water landing areas. The FAA counts about 8,752 takeoffs and landings a year. About 6,200 passengers boarded flights here in the FAA's fiscal year 2024.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Friday Harbor Seaplane Base?
Its FAA code is W33.
Where is Friday Harbor Seaplane Base?
It is in Friday Harbor, Washington, 0 feet above sea level.
Does Friday Harbor Seaplane Base have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
Are there flight schools at Friday Harbor Seaplane Base?
3 flight schools, flying clubs or college flight programmes are based within about 15 miles of it, including San Juan Flyers LLC and Westwind Flyers LLC. Compare them
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Friday Harbor Seaplane Base?
4 pilot examiners and 9 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 Friday Harbor Seaplane Base…
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 seaplane base facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA W33
- Kind
- Seaplane base · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Port of Friday Harbor
- Elevation
- 0 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- unattended
- Fuel and services
- no fuel reported; the services card below
- Notes
- customs available
- On the chart
- Seattle sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 21E
- In the FAA's files since
- October 1947
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03W/21W | 10,000 × 2,000 ft | Water | |
| 12W/30W | 6,000 × 1,000 ft | Water |
- Runway 03W: hill 250 ft high 5,000 ft from the end
- Runway 12W: hill 450 ft high 5,000 ft from the end
- Runway 30W: hill 150 ft high 2,000 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) | 128.25 |
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- none reported
- Repairs
- none at the field, as reported
- Notes
- customs available
Nearest fields reporting jet fuel: Anacortes Airport (14 nm east), Victoria International (18 nm west), Delaurentis Airport (22 nm southeast), Skagit Regional (24 nm east).
Nearest fields reporting avgas: Friday Harbor Airport (1 nm southwest), Orcas Island Airport (11 nm north), Anacortes Airport (14 nm east), Victoria International (18 nm west).
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
- Established prior to 15 may 59.
- Flight notification service (adcus) available.
- General aviation overnight fee
- Inclinometer check not performed all runways.
- All takeoffs should be performed north of browns island.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
No based-aircraft count is published for this seaplane base.
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 8,752, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 4,752 |
| general aviation, travelling | 4,000 |
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 Friday Harbor from the FAA register
100 aircraft are registered to owners in Friday Harbor, Washington: 92 piston singles, 3 turboprops, 3 piston twins, 2 helicopters. Not every one of them is based at this seaplane base; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this seaplane base 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:
- San Juan Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · Friday Harbor, 1 mile away San Juan Airlines operates scheduled passenger flights and charter flights in the San Juan Islands region of Washington State, with daily service to five locations including Friday Harbor and Orcas Island.
- Westwind Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · Friday Harbor, 1 mile away
- Airhawks Flying Club 1 aircraft · Eastsound, 13 miles away Airhawks is a member-owned 501(c)(3) flying club on Orcas Island, Washington, dedicated to strengthening aviation in the San Juan Islands.
Charter operators and airlines based in Friday Harbor:
- Rugby Aviation, LLC 6 aircraft on the certificate
Companies in the same town as this seaplane base, 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
4 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 4 for private pilot, 4 for commercial and instrument, 2 for airline transport pilot, 2 for flight instructor, 2 for sport pilot, 1 for type ratings; 3 for airplanes, 1 for multi-engine airplanes. Also nearby: 1 sport aviation examiner, 9 aviation medical examiners, 1 mechanic examiner, 1 airworthiness representative (maintenance), 1 airworthiness representative (manufacturing), 13 engineering representatives, 1 training center examiner.
- Travis Paul Holland private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, type ratings, private pilot (proficiency), instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; multi-engine airplanes · Shepherd Aero · Bellingham, WA (24 nm) · (360) 719-5805 · [email protected]
- Summer Martell private pilot, commercial and instrument; airplanes · Port Townsend, WA (30 nm) · (360) 531-1726 · [email protected]
- Cecilia Aragon private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, sport pilot; airplanes · Seattle Paine Field International Airport · Everett, WA (48 nm) · (510) 779-2722 · [email protected]
- Jelica Matic private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes · Regal Air · Everett, WA (48 nm) · (808) 364-4643 · [email protected]
All 31 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.
- 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 seaplane base
Accidents and incidents at or near this seaplane base NTSB records · 1 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 seaplane base links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Friday Harbor 100 aircraft · 92 piston singles, 3 turboprops, 3 piston twins
- Second Wind Aviation CORP 6 aircraft in town
- Cannery Leasing LTD 3 aircraft in town
- Lobbytools Aviation LLC 2 aircraft in town
- Rugby Aviation, LLC 6 aircraft on the certificate · charter operator
- San Juan Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Westwind Flyers LLC 1 aircraft · flight school
- Airhawks Flying Club 1 aircraft · flying club
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this seaplane base 1 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/W33.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 27, 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.