This is a quarterly report from Meadow Lake Airport
By Dave Elliott, Airport Manager
The year 2024 was a good one. The runways were resealed and re-striped with grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Colorado Department of Transportation/Aeronautics; and the Pikes Peak Ninety-Nines repainted the compass rose. The year 2025 is an “off” year for projects as we plan reconstruction of our public ramp in 2026.
We received several requests last summer to provide a description of the flight activities at Meadow Lake Airport: e.g. hours of operation, flight routes, types of aircraft, etc.
Meadow Lake is considered a “Regional General Aviation Reliever Airport.” “Regional” means our based and transient aircraft routinely fly all over the western states. “General Aviation” describes everything other than military and commercial. “Reliever” is an official designation by the FAA, acknowledging that Meadow Lake relieves “congestion” from the primary airport (Colorado Springs). In other words, our 400 to 500 little airplanes provide relief to their operational capacity. The Reliever designation makes this privately owned airport eligible for federal and state funding for capital improvements. The airport must operate on its own funds (dues assessed to the hangar owners).
Aircraft based at Meadow Lake are a variety of recreational aviation: small private planes, ultralights, gliders and powered-parachutes. Many aircraft based here (25%) are “home-built.” And while some aircraft owners may use their aircraft for business, there are no commercial, charter or air taxi operations here that carry passengers for hire.
Like most general aviation airports, Meadow Lake is an uncontrolled airport, meaning that we do not have a control tower directing pilots to land, taxi and takeoff. A Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) is published for the pilots to talk directly to each other to coordinate position and intentions. FAA Advisory Circulars provide recommended procedures for the pilots to follow, but it is the responsibility of each pilot to operate and coordinate their flight safely. The Meadow Lake Airport Association has no direct authority over the pilots or the operation of their aircraft. We do publish recommendations and cautions, such as “The published powered aircraft traffic pattern is on the east side of the airport” and “Caution: gliders operate west of the field surface to 18,000 feet.” And pilots are reminded that at our elevation, the warm summer months are accompanied by a notable decrease in aircraft performance.
As a federally obligated airport, Meadow Lake is required to be open 24/7 and is available to any aircraft that can physically use this facility. We have a 6,000-foot north/south main runway that is designed for routine aircraft operations weighing up to 12,500 pounds. A typical corporate jet weighs 15 to 30,000 pounds or more and would require a much larger runway at the higher elevations here in Colorado. Meadow Lake also has a 2,100-foot east/west runway for use during strong crosswinds, and a 5,000 x 200 foot “Turf” runway for use by gliders, tow-planes and aircraft practicing “unimproved runway” operations. There is also a mowed field in the southeast corner of the runway complex for use by “powered para-gliders.”
Meadow Lake is located in FAA Class “G” airspace. This requires pilots to have one mile visibility in the daytime and remain “clear of clouds.” An Automated Weather Advisory System provides current weather to pilots on radio, telephone and data link. There are two FAA designed GPS approaches to the airport’s main runway for “Instrument Meteorological Conditions.” The main runway and taxiway are “lighted” for nighttime operations.This year, our FAA “Based Aircraft Inventory” showed 473 aircraft: 420 single-engine, 20 multi-engine, 16 gliders, nine ultralights and eight helicopters. We are committed to remaining a “grass roots” general aviation airport. https://www.GOKFLY.us
