Barnes from the southwest

The official name of Barnes is Westfield-Barnes Regional

Airport, but call it Barnes and you’ll be fine. It’s a towered Class D field that sees a mix of general aviation

and military activity. It is home to the 104th Air National Guard Fighter wing, and the chances are good you‘ll see their F-15s conducting exercises while you are there. We had a birds-eye view ourselves last time we visited.

F-15s taxiing at Barnes

And heading out

These F-15s used to be based down at Otis on the Cape, so I guess that Hyannis’ loss is Westfield’s gain. They are pretty cool to watch doing their stuff.

As you might imagine, F-15s need lots of runway, so you will have 9000 feet to play with on 02/20, and 5000 feet on 15/33. That ought to be enough to get whatever you’re flying down and stopped!

Atlantic Air is the FBO at Barnes. The building is nice on the outside.

And on the inside, too:

The restaurant at Barnes is right off the foyer. It’s called

Tubiko Sushi, and wonder of wonders, it is an excellent sushi and ramen joint. If you told me ten years ago that I was going to have ramen at an airport restaurant, I would have laughed at the thought. But here we are are today; I love ramen and I loved Tobiko Sushi!

The menu is eclectic and includes all kinds of Asian specialties. They not only have excellent ramen and an extensive sushi menu, but also Korean standards like bibimbap, and even Japanese hibachi cooked on a flat top. If you’re not a big Asian food fan, the hibachi would probably be your best bet- it’s mildly flavored, and you won’t need to wonder what you’re eating because they cook it right in front of you!

Like I said, I would have laughed if you told me I could have really good ramen at a New England airport. But here it is, and you should go! It’s worth the trip.