Aspen: down the valley into the mountains
An airport at 7,820 feet in a narrow valley, with a wingspan limit that keeps some of the biggest private jets away.
Aspen: down the valley into the mountains
Aspen/Pitkin County Airport · RWY 15
Why it is famous
Aspen/Pitkin County Airport lies at 7,820 feet in the Roaring Fork Valley, surrounded by the Elk Mountains. Aircraft arriving on runway 15 fly down the valley with terrain rising on both sides, and the thin air means higher true airspeeds and longer landing rolls.
The jet-set rules
Aspen has a night curfew and a 95-foot wingspan limit — which is why a Gulfstream G650, with wings of nearly 100 feet, cannot use it. In ski season and over the holidays the ramp fills with the midsize and large-cabin jets that do fit.
What to watch
- Mountains on both wings for the final miles
- How close the valley floor is
- The runway sloping uphill towards the south
More legendary approaches
St Barts: the drop over the hill
Clear a ridge with a roundabout on top, dive for a runway barely 2,100 feet long and stop before the beach — one of the most famous landings in the world.
St Maarten: low over Maho Beach
The approach that made plane-spotting famous: a three-degree final that crosses Maho Beach moments before touchdown.
London City: the 5.5° dive past Canary Wharf
A glide path almost twice as steep as normal, between skyscrapers and the Thames — only specially approved aircraft may fly it.