Reno Stead Airport | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Reno Tahoe Airport Authority | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Reno, Nevada | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 5,050 ft / 1,539 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°40′05″N119°52′35″W / 39.66806°N 119.87639°W /39.66806; -119.87639 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | renoairport.com/... | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  KRTS/RTS Location of airport in Nevada / United States Show map of Nevada KRTS/RTS KRTS/RTS (the United States) Show map of the United States | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2020) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||||||
Reno Stead Airport (ICAO:KRTS,FAALID:RTS, formerly4SD) is a large public and militarygeneral aviationairport located in the North Valleys area, 10 nautical miles (19 km) northwest of thecentral business district ofReno, inWashoe County, Nevada, United States.[1][2] A former military installation until 1966, when it was known as Stead Air Force Base, in honor of 1st Lt. Croston Stead who died there during a training exercise in 1949.[3] The airport's sole remaining military presence consists of an Army Aviation Support Facility and the 189th General Support Aviation Battalion of theNevada Army National Guard, flyingCH-47 Chinook helicopters.[4] The airport is owned by the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority.[1] TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015categorized it as ageneral aviationreliever airport.[5]
Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letterlocation identifier for theFAA andIATA, Reno Stead Airport is assignedRTS by the FAA, but has no designation from the IATA (which assignedRTS toRottnest Island Airport inRottnest Island,Western Australia).[6] Reno Stead Airport does not have regularly scheduled service, but functions as a general aviation reliever for the nearbyReno–Tahoe International Airport. The airport is used by theBureau of Land Management as a base for fire fightingaircraft.
The location was opened by theUnited States Army Air Forces in 1942, in the middle ofWorld War 2.
Stead Air Force Base was established by theUnited States Air Force (USAF) at the airfield in 1951, when it was determined that the Sierra Nevada and nearby forests would be suitable for survival training. TheUSAF Survival School and3904th Composite Wing moved to the base fromCamp Carson,Colorado, on 29 May 1951. Equipped withC-119 Flying Boxcars for training, SAC had begun the training for its personnel, teaching them how to survive if forced down in remote and/or unfriendly terrain, how to escape capture, and how to escape if captured.
Other commands wanted to train aircrews in survival techniques, and in September 1954 Stead AFB became part of theAir Training Command (ATC), and the 3904th Composite Wing became the3635th Combat Crew Training Wing. After a number of name changes, the survival training school became the3637th Combat Crew Training Squadron.[7]
In January 1958, a small group of instructor pilots fromRandolph AFB,Texas, was sent to Stead AFB to determine the feasibility of advanced helicopter training in the area's mountains. On 15 July 1958, the 3635th Crew Training Wing was redesignated as the3635th Flying Training Wing (Advanced), concurrent with the relocation of theUSAF Helicopter Pilot School to Stead.
In 1960[8] and 1962,[9] astronauts were trained in desert survival by the 3637th Combat Crew Training Squadron and then helicoptered to a location near theCarson Sink for further training.[10]
In 1964 the Reno Stead Airport was operated by the Ag Aviation Academy, which was then based inMinden, Nevada, about 15 miles south ofCarson City. By 1966, the AG Aviation Academy moved totally up to Stead. In 1967 Robert E. Schricker retired from a 27-year career as a fighter pilot for the USAF and became Chief Pilot for the AG Academy. The academy taught all types of flying courses and ground schools, including helicopter and multi engine courses. Actress and race pilot, Susan Oliver, got her multi engine pilot license there in 1968. Chief Pilot Schricker left the AG Academy in 1969 to open his own flight school, Reno's Executive Air, at the main Reno Airport. In the 1960s,Bill Lear, founder ofLearjet, also set up operations at the Stead Airport. Between 1964 and 2024, it was home to the National Championship Air Races, also known as theReno Air Races, held every September. It was the launch site of"Earthwinds" balloon system in the early 1990s, which attempted and failed multiple times to circumnavigate the globe.
Reno/Stead Airport covers an area of 5,000acres (2,023ha) at anelevation of 5,050 feet (1,539 m) abovemean sea level. It has tworunways withasphalt surfaces: 14/32 is 9,000 by 150 feet (2,743 x 46 m) and 8/26 is 7,608 by 150 feet (2,319 x 46 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2020, the airport had 49,800 aircraft operations, an average of 136 per day: 86%general aviation and 14%military.At that time there were 186 aircraft based at this airport: 136 single-engine, 16military, 9 multi-engine, 19jet, and 6 helicopters.[1]
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