South Wood County Airport


South Wood County Airport, also known as Alexander Field, is a public use airport located one nautical mile south of the central business district of Wisconsin Rapids, a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States.
The airport is owned and operated by the City of Wisconsin Rapids, the Village of Port Edwards, the Town of Grand Rapids and the City of Nekoosa. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it is categorized as a local general aviation facility.

History

Alexander Field was built for Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company subsidiary Tri-Cities Airways in October 1928 and named after its executive John Alexander. Governor Fred R. Zimmerman and Walter J. Kohler opened the airport with an airshow that featured air-to-air refueling. A Ford Trimotor was based at the field and was used for company business and community events. During World War II, the airfield saw service as a National Guard station and POW camp for German prisoners. In 1961 the ownership was transferred to Wood County.

Facilities and aircraft

South Wood County Airport covers an area of at an elevation of 1,021 feet above mean sea level. It has three runways:
Wisconsin Rapids non-directional beacon, 215 kHz, is located on field.
For the 12-month period ending September 21, 2018, the airport had 11,550 aircraft operations, an average of 32 per day: 91% general aviation, 9% air taxi and less than 1% military. In June 2020, there were 35 aircraft based at this airport: 31 single-engine and 4 multi-engine.