2nd of 57, E98

SkyHog

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Everything Offends Me
Mid Valley Airpark, Los Lunas, NM (E98)

Today I decided to attempt the 2nd (3rd, and 4th also, but that's another story) airport in my quest to land at all 57 public use airports in New Mexico.

Mid Valley Airpark, located in Los Lunas, NM, is one of 2 residential airparks within commuting distance to Albuquerque. Houses line the 2nd half of runway 36, and the neighborhood surrounding the airpark is made up of taxiways and houses, each with a hangar/garage. Very neat.

The runway is one of the shortest of the public use, paved airports in New Mexico, at 4340ft...by my count, there are only 2 others that are shorter, and only by a few feet. Its fairly narrow as well at 40 ft.

There was a self serve fuel pump that I saw, but there was no visible price posted that I could see. Also - parking seemed very scarce. The spot I picked was just a clump of grass away from the houses.

My intention was to meet up with a girl that I've been dating so that we could go out to lunch. While I was waiting for her to find the airport (by car), I walked over to a nice guy that runs some sort of powered parachute business. I looked at some of his ultralights, and they looked pretty good, and well maintained.

There was a Sonic Drive-In that was within walking distance (according to the guy), but it has moved to a little further away. He suggested a cafe across the railroad tracks that supposedly makes many great dishes. I, unfortunately, did not try eating at the cafe, and instead spent my time looking around the airport and going to lunch at Jessica's house. I do not have pictures, yet, as they are being developed, but I'm not sure they turned out very good anyways, I guess we'll see.

Overall, this airport is not centrally located to any useful part of Los Lunas (except the airpark neighborhood), and definitely not a good place to pick to avoid Albuquerque's Class C airspace, if you so desire. I would say this airport is a self serving airport for the community, which is fine, but not a destination I'd suggest to anyone who is not based there.

MID VALLEY AIRPARK QUICK FACTS:
Airport Elevation: 4830ft
Runways 18/36: 4340'x40', asphalt surface
CTAF: 122.9

PHOTOS:
#1 - Final, Runway 36. Notice the tree and displaced threshold.
#2 - Wow - that's a nice house! And on an airport. Fancy, fancy!
#3 - Cessna 152 Parked in the driveway. I'll bet it feels good.
#4 - The sign says (hard to read, kinda): "No Intersection Departures." That's not for noise abatement, thats because its a short runway for NM.
#5 - Self serve fuel. Giant tank, small pump.
 
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Mike Schneider said:
Nick, do the 57 airports include unpaved airports (e.g. Valencia which is ~5 miles east of Mid Valley)? -- Mike

It includes all public use airports, including unpaved public use. Valencia is not listed in the AFD or on my sectional that I can see, so I assume it is not Public Use....I could be wrong tho. If it turns out to be public use, then I'll rename the list to 58 in 365 :)
 
Cool Daddy-O. Glad you're progressing on your quest.
Just for my sake, could you tell me what the elevation is for these airports? When you said that a 4k' runway is one of the shortest in the state, I was a little surprised. I'm guessing it's up a few thousand feet MSL?
Thanks
DW
 
David you can check them all here if you arent already aware of it, just click airport then type in the identifier Nick posts

www.airnav.com
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
David you can check them all here if you arent already aware of it, just click airport then type in the identifier Nick posts

www.airnav.com
Thanks, I did know that. I'm just lazy, and airnav has been working VERY slow lately.
 
Re: Valencia

Mike Schneider said:
Oops! The sectional I was looking at is dated 1986. Just a little out of date. Looking at my up to date sectional, Valencia is no longer depicted. If it were shown, it would be right under the "c" that indicates the commom traffic advisory frequency for Mid Valley. It used to be an unpaved strip that was at 5100 feet elevation and was 5800 feet long per the chart. The 1988 AOPA'S Airports USA lists the airport as Valencia Community Air Ranch. Runway 8-26 6000x100. Residential airpark.
Wonder if it is still an airpark? -- Mike

ooh - interesting, and a story....I'll have to fly over that direction to see what I can find! thanks.

deafsound said:
Cool Daddy-O. Glad you're progressing on your quest.
Just for my sake, could you tell me what the elevation is for these airports? When you said that a 4k' runway is one of the shortest in the state, I was a little surprised. I'm guessing it's up a few thousand feet MSL?
Thanks
DW

Done!
 
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