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Interesting Runway - Wolf Ridge

DanH

DanH

Legacy Member
Mentor
Saturday morning I was cruising up the NC-TN border north of Asheville, when I looked down to see this:





Mr. Garmin said it was 33NR, "Wolf Ridge". The pictures don't do it justice; it seems to be bulldozed into the side of the mountain. Look at the rock wall just up from the Runway 8 marking; that would be about like landing along the island of a WWII straight deck carrier. Also seems to be a road running through a tunnel under the runway at the east end. Airnav says it is 3300 x 70, elevation 4548. The cut patch along side and upslope of the runway was apparently intended to be the development.

A little digging says it was built as a "jetport" (ha!) in some crazy scheme to put McMansions in the mountains during the bubble years. Here's an example of how crazy:

https://mountainx.com/news/community-news/an_airport_runs_through_it/

Apparently the development failed, and the runway is closed. Anybody know the rest of the story?
 
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Yep, a video of C-182RG landing there... scary looking bit of flying from this guy. Some acro on short final, too fast with 1 notch of flap. What a hack...
 
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Wolf Ridge

That runway is not far from my place in TN. It is just above the Wolf Laurel Ski Facility. Like somebody said, it was put in just before the bubble burst a few years back. At that time there were a lot of new and optimistic mountain developments in the general Asheville/Smoky Mountain region. I've still got an empty lot in one! That one wasn't really a bad idea, as you can't fly into the ski areas easily. But it is a hairy place to land. The airplane in the video is certainly not the only one to have landed there:D:D:D:eek:.
 
It is an interesting runway Dan. I would like to take a closer look when I am in the area.
 
It would have beaten Mountain Air (Burnsville,NC) as highest airport east of Mississippi.
 
That video is the best argument in favor of flying cars that I've ever seen, inasmuch as it shows an airport which I'd greatly prefer driving to rather than landing at.
 
3300' long explains why he was able to land downhill... Ouch. Looks like a nice new runway though. Probably wouldn't be a problem at all in an RV.
 
The Madison County GIS site says they did sell some lots. Searching turns up enough articles to to suggest the whole development has been a circus, complete with politics, arson, and lawyers. Bummer really...sure would be a fun place fly into for hiking and adventure camping.

 
Jets!!!!!!! Really??

I really want to take the Lear in there to my mountain camp. What an adventure that would be. NOT LOL

Caravan maybe but jets ---ugggh don't think so.
 
I've never built a mountain airport (don't plan to) but I wonder why so much money was put into it and it's got that big SWAG in it. (After looking at the 182 landing on it). Looks like they could have spent a little more money and had a LEVEL or even a "non-humpy" runway. Oh well, probably part of the reason they went "belly-up." Got to admire their intentions, though.

While Appalachian Mountains are not as high as the Rockies, they are still mountains and rugged territory and deserve a healthy degree of respect. In the cooler months icing levels often are below the mountaintops. :eek:
 
BTW, somebody up on the mountain has a sense of humor. Look close at the Madison County GIS tax map above. Check out the two street names branching off Airport Road, uphill and south of the runway.
 
Check out a successful mt airpark

http://www.heavenslanding.com/mountain_estate_airpark.htm

We flew 14 RV's in there a few years ago. Jets land there!

Also check out Falwell Airport in Lynchburg,VA

Operational restrictions: LAND RY 28 (WEST) TKOF RY 10 (EAST).
RUNWAY 10 RUNWAY 28

Elevation: 938.0 ft. 801.4 ft.
Gradient: 4.7% DOWN 4.7% UP

We took the RV-10 in there and man was it interesting!
 
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DanH said:
BTW, somebody up on the mountain has a sense of humor. Look close at the Madison County GIS tax map above. Check out the two street names branching off Airport Road, uphill and south of the runway.
Click to expand...


Good observation Dan and quite possibly the words every approaching pilot musters.
 
Somebody who drove up there a couple of years ago said:
"I was just up there last weekend and "drove" up to the airstrip. The access road is rutted and the runway itself is littered with rocks from fist to engine-block size that have fallen form the excavated "cliff". The north edge of the pavement at the midpoint is collapsing into the adjacent ravine. The approach to 08 involves a carnival ride left hander, since the extended approach intersects nasty terrain a couple of hundred yards before the threshold. They moved an enormous amount of rock to build the place and probably sunk millions into construction. It's pretty clear that the one landing was likely only made to validate it for legal or contractual reasons before it went belly-up. I have a couple of pics if anyone is curious."
 
DanH said:
BTW, somebody up on the mountain has a sense of humor. Look close at the Madison County GIS tax map above. Check out the two street names branching off Airport Road, uphill and south of the runway.
Click to expand...

Very apropos, I think!
 
When DanH first posted, I was thinking of a mountain top runway that is a bit further north - likely on the same range line ...

IMG_9704.jpg
 
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