Narrowest runway you've ever landed on

Maley Field (6WO) isn't the narrowest (published 45', but it was far narrower than my wings), but the 15' drop off on either side will get your attention.

- 15 FT DROP-OFF 45 FT FM CNTRLN FULL LENGTH BOTH SIDES RY. - APPROACH RWY 23 FROM NW; DEPART RWY 05 TO NW DUE TO RIDGE NE OF ARPT. - DEER ON & INVOF ARPT. - UNLIMITED VEHICLE ACCESS TO ARPT. - RY 23 15 FT DROP-OFF 10 FT FM THLD 0B. - RY 05 20 FT DROP-OFF 15 FT FM THLD 0B. - RY 05/23 +20 FT POLE MIDDLE OF RY 75 FT L&R OF CNTRLN. - 400 FT RIDGE/TREES 1100 FT FM THLD RY 23 0B. - HIGH TERRAIN ALL QUADRANTS

Oh -- and a camel right next to the runway.
 
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Narrowest for me was 24 ft (45G). It felt like landing on a bike path. Definitely gets your attention! :eek:
 
Up to the belly deep grass on the runway with no intention of wasting a perfectly good flying day by cutting it properly. Jacked the farm tractor with the 12' cutting bar for 15 minutes and chopped the grass to the ground slightly wider than the flaps and about 1500ft long with a turn around at each end and went flying.

It was interesting seeing the ground keep rising way past where it's supposed to be almost to the wings before feeling the wheels touch. That's probably what it looks like when forgetting to put the wheels down on a retract.
 
Mattl said:
40' for me W00
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Freeway scared me. The width is kind of narrow, but I hate the power lines at the end.

I've watched -several- flight training landings there where the wheels veer off on to the grass on the sides.
 
Once upon a time in East Texas, the ceilings started dropping and got to my discomfort level (completely unforcast). I hit "nearest" on the GPS, which led me to a disused duster strip. 3,000' x 40', with a small ramp. No building, no phone, no cell service, no nothing. But a nice strip of pavement in the middle of nowhere.

The RV has a 23' wingspan. As I said, the runway was 40' wide. The grass on the edges of the runway hadn't been mowed in a long time and was ~4' tall and leaning in on both sides. So I had probably 38' to work with and a 23' wingspan. 7.5 feet clear on each side.

I figured it would be groundloop city if I hooked a wingtip into the hay and did a great job of maintaining the C/L plus or minus a foot or so.

We, shut down for 15 minutes, then the ceilings rose almost as fast (and widespread) as they had dropped, so off we went...
 
Narrowest for me would be 08R, Richmond in Rhode Island (2129 x 30). Width was far less concerning than the tall trees at both ends.


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Matthew said:
3GV - East Kansas City

It's even paved: rwy 5/23 -- 2206 x 20

It does tend to make you concentrate on the centerline.

I'm sure there are plenty of unpaved strips out there that are narrower.
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+1

It sure looks narrow coming in. I think the taxi way to the east hangars is wider. ;)
 
Took off from, and landed, here on Saturday (I was passenger only):

2140 x 30 ft.

Private Airport, don't think it is even on the sectional - but it is on the TAC and only says "PVT". I could be wrong. CA35 Smith Ranch / San Rafael Airport. Tiny. Pilot told me sometimes ATC can't type it into their computers (4 digits) so he has to "lie" and give them a different airport code.

6940513218_4821620f2c_z.jpg



While tiny, we flew to a public airport which is small too (again, I was only a passenger):

2820 x 30 ft

3O8 Harris Ranch:

7086598527_97476e9908_z.jpg



So TWO TINY AIRPORTS in one single day! Fun times.

My rental agreement prohibits me personally from landing on any runway shorter than 2400 feet long, which means I probably won't land on anything more narrow than 30 feet, since the runways also have to be paved according to the agreement.
 
COFlyBoy said:
Narrowest: 40' at Platte Valley (18V)

Widest: 300' x 13497' at KRCA Ellsworth AFB for the Dakota Thunder 2011 flyin.
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My narrowest as prev stated was WA09

3593 x 30 ft

My widest/longest was KMWH at

13503 x 200 ft

my two worst landing to date have been at KMWH. The perspective really messes with you. My mind processes it as a 3600' x 60' rwy, yes, I flared about 50' above where I should have the first time :) The last time I landed there I got stopped ON the numbers. I always love getting the unasked for "Permission to land long" after telling them that my destination is on the other end of the runway.
 
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Me personally, here is the most narrow airport I've landed on (not solo, I was with my CFI and a student pilot):

Sonoma Skypark, 0Q9, 2480 x 40 ft. Great training for students since it is so small.

AirportSonomaCalifornia.PNG




We were prohibited, by my instructor at least, from going there solo, due to the tiny runway.
 
2,400 x 30 asphalt for my home field, IA24, plus a long turf runway at the end.

Video of landing, recorded by another club member.

No problem for students to fly solo from this runway -- literally hundreds have learned here.

BTW, you can have fun at a private airport. Here's a video of a flour-bag drop contest, where they try to hit the runway.
 
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spiderweb said:
Freeway scared me. The width is kind of narrow, but I hate the power lines at the end.

