Does anyone know about the old Currie, NV airstrip?

My friend has a ranch out there, and nearby to him is this old airstrip. Apparently, there used to be an airstrip there around 20-30 years ago, which looks like it consisted of nothing more than preserving a section of the old county highway and the installation of a windsock. I'd imagine it's in pretty rough shape now, but does anyone know the history of it?

The oldest sectional I can found (sometime in the 1980s) showed it as closed. Currently, it's not even charted. The closest alternative, is an annoying 70 miles away.

It's Nevada!...... Just land! No one seems to care in my experience. Have you checked to see if it's BLM land?

I'm not sure, but I wouldn't doubt it as everything around it is grazed from BLM permits. However it still might be county owned.

I can't figure out how to link it, but if you search google maps for "currie airport, nv" it will come right up. It's pretty much the 5 mile long old highway shown here:



The next problem is finding a plane or rental that will allow one to land there without it being a charted airstrip, but that's besides the point, I'm doing research for now.

good find!

No one would care if you landed there even if it was a current county road.

Gump

idair wrote:
The next problem is finding a plane or rental that will allow one to land there without it being a charted airstrip, but that's besides the point, I'm doing research for now.

Hmm, wouldn't it something if your in the rental flying over your buddy's ranch checking it out and all of the sudden you "thought" you heard a strange noise and "may" have also seen the oil pressure gauge go wacko for a second. And by coincidence there just happens to be a landing site in the area so you can make an "emergency" landing to double check the plane is ok?? (Wink, wink)

There have been several threads here and other internet places about landing or taking off from BLM lands . If was or is on BLM land you can use as long as you don't change it or remove anything there - I.e Indian artifacts, plants, buildings etc. You can put in tie downs and camp but remove it when you leave . I'd drive a motorcycle /ATV /car down strip and check it out if you can do 40 + mph without wrecking you should be able to use it. You might find out one part use able and other end or part not. Big wheels and proper technique help quite a bit.

I remember it from the early RR Valley drilling days, used to check it out pretty routinely. Haven't carefully checked it out recently, though, pretty narrow, so best to carefully check for washouts as has been suggested.

So I visited a few days ago (by car) and this is the current condition. It is indeed quite narrow -- maybe 13 feet at most. It used to be a two lane county road plus shoulder many decades ago so I'm not sure what happened other than perhaps the plant life started to overgrow on it.

I don't think its viable simply due to the width. Driving the pickup at 60mph was ok, but scary mostly because of how narrow it was.

If anyone is ever in the area and wants to drive by it to let me know your thoughts, I wouldn't turn down the offer, but what I'm hearing is one should use the big wide smooth two lane BLM road nearby.

It'd be real nice to have it open again though. 70 miles are anything else, it might be handy for someone, somewhere.

If you feel width is and an issue. And since your from the Boise area. Go over to Hubler Field and do some practice T&G's. That airstrip is barely wide enough to be a two lane road. Have fun.

idair wrote:So I visited a few days ago (by car) and this is the current condition. It is indeed quite narrow -- maybe 13 feet at most. It used to be a two lane county road plus shoulder many decades ago so I'm not sure what happened other than perhaps the plant life started to overgrow on it.

I don't think its viable simply due to the width. Driving the pickup at 60mph was ok, but scary mostly because of how narrow it was.

If anyone is ever in the area and wants to drive by it to let me know your thoughts, I wouldn't turn down the offer, but what I'm hearing is one should use the big wide smooth two lane BLM road nearby.

It'd be real nice to have it open again though. 70 miles are anything else, it might be handy for someone, somewhere.

Some practice landing smack dab in the middle of the runway every time might be a good idea. If the strip is indeed only 13' wide, that would give you a couple feet on either side of the mains--a mid 70s 172 has an 8 1/2' track, and a 182 has a 9' track--a 180's track is narrower, only 7 1/2' wide. I know that sounds close, but with practice, it's not difficult. Incidentally, it's a good bet that the road is actually wider, since as of the 60s, CFM (county farm to market) roads were required to have 9' lanes to qualify for federal assistance, although there were undoubtedly some built before then that were a bit narrower.

