Winona Municipal Airport-Max Conrad Field is a general aviation airport located in the bluff country of southeastern Minnesota along the Mississippi River, about three miles northwest of the central business district of Winona.
The airport has two runways: Runway 12/30 and Runway 17/35. The City of Winona, which runs the Airport, owns three T-hangars that provide a total of 20 hangar spaces. Construction of the airport took place between 1949 and 1951, with operations beginning in December of 1951. In the 1950s, the airport was named in honor of record-setting aviator Maximilian "Max" Conrad, born in Winona in 1903.
Keith Nelson with the City of Winona serves as the airport's director and George Bolon runs the airport's full-service fixed-base operator (FBO), WinAir. The FBO has been operating since 1997 and offers aircraft management, fuel, maintenance, charter service, aircraft leasing, flight instruction, and aircraft rentals.
According to Bolon, what is most valuable about the airport is its economic impact on the community. The airport was once served by one passenger airliner, North Central Airlines, until the mid-1970s. Today, local general aviation accounts for most operations. the city is home to such companies as Fastenal RTP, Benchmark Electronics, and Watkins, all of which use the airport regularly. Winona's two universities and one community college generate airport traffic as well. Winona is also a destination for arts and recreation. The city hosts well-known bluegrass music and Shakespeare festivals and is home to a marine art museum.
Bolon has noticed a general trend at the Winona airport in which corporate aviation has remained stable or grown, while recreational aviation (except for light sport) has been stable or shrinking. The Winona airport is also selling less aviation gas but more aviation jet fuel.
The airport has nearly completed a major 18-month, $12 million renovation. The project extended the airport runways, put down new asphalt, added new lights and signage, and installed a new navigational system. Work was almost completely funded by federal aviation fuel tax dollars, with additional money from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the City of Winona. Altho the project extended the airstrip to 5,670 feet, which allows heavier planes and more traffic, the primary goal was safety, Bolon says. The new navigational system allows pilots to land with less visibility and lower ceilings than before.
At the 2016 Minnesota Airports Conference, Winona Municipal Airport received the Project of the Year award in the Key Airport category for the project. Bolon says the process used to rebuild the main runway was unique. The existing asphalt surface was recycled into the base course. Upon removal, it was pulverized and then mixed with fresh bituminous mixture containing 2 percent asphalt oil to create an 8-inch stabilized base. That base course was then overlaid with new asphalt pavement.
"To the best of my knowledge, this [method] has not been used in Minnesota or for a federally funded project," he says, adding that he expects this method will increase the service life of the runway from 20 to 30 years.
The project also won a 2015 Asphalt Merit Award from the Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association.
