Airport Procedures

The preferred VFR arrival to the traffic pattern for runway 22 is to approach from the back side of Two Harbors on a 45 degree entry to the right downwind. If arriving from the East, pilots may overfly midfield at pattern altitude to join the right downwind, traffic permitting. If the pattern is busy it is preferrable to overfly midfield at 1000 feet above pattern altitude to Two Harbors and follow the preferred arrival. Flying a standard pattern provides pilots the opportunity to check that the runway is clear of wildlife such as bison, and to establish a familiar sight picture to help overcome the visual peculiarities of landing on a mountain-top runway. All operations in and joining the traffic pattern should be at the pattern altitude of 2600 MSL to enhance visibility to other aircraft.

Runway 22 has an approximately 2.1% upslope for the first 2300 feet. It is almost always the preferred landing runway, even with a light to moderate tailwind. There is a crest in runway 22 at about the 2300 foot point, concealing the last 700 feet of runway from the pilot’s view after touchdown. There are runway remaining signs to the right side of the runway at the 2-thousand and 1-thousand feet remaining positions. Local pilots tend to go-around if they have not touched down by the 2-thousand feet remaining sign, abeam the windsock. Use caution for downdrafts on short final to runway 22 which are common when landing with a headwind.

Although departing from runway 22 uphill with a light tailwind is somewhat undesirable, it is commonly done to blend in with traffic landing on 22 when the pattern is busy. Pilots must consider their aircraft performance capability and make appropriate decisions as to runway selection.

When landing on runway 04, the preferred VFR entry is to approach from the North of Two Harbors on a 45 degree entry to the left downwind. If arriving from the East, pilots may overfly midfield at pattern altitude to join the left downwind, traffic permitting. If the pattern is busy, it is preferrable to overfly midfield at 1000 feet above TPA to the North of Two Harbors and follow the preferred arrival.

Runway 04 has a downslope of approximately 2.1% for the last 2300 feet, making it very undesirable for landing without an 8 knot or greater headwind component. There are runway remaining signs to the left side of runway 04 at the 2-thousand and 1-thousand feet remaining positions. Local pilots tend to go-around if they have not touched down by the 2-thousand feet remaining sign, abeam the water tanks.

Local pilots often choose to depart on runway 04 because of its downslope and limited terrain below the departure path. Because pilots on the ground at 22 and 04 cannot see each other, announcing departure on UNICOM/CTAF 122.7 is mandatory.

Transient aircraft parking is permitted along the edges of the ramp as indicated by the green shaded areas in the image below. The area depicted in red is restricted and requires prior permission. The entire unpaved infield between the ramp and taxiways is available for aircraft parking and has tie-down cables throughout, but you must provide your own tie-downs. Helicopters should park in the area depicted in yellow, East of the perpendicular taxiway and South of the parallel taxiway, by the ASOS station.