Hezarfen Airfield Hezarfen Havaalanı | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public property | ||||||||||
Owner | Kar Group of Companies | ||||||||||
Operator | İstanbul Hezarfen Havaalanı | ||||||||||
Serves | Istanbul, Turkey | ||||||||||
Location | Çatalca, Istanbul | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 56 ft / 17 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates |
41°06′16.2″N 28°33′00″E / 41.104500°N 28.55000°E
Hezarfen_Airfield Latitude and Longitude: 41°06′16.2″N 28°33′00″E / 41.104500°N 28.55000°E | ||||||||||
Website | http://www.hezarfen.com.tr/ | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Hezarfen Airfield ( Turkish: Hezarfen Havaalanı) ( ICAO: LTBW) is a privately owned airport for general aviation in the Çatalca district of Istanbul, Turkey. One of the four airports in Istanbul, it is named after Hezârfen Ahmet Çelebi, a legendary Ottoman aviator, who flew across the Bosporus in the 17th century, as told by a contemporary traveler Evliya Çelebi.
The 500 acres (200 ha) airfield is on a peninsula surrounded by
Lake Büyükçekmece to the south and by the motorway
O-3 to the north. It is 50 km (31 mi) west of Istanbul. Since 1992, it has served as the first internationally acknowledged private airport in Turkey.
[1]
Its asphalt runway is 681 m (2,234 ft) long and 28 m (92 ft) wide. There are four taxiways parallel to the runway, a 2,400 m2 (26,000 sq ft) concrete ramp, and another 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft) paved one. It also has a motocross circuit, a 120 m (390 ft) long model airplane field, and a heliport. [1]
The airfield, called also "Hezarfen Hobbyland", offers facilities for model aircraft flying, model car racing, motocross racing, drag racing (cars and motorcycles), car and driver testing and flight simulation. [2]
In addition to "Istanbul Aviation Festival" held each year in June, [2] the Hezarfen Airfield hosts also the open air music festival Rock'n Coke, held since 2003 annually in September for two days attracting around 30,000 music fans. [3]
The airfield is home to an aviation school training air traffic controllers, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter pilots. Turkey's only civil aerobatics school and team is also based here. Another school at the site is for training motorcycle racing. [1]
Other social facilities offered by the Hezarfen Hobbyland are a restaurant and premises for business conventions, fairs and exhibitions. Its public recreational area include also a playground for children, a skateboarding ground, and a 2,500 m (8,200 ft) course around the airfield for jogging and biking, in addition to a picnic and barbecue ground. [1]