2004

August 27, 2004

The runway is open and ready for business. Customs Agents will be standing by on Monday to welcome you to the Port of Entry. Don't forget your ticket!

August 25, 2004

Important Black Rock City International Airport 2004 information is here...please read!

Airport Advisory X-Ray: Things you Must Know Before Flying To BM

Black Rock City International Airport Flight Paths

Black Rock City International Airport Map and Site Plan

Virtual Playa is a highly suggested resource for all aviators, especially first-time playa aviators. There is an excellent Burning Man scenery file available for MS Flight Sim 2002/2004 from Virtual Playa.

The crew at VP have created a great project which happens to be perfect for getting familiar with flying around BRC. It is especially useful for helping first-timers visualize the runway placement with respect to the city and the Scenic Pattern we fly around it.

August 15, 2004

DO NOT LAND on the runway until it's finished. Survey is done, and construction is underway. The playa surface this year is much softer than last year, and very rough around the landing strip. Pilots who are flying in before August 27 will need to find a safe place to land. DO NOT LAND on the runway. It's currently marked with X's and orange cones.

Tiger Tiger surveyed the area in a truck on Thursday, August 12. Use your own judgement to pick a landing spot before the event begins. You are pilot in command and it's your responsibility. With all suitable disclaimers made, you may find this information helpful. To the northeast of Black Rock City is the best surface. This is the wide open playa a half mile or so out from point 3 on the pentagon. You can land out a bit and taxi up to the trash fence. You'll be downwind and getting all the dust from the city, but it's also the best landing area when the winds are strong out of the west. See figure 1.

The road running between the strip and the tiedown area is MUCH worse than last year. It has VERY deep ruts. Use extreme caution. The edge of that road (on the side towards the tiedowns and trash fence) is fairly good. The road closest to the Airport Corner (point 5 on the pentagon) which goes through the trash fence, through walk-in camping and out to the northeast is the best landing surface. We do not recommend landing in walk-in camping before the event begins. Workers are soon setting up camp on the playa and you may encounter someone's rebar. See figure 2 for more details.

July 13, 2004

The final version of the 2004 Airport Operating Plan (V.3) is now available on-line in two different flavors, both pdf files.

Text only, no images (50k)
With graphics, best for on-line viewing, prints ok (770k)

The stipulations imposed on the event regarding the permit are available at the BLM website.