Ingalls Field Bath County Airport | Hot Springs Airport

Ingalls Field (HSP) is a small Virginia airport perched atop the Warm Springs Mountain ridge line at near 4000 ft. It is the highest public use airport east of the Mississippi with a single 5600 foot runway. 

Apart from playing host to President Bill Clinton, who arrived on a DC-9 in the Winter of 2000, the airfield continues to accommodate general aviation aircraft with an average 31 aircraft per day. From 2009 stats, 81% of these are transient, 12% military and 8% local traffic. 

Because the airport is situated atop the ridgeline, with an aircraft carrier-type runway and unforgiving wind shear factors, it is an ideal location for military operations including aircraft testing and intermittent touch and gos. According to the airport engineer, wind shear frequently occurs at the airport when wind hits the side of the mountain and rides up one side and goes down on the other. If not careful or fully aware, an aircraft that flies into the wind current gets pushed down along with it.

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