Airport Overview
South St. Paul Municipal Airport, named Richard E. Fleming Field, is a city-owned public-use general aviation airport in Dakota County, about two miles south of downtown South St. Paul and roughly eight miles southeast of downtown St. Paul. It opened in the 1940s and is named for Marine aviator Capt. Richard E. Fleming, a Medal of Honor recipient from St. Paul. Today it is a busy reliever within the Twin Cities system, handling on the order of 40,000 operations a year, almost entirely general aviation.
Runway Capability
The field has one asphalt runway, 16/34 at 4,002 ft by 100 ft, at 823 ft MSL with RNAV (GPS) and visual approaches. This comfortably serves piston aircraft and turboprops including the King Air and Cessna Caravan. It can accommodate very light and entry light jets only under favorable weight, temperature, and runway conditions, so jet operators should verify performance for each flight rather than assume routine jet access.
Wipaire and the Seaplane Connection
Fleming Field is the home of Wipaire, the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft floats and the maker of the Wipline series and the Fire Boss fire-fighting amphibian. Wipaire is a Cessna service center on the field and operates the adjacent Wipline Seaplane Base. This gives the airport an unusually strong floatplane, amphibian, and Caravan maintenance presence for a metro reliever.
Charter Considerations
Because of the 4,002 ft runway, most cabin-class and midsize jet charter for the Minneapolis-St. Paul area uses St. Paul Downtown (KSTP, about 5 NM away) or Minneapolis-St. Paul International (KMSP). Fleming Field is well suited to turboprop and very light jet charter and to clients prioritizing a quiet, congestion-free GA field close to the southeast metro. The Jet Finder can match the right aircraft to the runway and recommend a nearby alternate when a larger jet is required.
Safety & Planning
Fleming Field is uncontrolled, so crews self-announce on CTAF and exercise see-and-avoid discipline in a busy training and floatplane environment. Approaches are RNAV (GPS) and visual, with no ILS, so low-ceiling arrivals demand careful alternate planning. There are no on-field customs; international arrivals must clear at a CBP-equipped airport such as Minneapolis-St. Paul International.
Seasonal & Operational Factors
Minnesota winters bring frontal passages, low IFR ceilings, snow, and icing; cold-weather operations require preheating and de-icing planning. The 823 ft elevation keeps density altitude modest even on warm summer days. Summer convection tends to peak in the late afternoon, so morning departures generally encounter smoother, more reliable conditions. The nearby lakes also make this a hub for summer floatplane activity.
Regional Context
Fleming Field is one of several Twin Cities reliever airports, complementing St. Paul Downtown (KSTP), Lake Elmo (21D), Airlake (KLVN), and Anoka County-Blaine. For travelers, it offers direct ramp-to-car access with no terminal queues, just minutes from the southeast metro, while longer-runway jet service remains available a short repositioning hop away at KSTP or KMSP.