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| History of the Crested Butte Airport |
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Crested
Butte, Colorado is a small resort town located between Aspen and
Gunnison. It offers wonderful skiing in the winter and in the summer,
Crested Butte has been named the Wild Flower Capital of the State.
The Historic Town of Crested Butte (a National Historic District) is
truly one of the friendliest, most charming towns in the Rockies. It is
undoubtedly the last great Colorado ski town.
The Crested Butte Airport was approved as a public use airport and was
built in 1975. The field elevation is 8,980 Ft. MSL and the runway
length is 4,485 feet.
The majority of the flights operations at the airport are medical
evacuations. This is important to remember!
In recent years the airport has been threatened by a proposed
high-density housing development of more than 500 units and a proposed
road across the existing (and paved) runway as sole access to the
housing complex.
The official closure of the airport was submitted in the year 2000.
In early 2001 the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners voted to shorten
the runway by approximately 500 feet and arbitrarily restrict the
usage of the airport to a maximum of fifteen local pilots.
According to the County Commissioners and the real estate developer the
shortening and destruction of the existing paved runway should
supposedly "improve flight safety" and "comply with FAA
standards".
Because of the high airport elevation of almost 9,000 feet MSL (above Mean Sea
Level), and the thin air, ANY shortening of the runway would instead
greatly decrease flight safety and create a constant safety hazard.
Several pilots have filed a complaint against County decisions.
The recently incorporated "Friends Of The Crested Butte
Airport" is trying to preserve the airport and its public
usage, promote flight safety, youth programs and community
awareness.
Please help preserve General Aviation Airports! |
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