FEATURED AIRSTRIP: MEXICAN MOUNTAIN

Each month we highlight an airstrip that the RAF has positively impacted. We hope that you will get out and enjoy these airstrips. This month’s Featured Airstrip is Mexican Mountain in Utah.

Mexican Mountain airstrip in southern Utah is considered by some to be the “best backcountry strip in Utah.” It lies within a Wilderness Study Area, and remains open as a “casual use” airstrip. It’s only accessible by air or on foot. Federal WSA lands are managed to retain their “primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation.” 

In 2018, volunteers from the Utah Back Country Pilots (UBCP) — many of whom are also RAF members — landed there with their hand tools to maintain the airstrip.

“We found the airstrip and surrounding area to be in excellent condition,” UBCP president Roy Evans said, “so very little maintenance had to be done.” In the interest of safety, a few rocks were moved off the runway, a few bumps were smoothed with a rake and shovel, and a few tamarisk bushes in the middle of the runway were removed.

“We were pleased that we did not find any trash to haul out, and we saw no new disturbance in the area,” he said.

They buried the small accumulation of ash from the two fire rings that have been there for decades and replaced the worn-out windsock on the existing windsock pole.

For more information about Mexican Mountain, visit: airfieldguide.

Submitted on May 10, 2019