William M Tuck Airport
W78 · South Boston, Virginia · Halifax County · map
William M Tuck Airport is a public-use airport owned by the County of Halifax, 3 miles east of South Boston, Virginia, 420 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 01/19, is 4,003 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas) and about 16 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 8,015 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for William M Tuck Airport?
Its FAA code is W78.
Where is William M Tuck Airport?
It is 3 miles east of South Boston, Virginia, 420 feet above sea level.
How long is the longest runway at William M Tuck Airport?
The longest of its 2 runways, 01/19, is 4,003 feet long.
Does William M Tuck Airport have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at William M Tuck Airport?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas.
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to William M Tuck Airport?
7 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 William M Tuck Airport…
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 W78
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- County of Halifax
- Elevation
- 420 feet above sea level
- Pattern altitude
- 800 feet above the airport
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- unattended
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas; the services card below
- On the chart
- Washington sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 8W
- In the FAA's files since
- September 1949
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/19 | 4,003 × 75 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
| 06/24 | 2,065 × 200 ft | Grass, good |
- Runway 01: PAPI, two lights on the left, trees 28 ft high 481 ft from the end
- Runway 19: PAPI, two lights on the left, tree 42 ft high 861 ft from the end
- Runway 06: trees 69 ft high 1,134 ft from the end
- Runway 24: trees 70 ft high 891 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM | 122.8 | |
| W78 and aWOS-3 | 119.425 | |
| South Boston Center (remote transmitter) Low | 124.05 |
Automated weather (AWOS-3), by phone 434-575-0332.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: minor repairs
- Parking
- tie-downs
- Also here
- flight instruction
Nearest fields reporting jet fuel: Danville Regional (25 nm west), Raleigh Regional AT Person County (26 nm south), Henderson/Oxford Airport (26 nm southeast), Mecklenburg-Brunswick Regional (38 nm east).
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 Virginia · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- In operation prior 1959
- Wildlife on and in the vicinity of runways.
- Activate medium-intensity runway lights runway 01/19 and runway end identifier lights runways 01 and 19 - the common traffic frequency. PAPI runways 01 and 19 oper continuous.
- 5 feet brush 150 feet left and right of runway centerline.
- Runway 06 outlined with yellow cones.
- Runway 24 outlined with yellow cones.
- SELF-FUELING with a credit card.
- Runway 06/24 closed to aircraft with airspeed 50 KT or more.
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 | 14 |
| 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 8,015, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| general aviation, travelling | 2,749 |
| general aviation, local | 5,266 |
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 South Boston from the FAA register
18 aircraft are registered to owners in South Boston, Virginia: 12 piston singles, 3 helicopters, 2 drones, 1 turboprop. 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 Virginia.
Who works here from the FAA's certificate lists and the register
Repair stations in South Boston:
- Dix Aviation Dix Aviation is a FAA Part 145 repair station in South Boston, Virginia that provides aircraft maintenance, annual inspections, avionics installation and repair, custom panel fabrication, flight instruction, and aircraft sales and brokerage
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
7 pilot examiners (the FAA's designated pilot examiners, who give the practical tests for pilot certificates) are based within 50 nautical miles: 7 for private pilot, 7 for commercial and instrument, 3 for airline transport pilot, 7 for flight instructor, 1 for sport pilot; 7 for airplanes, 5 for multi-engine airplanes, 1 for seaplanes. Also nearby: 2 sport aviation examiners, 7 aviation medical examiners, 5 mechanic examiners, 2 airworthiness representatives (maintenance), 3 airworthiness representatives (manufacturing), 2 administrative pilot examiners.
- Travis Jeffrey Williams private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor; airplanes · Danville Regional Airport · Danville, VA (25 nm) · (434) 250-4310 · [email protected]
- Francesco Gozzo private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Oxford, NC (26 nm) · (919) 426-5494 · [email protected]
- Christopher Allen Kreske private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Pikeville, NC (35 nm) · (919) 608-3231 · [email protected]
- Andrew Walton private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, sport pilot, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor, foreign pilot certificates; airplanes · Lynchburg, VA (41 nm) · (434) 307-7393 · [email protected]
- Benjamin Reed Thigpen private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Liberty University School of Aeronautics · Lynchburg, VA (41 nm) · (434) 381-0545 · [email protected]
- Robert Middleton III private pilot, commercial and instrument, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes · Forest, VA (41 nm) · (434) 426-0870 · [email protected]
- Christopher Marshall Whittle private pilot, commercial and instrument, airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, instructor renewals, military competency, ground instructor; airplanes, multi-engine airplanes · Burlington, NC (50 nm) · (336) 264-0943 · [email protected]
All 28 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.
- 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, 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 South Boston 18 aircraft · 12 piston singles, 3 helicopters, 2 drones
- South Central Land Management CO 2 aircraft in town
- Dix Aviation · repair station
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 5 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Virginia 1,361 since 1982 · 229 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Virginia 64 landing places
- Virginia 5,975 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/W78.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.