Beautiful early summer weather was just one of the highlights for Boulder Airport Day, held Sunday, June 16, 2024. Judging by the crowd, it was a pretty good Father’s Day for a lot of pilots and aviation fans.
“Our goal is to bring the airport to the Boulder community and bring the community to the airport. We’re happy to be showcasing what we do at the Boulder Airport,” said Andrew McKenna, manager of the Journeys Aviation FBO and flight school at Boulder Municipal Airport (KBDU).
More than two dozen aircraft participated, with nearly 300 attendees throughout the day, a noticeably bigger crowd than last year.
This was the second Airport Day since the pandemic, now coordinated by EAA Chapter 1627, the Flatirons Flyers, after the city stopped hosting the event.
Like many small airports, KBDU is under attack from a small, but vocal, group. Unfortunately, city government does not appear to be supporting the airport, though it has accepted FAA grants for more than five decades, including using those funds to purchase land.
McKenna says accepting those grants obligates the city to keep operating the airport for a minimum of 18 years after the end of FAA funding. Nonetheless, he and others take the threats seriously and are working to develop support for the airport — that’s one of the drivers of Airport Day.
“We’re a small community airport focused on general aviation, with a strong community of aviators here,” he said. “We’re not going to become a jetport.”
McKenna adds that KBDU is “heavily used” to support the community, especially during wildfires and floods.
One possible alternate use for the airport land is high-density affordable housing, a frequent talking point in Boulder, one of the nation’s most desirable places to live and with real estate priced accordingly.
Some 12,000 people have already signed a petition to support the airport remaining open, with 3,000 of them local residents.
“The vast majority of people in Boulder support the airport,” McKenna says.
He encourages all users of Boulder airport, including visiting pilots and flyers, to sign the petition at SaveBoulderAirport.com.
Journeys Aviation has about 60 active students sharing 12 aircraft, while its sister company, the Mile High Gliding club, is also based at KBDU.
Boulder Flying Club, newly formed this year, is another example of the growing activity at the airport. Founder Umar Haroon says there are now nine members sharing a Cessna 182, and he is hopeful for more growth.
In addition to flight schools for both powered aircraft and gliders, fuel sales, aircraft rentals, and hangar storage, there are more than a dozen commercial businesses based at the airport, including a civilian astronaut training facility, a company doing a 30-year study using LIDAR mapping, and others.
The airport started 96 years ago as Hayden Field, with the first air mail flight in 1938, and the City of Boulder taking over in 1943. Activity peaked in the 1970s, dropped, and is growing in recent years, with some 120 aircraft based at the field and 60,000 operations annually, according to McKenna.
KBDU sits at 5,288 feet MSL, just east of the start of the Rocky Mountains. The untowered airport offers a 4,100-foot primary runway, with an active glider landing strip 200 feet north.
For more information: BoulderColorado.gov, SaveBoulderAirport.com
More Photos From KBDU Airport Day
Nice article. There are lots of attributes of BDU. It is a real community asset, and there is alot of “community” engaged at the airport. EAA1627 did a very nice job hosting this Airport Day. Lots of volunteers, lots of smiles.
Great still shots Geremy, you know your stuff and airplanes! Enjoy the history of them the most. Especially the WW2 era planes.
Great article and photos, Geremy, and thanks for supporting our local airfield. I’ve been flying gliders and small planes in and out of Boulder Municipal since 1975 (well before the BDU designator code came into use); I co-founded and co-owned the commercial glider school for several years in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Boulder Municipal is one of the few remaining general aviation airports of the dozens that at one time served the Colorado Front Range population corridor. It would be a net loss to the community and to the Denver metro area see the airport repurposed.
That must be some hopped up O-320 to put out 180 HP in that C-172N. Normally, an O-320 puts out 150 HP, or 160 HP with high compression pistons.