Black Rock City Airport In 2001, the Black Rock City Airport successfully concluded operations with a 3-year perfect safety record since the Federal Aviation Administration approved its construction in 1999.
Most airports are constructed only once. Like the rest of the city, the Black Rock City Airport repeatedly resolves these issues as it is constructed and deconstructed every year. Facilities in 2001 consisted of a mile-long runway marked with a blue agricultural colorant, a windsock to provide a visual indication of wind speed and direction, and a Unicom radio station that allowed pilots on the ground to give advisories to pilots in the air.
 Photo: Eric Bong |
 Photo: Lissa Shoun |
Despite extreme challenges due to unusually severe wind-borne dust, over sixty registered aircraft tied down next to the trash fence. Ultralights and hot-air balloons also took advantage of the airport, as did skydivers. Medevac helicopters operated out of Gerlach rather than the Black Rock City Airport to avoid the dust, but our runway was used twice for medical emergencies, once by a Lifeflight airplane, and once by a private pilot who rushed a friend to Reno.