Clear to Land at Burning Man
Saturday, August 20, 11:00 am
Presented by Michael “Squeeze Box” Kovach-Long
Event included with Museum admission.
Once a year, Black Rock City Municipal Airport (88NV) exists for one purpose: to support the massive counter-culture Burning Man festival which draws about 70,000 people to this inhospitable dry lake bed for a week of exuberant, over-the-top partying that culminates in the fiery destruction of a series of massive wooden art structures. Then the airport, just like Burning Man itself, disappears without a trace.
The airplanes tied down on the ramp at Black Rock City are typical of those at any GA airport. They range from two-seat trainers (Cessna 152’s and Diamond Katana’s) to twins (Cessna 310s and 340’s) and turboprops (Pilatus PC-12s, Kodiak, and Cessna Caravan). Cessna 182s are the most numerous, followed by Bonanzas and Cirrus SR22s. Backcountry airplanes are well represented with Cessna 170s, 180s, and 185s and Super Cubs. Experimentals are there, too, with the RV series the most numerous, as well as Kit Fox’s, and Air Creation trikes. Even jets, a CJ1, and a Lear 35, land during the event, drop off passengers, and depart in billowing clouds of dust.
But as standard as the airplanes tend to be, the pilots of Burning Man are a conspicuously colorful and generous bunch. Listen to Michael aka “Squeezebox” covering his dual duties at 88NV as the Lead Briefer instructing pilots on how to fly safely in these unusual conditions and Safety Officer covering everything from medical emergencies to airplane crashes
