Grand Canyon National Park is a small single runway airport located near the southeast rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The airspace north of the airport's Class Delta airspace is highly regulated and restricted. Flying to GCN requires detailed pre-flight planning to become familiar with the rules and requirements to operate in and around the surrounding areas.
Visit www.faa.gov/gcn for supplemental "pilot handbook" information on this airport including airport-specific cautions, information local controllers want pilots to know, airport communications, airspace details and other preflight planning resources.
Tour companies that provide aerial views of the Grand Canyon operate the vast majority of the traffic at the airport. The fleet mix is mostly helicopters, but does include large single and turboprop twin-engine aircraft. Military helicopters and cargo aircraft do use the airport for refueling and practice approaches. Traffic volume is seasonal, with heavy traffic periods primarily occurring during the summer months. Tower operating hours are adjusted to the seasonal traffic. Check the Chart Supplement for Tower hours of operation. Be aware that during the summer months, Density Altitude may be an issue for some aircraft. Heavy snow becomes the issue during the winter months; check NOTAMs for snow removal operations and runway closures. There is a parachuting operation on the field, and the landing zone is just southeast. The airport is temporarily closed to arrivals and departures while jumping is in progress.
1:52 - The runway configuration consists of a single runway labeled runway 3-21. A full length parallel taxiway with connectors is found south of the runway. The rest of the airport surface is non-movement area as noted on the Airport Diagram.
2:09 - Accurate position reports are important when inbound to GCN as the Tower’s radar surveillance system is not certified for aircraft separation, but can be used to aid the controllers in locating aircraft. However, due to radar coverage, the system is less useful to the east of the field than it is to the west.
2:34 - Transient parking information and areas on the field the have caused pilot confusion and in some cases runway incursions.
3:33 - There is no designated run-up area for runway 21. Contact ground for suggestions and alternatives for where to do a run-up. There is, however, a designated run-up area for runway 3. Pilots are reminded, once they enter this area, they will need the appropriate clearance from the tower to re-enter taxiway Papa.
3:56 - There is a large non-movement area located south of taxiway Papa. The markings between movement and non-movement area are not standard.
The FAA's From the Flight Deck video series uses aircraft-mounted cameras to capture runway and taxiway footage and combines them with diagrams and visual graphics to clearly identify hot spots and other safety-sensitive items. Learn more at www.faa.gov/FromTheFlightDeck
This video is informational only and does not replace the pilot’s responsibility to conduct required pre-flight planning in accordance with FAR 91.103.