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Welcome to Boulder
Boulder Municipal Airport is a public airport just 3 mi / 5 km northeast of the City of Boulder in Colorado. KBDU sees hundreds of flights per day and tens of thousands per year, with 99% made up of general aviation aircraft. The surrounding airspace becomes busy during the summer months due to the proximity of several regional airport as pilots look to take on the sights this location is known for. Settled in the foothills of the Flatirons, KBDU offers tremendous sightseeing opportunities of the Rocky Mountains as well as short hops to other regional airports such as Rocky Moutain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC), Centennial Airport (KAPA), Vance Brand Airport (KLMO), Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL), Granby/Grand County Airport (KGNB), and more.
Boulder Muni operates as a regional hub for services such as aerial firefighting, medivac flights, search and rescue, and other emergency needs. The airport was the center for emergency operations in the 2013 flood and has supported numerous firefighting and rescue activies throughout its history. It also hosts mission-critical flights for atmospheric and scientific research, coordinating closely with nonprofits such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Glider operations at Boulder are some of the best in the nation due to its short proximity to the mountains and positive weather conditions, with KBDU offering both the Soaring Society of Boulder as well as Mile High Gliding as a base of operations. During its rich history, KBDU has been the launch point of several record breaking glider flights for both distance and altitude achieved. Soar throughout the Rocky Mountain peaks and along the Continental Divide with views of Longs Peak, Nederland, and the Alpine Lakes just west of the city, along with Bear Peak, Green Mountain, and the famous Flatirons. Be vigilant, as calm eastern winds can shift suddenly to western, prompting a more difficult takeoff on 26G over the lake and trees with few opportunities for an emergency landing. Boulder glider pilots can also enjoy steady mountain wave soaring when the weather hits just right throughtout the year, allowing for extensive cross country travel along the Rockies to other states and back. Glider pilots and their tow planes take patterns into "The Box" just south of the airport when training to avoid noise sensitive areas in the city, and frequently take longer tows to the northwest and into the foothills when setting off for a long day of soaring.
Airport
ICAO KBDU
Elevation 5,288 ft / 728 m
Frequencies 122.725 CTAF / UNICOM
Runways 8 / 26 - 4,100 ft / 1,250 m - Asphalt
8G / 26G - 4,100 ft / 1,250 m - Asphalt and Turf
Features
- Handcrafted buildings, infrastructure, and details around the entire airport boundary
- Glider opperations with the addition of runway 8G / 26G on the north side of the field along with gliders, glider trailers, parking, Soaring Society of Boulder facilities, and Mile High Gliding facilities
- The most recent aerial imagery of the airport's surrounding area cleaned up and in the highest resolution available
- Custom runways and taxiways matching the current airport layout
- Custom surface and runway markings
- Nearby Points of Interest for the two runway 8G outlanding fields: Elliot's Field and L-Shaped Field
Installation
Drag the unzipped "phobosdesigns-airport-kbdu-boulder-muni" folder into your community folder.
The Future
Thank you for trying out KBDU (my first airport release). I've launched this in a state that I feel is a good representation of the airport, but there's still more work to do. Here's a short list of some of the features I'll be looking at over time:
- Corrected local DEM data for KBDU (MSFS Toolkit is currently not available for this work) - the airport may not currently show at the truly correct altitude until I'm able to get my hands on this dev tool or similar in the future
- Some amount of detail to the interiors of the terminal and MHG
- Expanded POIs for mountain landmarks within close proximity to the airport
- A PDF packet outlining airport and glider operations for KBDU
- Ongoing performance and LOD improvements
- (Possibly) A wider variety of glider types features on the north end of the airport
- (Possibly) Custom taxiway markers as holding area signage is missing due to it not being a default option
cdjung1
Fantastic add on! This is my "home" airport and I just found this by accident wondering if anyone got around to building scenery for Boulder. I took my daughter for her first instruction flight out of KBDU for her 16th birthday just a few weeks ago and can attest this is a first rate rendition. Looking forward to the LOD improvements as the sail planes vanish while in the pattern. Did some circuits in a 152 and it was phenomenal. Finding this made my day!
Phobos_Designs 25 day(s) ago
Thanks for the kind words - along with another big details update I'm working on, I'll be double checking the LOD distances for the sailplanes for you - I wasn't aware the current pop-in distance was set too low (thanks for that feedback). I hope your daughter enjoyed that flight - KBDU has one heck of a view, happy flying!
cdjung1 25 day(s) ago
Thanks so much for your great work! In another post I mentioned I can take updated reference shots for you if you need them as the airport is almost in my back yard. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Phobos_Designs 25 day(s) ago
Much appreciated on that - I'm in the Denver area so if I notice any changes I cannot get near I may just do that 😂 I currently glide out of KBDU, so I'm likely to be there a decent bit as we hit soaring season!
cdjung1 25 day(s) ago
One of the things I noticed when taxing is no more melting buildings or trees which is great, but does photogrammetry need to be turned off for the surrounding city to keep it clean? (I miss NCAR and CU Boulder)
Phobos_Designs 21 day(s) ago
Would you mind expanding on the photogrammetry part? I haven’t adjusted or affected any of the areas surrounding the airport with the mod.
cdjung1 9 day(s) ago
Apologies for the delay in responding. The photogrammetry issue was caused by a network issue and not a part of the scenery. Odd because connectivity was not an issue. I suspect a server side problem with MSFS.
Phobos_Designs 9 day(s) ago
Thanks for clarifying - much appreciated!
JKAIR1
This is amazing, I go plane spotting here every Saturday, someone owes you an Avery
Phobos_Designs 1 month(s) ago
Another big update coming shortly - needed to get some more shots. They've really changed a lot in the past year!
cdjung1 25 day(s) ago
I live just a couple of miles from the airport. I would be happy to take a field trip to take updated reference photos if you need them! Please let me know if I can help.
legacy2039
my home airport! i owe you a beer!
jwong
Glider runway and operations addition is fantastic - cannot wait to try some mountain wave from this location!
Rooodog
amazing work!
Snart
Excellent job, thanks! Good base for valley surfing up to Estes Park and Big Thompson.
Phobos_Designs 2 month(s) ago
Thanks for the kind words and trying it out! Any feedback that would help bump this ongoing project towards 5 stars?
Maki152
Wow thanks!