Mountain Aire Airpark, North Carolina

Flew into Mountain Air Airpark on Slickrock mountain over the weekend, just outside Burnsville in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. This residential airpark is located at 4,919 feet, less than 10 miles from Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern United States.

Mountain Air’s 2,875-foot paved private runway promises an unforgettable approach due to constantly changing conditions on the side of the mountain. Here's a shot as we arrived to turn base for a right final...

Few things compare to being on final to the broad side of a mountain...

The approach is steep to avoid updrafts near the base of the runway...

Here's a shot looking down the runway after arriving and shutting down...

We were greeted by friends and residents of the airpark in an F-360 Spyder. The day before our arrival, about 40 F-Cars were at the airpark for a Ferrari at Altitude gathering...

We tied down next to an Aztec with a nose for all-American girls...

Here's a shot of Mountain Air's clubhouse pool with the runway in the background...

For proof of altitude, I took a shot of our instruments after shutting down...

We got lucky. The skies were clear, the winds laid down and we had already watched a video on the approach. It was pretty uneventful, but a few people have met their maker attempting to land at MAA.