Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Kidwell Airport is a small public-use dirt airstrip serving the remote desert community of Cal-Nev-Ari in Clark County, Nevada, on the Arizona-Nevada border south of Boulder City. It offers simulator pilots an unusual slice of Americana: an unpaved runway, a private airpark community built by its founders, and a distinctive visual landmark in the town's water tank and rooftop signage.
Kidwell Airport is a public-use aerodrome located just south of the town of Cal-Nev-Ari in Clark County, Nevada. The field and the surrounding community were founded by pilots Nancy and Slim Kidwell on the site of a former military training base, and the airport remains under private ownership (Nancy Kidwell) while open to public use. Its remote desert setting, unpaved runway and close association with the small airpark town it serves make it a distinctive destination for simulator pilots exploring the Mojave Desert region.
Kidwell Airport sits in uncontrolled airspace in the Piute Valley of Clark County, Nevada, just south of the town of Cal-Nev-Ari. It lies among a scattering of hard-packed dirt airstrips flanking US Route 95 south of Boulder City, near where US 95 and US 93 diverge. An aerobatic practice area is established to the west of the airport, extending from the ground up to 5,000 feet AGL, so pilots transiting or joining should be alert to aerobatic activity in that sector.
The airport has a single physical runway, 16/34, with a dirt surface measuring 4,978 feet in length. There is no ILS or other instrument approach available.
Traffic at Kidwell Airport is worked on the CTAF, 122.9 MHz, using the callsign "Kidwell traffic." There is no air traffic control service and no published navaids or instrument approach procedures.
There is no control tower at Kidwell, so arriving and departing traffic should self-announce intentions on the CTAF frequency and fly a standard traffic pattern for the active runway. Pilots should remain alert for aerobatic activity in the practice area established to the west of the field, which extends from the surface up to 5,000 feet AGL.
From the air the Cal-Nev-Ari water tank is a useful landmark for locating the field, and the word "KIDWELL" is painted in large letters on the roof of one of the town's outbuildings further to the south. The airport lies among a group of similar hard-packed dirt strips running alongside US Route 95 south of Boulder City, near the point where US 95 and US 93 diverge, an area that can be easy to overshoot without careful reference to a sectional chart.
Cal-Nev-Ari and its airport were founded by pilots Nancy and Slim Kidwell on the site of a former military training base, giving the community and the airfield their strong aviation character from the outset. The airport has long served as the aerial gateway to this small desert town, which grew up around its runway.
Kidwell Airport remains a public-use general aviation field under private ownership, associated with the residential airpark community of Cal-Nev-Ari. The town, including its airport, utilities and central casino and restaurant, has at times been reported as being offered for sale by its owner, which may have implications for the airfield's future status. No instrument approaches, based FBO fuel services, or scheduled operating hours are documented for the field.
