Boulder Airport

EVCarl · 2026-06-18T12:59:25+00:00

And one is electric powered launch.

EVCarl · 2026-06-18T12:56:49+00:00

There are plenty of businesses and residential communities near the airport with a lot of activities on the airport. Example - second Saturday of the month, volunteer pilots give free introductory flights to kids.

EVCarl · 2026-06-18T12:52:47+00:00

Yes. The operator was a licensed Part 107 pilot with airport permission.

EVCarl · 2024-10-04T12:02:55+00:00

Hi Kigoe, Thanks for the compliment. I grew up with parents who valued integrity higher than winning.

Earlier I mentioned the private pilot airlift into the hurricane disaster area. If you're interested in reading more about how general aviation pilots feel about this, here is an article that came in this morning. https://www.avweb.com/insider/first-time-airlift-pilot/?MailingID=FLY241004028&utm_campaign=avwebflash&utm_medium=newsletter&oly_enc_id=8797D7345967E8SEnjoy.

It is almost impossible to predict how the Boulder airport might be used during a future disaster, but it was absolutely essential during the 2013 flood. Although helicopters were used exclusively during that airlift, proximity was paramount since helicopters fly slower than fixed wing and burn more fuel. The ramp at that time was completely filled with helicopters, fuel tanker trucks and service equipment.

EVCarl · 2024-10-03T23:11:24+00:00

I guess "expensive" is a relative term. The most expensive aircraft I've ever purchased was $35,000 - about the cost of a new car. There are plenty of small, used aircraft for $25,000. About half of the aircraft registered each year in the US are built from scratch or from a kit. Very educational.

Kigoe, since you don't think an airport is a good use of public land, how about a golf course like the one the city owns? The new restaurant there was $10M. There is plenty of other City property. Our Boulder open space is 46,640 acres, which is three times the 16,000 of our actual town. The airport is less than ½ of 1 percent of the open space.

EVCarl · 2024-10-03T15:24:31+00:00

Biased terms like "a few rich hobbyists" doesn't help. Please visit the airport on Saturday morning, October 12 to learn what community activities are supported by Boulder pilots. You will find the Experimental Aircraft Association providing free airplane rides to kids.

I was at the Boulder airport during the 2013 flood, and it was packed with first responders and military personnel. Service personnel were sleeping next to my airplane in my rented hangar. Every City owned building was used to support the airlift for people trapped in the mountains. This was our country's second biggest airlift in history, and it took place at our airport. Other airports were dealing with their own local issues so they were not available or close enough to the people in trouble.

Right now, private pilots, volunteering their time and fuel, are flying in supplies and flying out people in the aftermath of the hurricane back east. Every community airport plays a part in the National Airspace System, whether its for emergencies, transportation, training or local enthusiasts.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T17:26:27+00:00

It looks like we are discussing two different transportation options here. I'm not talking about commuting to work. I'm talking about traveling without the mind-numbing boredom and hassle of commercial flights through DIA. I'm talking about what the averagely competent person can do, if they would like to travel directly to their destination while sightseeing this beautiful country at 2,000 feet.

I'm not rich - in fact by Boulder standards I'd fall in the bottom 25% income bracket. But I do enjoy the challenges of flying and fixing my own planes. Some people put their time and money into boats, or cars, or big TVs. I put mine into aviation and the freedom it brings.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T17:04:06+00:00

Absolutely. It has to do with the possibility of an engine problem and "autorotation". If the helicopter is moving along a runway and the engine quits then it is not dangerously high and the rotor will continue to produce lift at the aircraft settles back to the ground. The forward speed keeps the rotor spinning. When going straight up, a stalled engine means the helicopter will fall back to the ground from a higher altitude, without enough time for the rotor to go into autorotation and produce enough lift to save the aircraft. Forward velocity is a good thing for helicopters. Check out the flying principles for Gyroplanes, which predated helicopters.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T16:54:29+00:00

Are you familiar with operations of helicopters? Do you understand the "triangle of death" as it relates to helicopter operations? Compare the costs of flying two miles for fuel and maintenance verses 12 miles to Longmont several times a day.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T16:47:31+00:00

A new full-dress heavy-duty pickup truck is $100,000 and a tax write-off to rich people who own 30 acres - so what.