As for whether you can rent and land there, that's often dictated not so much by the FBO but by its insurer.

Cary

That's a nice looking stretch of road to use as a runway.

GumpAir wrote:That's a nice looking stretch of road to use as a runway.

To which most all dirts roads in NV are.

58Skylane wrote:If you feel width is and an issue. And since your from the Boise area. Go over to Hubler Field and do some practice T&G's. That airstrip is barely wide enough to be a two lane road. Have fun.

This one? Yeah, crappy video. Learned \tail wheel in a Champ out there... made it even more "interesting".

I took the 172 in there a few times. I can't say it was the most fun. It was doable. It certainly appeared wider to me though, and has hard level gravel on the sides if you screw up, but you're right it's pretty damn narrow.

The Currie strip has a 3 foot drop off at the sides, typical of an old road grade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trcVMB61jRU

I'm sure the road is wider as you say, but has been overgrown to some degree.

Insurance problem is taken care of now...

Thanks for the input.

Cary wrote:

idair wrote:So I visited a few days ago (by car) and this is the current condition. It is indeed quite narrow -- maybe 13 feet at most. It used to be a two lane county road plus shoulder many decades ago so I'm not sure what happened other than perhaps the plant life started to overgrow on it.

I don't think its viable simply due to the width. Driving the pickup at 60mph was ok, but scary mostly because of how narrow it was.

If anyone is ever in the area and wants to drive by it to let me know your thoughts, I wouldn't turn down the offer, but what I'm hearing is one should use the big wide smooth two lane BLM road nearby.

It'd be real nice to have it open again though. 70 miles are anything else, it might be handy for someone, somewhere.

Some practice landing smack dab in the middle of the runway every time might be a good idea. If the strip is indeed only 13' wide, that would give you a couple feet on either side of the mains--a mid 70s 172 has an 8 1/2' track, and a 182 has a 9' track--a 180's track is narrower, only 7 1/2' wide. I know that sounds close, but with practice, it's not difficult. Incidentally, it's a good bet that the road is actually wider, since as of the 60s, CFM (county farm to market) roads were required to have 9' lanes to qualify for federal assistance, although there were undoubtedly some built before then that were a bit narrower.

As for whether you can rent and land there, that's often dictated not so much by the FBO but by its insurer.

Cary

That's wide enough for me in a PA-22. Might be out of my league in a Cessna though...just don't have the stick time for that ride.

Ahhh! It doesn't need to be wide! Just wide enough! But you better be centerline proficient! A few weeks ago we flew out to a place called Terrace, UT. On the ground, my buddy stepped off the road/remains of where the tracks used to lay. It was nine of his feet across with 12-18" berms on each side. With a wheel base of 8'2", I figure it left me 6-8 inches to spare on each side. Just make sure you have a place to turn around!

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/annual-bday-flight-terrace-ut-oakley-id-16388

These are the strips that make me wish I had wings on top! If only I could put wheels on top...and land upside down....hmmm!

Thanks Folks, Maybe one of these days someone a little more adventitious and less wet behind the ears will let me know how it went . Until then, I'll keep looking for options.

idair wrote:

58Skylane wrote:If you feel width is and an issue. And since your from the Boise area. Go over to Hubler Field and do some practice T&G's. That airstrip is barely wide enough to be a two lane road. Have fun.

This one? Yeah, crappy video. Learned \tail wheel in a Champ out there... made it even more "interesting".

I took the 172 in there a few times. I can't say it was the most fun. It was doable. It certainly appeared wider to me though, and has hard level gravel on the sides if you screw up, but you're right it's pretty damn narrow.

The Currie strip has a 3 foot drop off at the sides, typical of an old road grade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trcVMB61jRU

That's it. Just north of Caldwell along the Boise River and on the southwest side of Middleton. Great strip to practice at. Since it is private but public welcome, I incurage others to give the spray pilots the right of way.

And if you have time and Lee is around. Lee is a fantastic gentleman that knows everything and anything about airplanes. You'll find him on the southeast end of the strip. And if you want awesome pictures taken, Jim is right next to Lee and is a professional photographer and excellent wood worker-craftsman-artist.