I've watched -several- flight training landings there where the wheels veer off on to the grass on the sides.
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Not to mention that the you-might-get-shot-down-if-you-fly-here zone FRZ is a mile away at most.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
My rental agreement prohibits me personally from landing on any runway shorter than 2400 feet long, which means I probably won't land on anything more narrow than 30 feet, since the runways also have to be paved according to the agreement.
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2400 feet in a 152 is a LOT of room. That really seems overly restrictive, at least for licensed pilots. I land in my Cardinal maybe once a month on a runway with a displaced threshold that leaves less than 1800 feet to land and get stopped in. Taking off is more the problem with short runways, but again, 2000 feet is plenty of room in most trainer-class singles.
 
azure said:
2400 feet in a 152 is a LOT of room. That really seems overly restrictive, at least for licensed pilots. I land in my Cardinal maybe once a month on a runway with a displaced threshold that leaves less than 1800 feet to land and get stopped in. Taking off is more the problem with short runways, but again, 2000 feet is plenty of room in most trainer-class singles.
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Depends on where you're at. St. Ignatius is 2610 x 60 ft. A hot summer day, a Fresh PPL and a C-150 at or near :wink2: gross, it can get marginal. I know my CFI lets folks take his C-150 in there but they get a "briefing" before departure. As the DPE that I got my PPL from said about the plane "It climbs as bad as it always has"
 
My first dual and solo XCs were to Northampton, 7B2, runway 32: 3335 x 50 ft.
 
NoHeat said:
2,400 x 30 asphalt for my home field, IA24, plus a long turf runway at the end.
.
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I think IA24 is 24 feet wide - 3 passes of an 8 foot asphalt paver. Measure it and post back what you find out.

Marion, IA is 26 feet wide.

The narrowest I've flown a jet off of is 40' - a private farm in Missouri.
 
Matthew said:
3GV - East Kansas City

It's even paved: rwy 5/23 -- 2206 x 20

It does tend to make you concentrate on the centerline.

I'm sure there are plenty of unpaved strips out there that are narrower.
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+1, but uphill or downhill?

In terms of difficultly, I think Gilmore (57K) is harder. Hell, it's hard to even find.
 
Home strip for me is 30' wide, I landed on a few 25' during my PPL training. It will make you focus on the center line and correct any sloppy habits in a crosswind for sure.
 
Acme Wa forest strip, 15'X1200' it is not maintained except in time of need. Google search "Acme Wa" you'll see it between the town and the river south of the mosquito lake Rd.

plus a private, see he picture. it's under the strut. little green strip.
 

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bartmc said:
Depends on where you're at. St. Ignatius is 2610 x 60 ft. A hot summer day, a Fresh PPL and a C-150 at or near :wink2: gross, it can get marginal. I know my CFI lets folks take his C-150 in there but they get a "briefing" before departure. As the DPE that I got my PPL from said about the plane "It climbs as bad as it always has"
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I should have qualified my statement with density altitude -- but I was assuming fields at or not much above sea level, like the ones in Kim's pictures (I looked up 3O8 and it's at 470 MSL). When you're already at 3000 feet and it's hot and you're almost too heavy to be legal, sure a 2600 foot runway isn't much -- this is where judgment comes in though, and that's what a licensed pilot is supposed to have. A blanket ban like the one Kim is under is probably mostly to keep insurance premiums low enough to allow a reasonable rental rate and profit margin. At least in my neck of the woods, it would put some very interesting and worthwhile destinations off limits.
 
azure said:
2400 feet in a 152 is a LOT of room. That really seems overly restrictive, at least for licensed pilots. I land in my Cardinal maybe once a month on a runway with a displaced threshold that leaves less than 1800 feet to land and get stopped in. Taking off is more the problem with short runways, but again, 2000 feet is plenty of room in most trainer-class singles.
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Rental agreements are over restrictive though it's probably insurance setting the rules. I remember 75x4000 paved minimum for a 150 at near sea level with no hills within range of the plane. I got a really dirty look when I said I was going to fly the 150 and not the Lear that was on the ramp at the time.
 
fgcason said:
Rental agreements are over restrictive though it's probably insurance setting the rules. I remember 75x4000 paved minimum for a 150 at near sea level with no hills within range of the plane. I got a really dirty look when I said I was going to fly the 150 and not the Lear that was on the ramp at the time.
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75x4000 in a 150??? What? were you going to get night current to carry PAX in on trip down the runway?
 
1NI (Sandia Airpark in Edgewood, NM...Just across the ridge from ABQ). Only 30' wide.
 
Steve Job said:
Dwight, Illinois - 21 ft (but you have 100 ft of turf if you're sloppy)

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Yeah, I've done Dwight before, solo (for the Go Fly America Challenge, IIRC). It can be a bear to find if you're not familiar with it. Heck, even if you are! My home field is about 3400x50. Seeing people say that 60' wide is the NARROWEST they've landed on is mind blowing!
 
bartmc said:
75x4000 in a 150??? What? were you going to get night current to carry PAX in on trip down the runway?
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What?????? You mean actually let a fully FAA certified PPSEL without an IFR rating flying at night? Are you on dope? :mad2:

And there is no actual reason I can think of to believe you can't get night/pax current on a runway that long in a single pass with a 150.
 
fgcason said:
What?????? You mean actually let a fully FAA certified PPSEL without an IFR rating flying at night? Are you on dope? :mad2:

And there is no actual reason I can think of to believe you can't get night/pax current on a runway that long in a single pass with a 150.
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Well, i was going to say something about "in the traffic pattern"' but [thread=1741]this thread from 2005[/thread] made me realize that wasn't true.
 
You guys are champs! 75' for me.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Narrowest for me would be 08R, Richmond in Rhode Island (2129 x 30). Width was far less concerning than the tall trees at both ends.


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Same airport for me, the trees definitely make it sketchy.
 
narrowest...56' on my PP check ride.
 
Skip Miller said:
I found a couple of photos of this landing. Good Job! to the flight crew!

-Skip
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Equivalent to landing a Cessna 172 on a 7-foot wide runway, except with much more serious consequences for error. Kudos to the crew!
 
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