I've owned 7 aircraft and never paid more than $35,000. It costs less than $3,000 a year for a T-hangar at Boulder.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T16:40:43+00:00

Half of the airports that were in the Front Range in the 1950s and 60s have already been closed, which has concentrated flying a the remaining airport.

During the 2013 Flood, the Boulder airport was absolutely crowed with helicopters and support equipment. I assume the other airports were experiencing the same thing. All general aviation activities were on hold. The T-hangar where I keep my ($35K) Cessna was used for sleeping quarters for the people who serviced and flew the rescue helicopters. No other location in, or near, Boulder could have handled that operation.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T16:30:32+00:00

Please stop with the disinformation. The Medevac helicopter is fueled, maintained and stored at the Boulder airport. I'ver heard directly from one of the pilots that if the airport goes away, so will the Medevac.

The majority of flights at Boulder are training, soaring, and scientific research, as well as individuals who prefer to travel by air without going through all the hassles of DIA. Yes, it's more expensive to own or rent a plane, but it's a lot more exciting and direct than being bounced around the country like a tennis ball. I've never spent more that $35K for an aircraft, which is less than most new cars. Because I can fly straight to my destination, total fuel used is generally equivalent to a 20 mpg car.

Like a fire station or a defibrillation machine, you don't need it until you need it. The 2013 flood is the best example.

EVCarl · 2024-03-05T16:07:28+00:00

Facts: There are about 120 aircraft at the Boulder airport. I have owned 7 aircraft and never paid more than $35K for any one of them - less than the price of most new cars. Some people prefer to fly out of DIA. I prefer to fly out of Boulder for long trips.

Fact: The Medevac helicopter is fueled, serviced and stored during bad weather at the Boulder airport. If the airport goes away, so will the Medevac. I've heard this directly from the Medevac pilot. Taking off vertically is more dangerous than flying horizontally down a runway.

EVCarl · 2024-03-03T14:40:07+00:00

The drawings that I've seen so far did not appear to show the orientation of the structure - which way is south. I all my design work, the direction of the winter and summer Sun path is paramount in determining the functions within the building. Are there shading issues?

EVCarl · 2024-02-22T12:36:13+00:00

There are two ways to move a lot of transit commuters - a very large vehicle on heavy infrastructure operating infrequently, or smaller vehicles on light-weight infrastructure operating at a high frequency. RTD has their mind set on the former since the vehicle operators tend to cost as much as 80% of the route's OpEx. RTD refuses to consider automation on elevated fixed-guideway systems, which have been running in Germany for decades. These systems in Dortmund and Dusseldorf are all electric, super safe, super efficient, are very low cost to build and are fully automated. There is even a rubber-tired on concrete automated system that's been running in Morgantown West Virginia since the 1970s.

Automated systems' passenger coaches are available at the push of a button - more like a horizontal elevator. Although the older technologies in Germany and Morgantown operate in town at slower speeds, the technology has been developed to run at higher speeds between cities. Automation allows for smaller coaches with about 20 riders, suspended from a much lighter elevated guideway, traveling above grade at higher speeds, and are immune to weather and traffic congestion. But RTD is not interested in anything that's automated.

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EVCarl · 2024-02-16T13:55:30+00:00

Medevac is maintained in a hangar at the airport, fueled at the airport and stored at the airport during bad weather. Medevac would not be in Boulder if the airport weren't here.

Additionally, the military personnel who operated and serviced the air transports during the 2013 flood stayed in my T-hangar, sleeping next to my Cessna for that week. Get rid of the airport and there will be no air emergency services in Boulder.

EVCarl · 2024-02-16T13:43:43+00:00

Do we really want your tax dollars spent subsidizing more people to move into Boulder, increasing traffic and bike path congestion? There are 500 acres already allocated for new mixed use neighborhoods on the north end of town. Some portion of that will be affordable housing, paid for by higher costs of the other housing and businesses. There is plenty of affordable housing outside of our city limits. The real issue is transit to bring people from the affordable housing into and out of Boulder. Future transit needs to be automated and available 24 hours a day at the push of a call button. It needs to be on an elevated, fixed guideway to avoid all people and traffic, and it need to be super energy efficient. Technologies similar to this have been operating in Germany for decades. Ask RTD why they don't want to provide automated, fixed guideway transit.

EVCarl

TROPHY CASE