So, on a drive tonight with my friends we came across a dis-used runway that one can simply drive onto. Holy hell, this is heaven for anyone into cars. From one end of the runway you cannot see the other because of the curvature of the earth, and it was in the middle of nowhere. I got a few videos, but you can't really see all that much due to the runway not being lit and it being about 1am.

First, i have 07Hardtop's justa-cooper doing a little launch on its way down the runway. Its more show than go, and a lot of wheelspin, but its a good stock exhaust clip i felt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWVP5dQOsTA

Secondly, i have my other friends mkV gti screaming up and down the runway. In the flyby clip he actually overshot the brake point ever so slightly and found himself in the grass at the end of the runway by 15 or so feet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6F9p...el_video_title

This seriously was car-head nirvana.

 

Disused runways have large "X" painted in the center. If there is no "X" it is a private (or public) unmanned airport that can be used at any time. The only way an airstrip can be closed to air traffic is with that marking. Even if everything else looks abandoned.

At night, if there are landing lights, a pilot would click a radio mic three times on the proper frequency to illuminate the field, so without lights on you are safe, but if they ever pop on, best to get on the grass.

 

We have an old Airstrip that used to be military in Jacksonville. A lot of people go to that and race. The are a lot of runways that are just like you said that have no traffic controller but the only one that I know of is closed at night to do how dangerous it is to try and land there.

 

HRM, you are a wealth of information. Ill have to remember that about the lights. However, i do remember seeing those X's you mentioned. That said, this airport has 2 runways. The one we were on is disused, the other is used a few times a week in daylight for a skydiving company.

But i can't get over how awesome of a place for a gear head it was. Just a HUGE strip to drive around, taxi-ways, its just perfect. What did you guys think of the 2 videos i got?

 

Why don't you give the city or county a phone call and see if it is okay to use the runway as you are? My guess it isn't!

Just a note: Airports are regulated by the FAA even though they may be owned by a municipal government. Therefore, any wrongful activity on them can be prosecuted by the Feds. The first thing that will happen, beyond your arrest, will be the confiscation of your vehicle. Regardless of the outcome of your trial, your vehicle will be gone!

 

Why's there always got to be a party pooper.

 

 

Just sayin, a closed runway is a lot better than a city street. I'm sure quite a few law enforcement officers would agree with that, and maby even cut you a break.

 

 

After reading this thread I spent about an hour searching for "opportunities" haha. I need to find more places to let go in my MINI!

 

What a party pooper indeed lol. We actually had local law enforcement tell us they were perfectly fine with it, and there weren't any signs saying to keep off of the Tarmac. Truthfully, there were weeds and grass growing out of every possible crack in the Tarmac, and the hangars attached to the runway are full of industrial equipment instead of planes. Finally, we discovered this place thanks to our local mini club.

 

An X in the runway is a closed runway. Aside from an emergency landing, pilots are not allowed to use the runway. If they are all closed, no pilots should land there without really looking it over as they would a grass field and it would be a pilot error if anything went wrong. Driving on it as far as planes go is fine. If the cops are OK, no owner to *****, you might as well own it.

 

Too bad this is 2500 miles away from me. This is like your own Top Gear track.

 

It seriously felt just like top gear. The best bit is seeing runway markings through the windscreen. Completely surreal.

 

Just out of curiosity, where do you live? Kinda hoping its within driving distance haha! I think I might have a bit too much fun in a similar situation

 

Pretty much the only runway driving I have ever got to do was in 2003 outside of Qayyara Iraq. We where drag racing our gun trucks up and down an old landing strip for hours, just out in the middle of nowhere. I could immagine the fun it would of been in a real car.

 

Isn't Top Gear filmed next to a runway? You could paint your own course on there, complete with Hammerhead, Gambol and Chicago!

 

The cars in the video had NY plates so you're in luck! Me, not so much :(

 

Looks like a fun place to test the Dynolicious!!!!
Daytime or early evening would be better, pfft bring some cones and have your own private auto-x course.

 

In other news, the OP now has a reservation in Guantanamo courtesy of DHS. ;-)

 

As im sure it is illegal if persecuted in federal court (as it used to be owned by grumman for F-14 production and is labelled "naval weapons testing facility" on my gps) and its hard for me to even see suffolk police really pushing the issue to even write a ticket for being there. Suffolk police informed a club rally organizer (where i learned of the location) that we are more than welcome to use the ranway for a gathering and just be safe. On another occasion i had brought my girlfriend to the runway to teach her to drive manual (as i'd have to be 21 to instruct a permit holder on public roads) and there was a state trooper eating lunch who gave me no more attention than a wave as i drove by. The entrance to the taxi way is wide open to the road, unlike the one next to it which is surrounded by a ten foot fence with a heafty gate. This is out in Calverton which is like farm country of L.I., the closest houses are over a mile away so local residents are not even away people are around.

 

Good old Suffolk County, highest paid cops in the country

 

YUP and they take 3 hours to respond, unless you say there are weapons involved