Colonel William A. Phillips

Coutts/Ross International Airport (FAA LID: 7S8, TC LID: CEP4) is located 0.5 nautical miles (0.93 km; 0.58 mi) west of Coutts, Alberta, Canada and 0.1 NM (0.19 km; 0.12 mi) west of Sweet Grass, Montana, United States.

Ross International Airport is owned by the U.S. state of Montana and is operated by the Montana Aeronautics Division. Its runway is located on the Canada–US border.[3]

The airport is one of six airports that straddle the Canada–US border. The others are Avey Field State Airport, Whetstone International Airport, International Peace Garden Airport, Piney Pinecreek Border Airport, and Coronach/Scobey Border Station Airport.

The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can handle general aviation aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers.[1]

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers an area of 20 acres (8.1 ha) at an elevation of 3,552 ft (1,083 m)[2][1] above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 7/25 with a turf surface measuring 2,900 by 80 ft (884 by 24 m).[1][2] For the 12-month period ending August 23, 2008, the airport had 25 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 2 per month.[2]

Use during World War II

Since the Neutrality Acts of the 1930s forbade arms shipments to belligerent countries prior to the entry of the United States into World War II, this airport was used to circumvent these rules by landing planes on the US side and having civilians (and in some cases horses) pull them across the border to Canada, where they could be flown to the United Kingdom.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g FAA Airport Form 5010 for 7S8 PDF, effective July 2, 2009
  3. ^ a b c "7S8 – Sweetgrass (Ross International)" (PDF). at Montana Airport Directory
  4. ^ Vernon, J. E. (2016). "Horses on the Payroll". Royal Canadian Air Force Journal. 5 (2): 80–95.

External links