Reno Stead Airport

Reno Stead Airport

Reno/Stead Airport (ICAO: KRTS, FAA LID: RTS, formerly 4SD) is a large general aviation airport located in the North Valleys area, 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) northwest of the central business district of Reno, a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is owned by the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority.

Reno/Stead Airport does not have regularly scheduled service, but it functions as a general aviation reliever for the nearby Reno/Tahoe International Airport. The airport is home to the Reno Air Races and is also used by the Bureau of Land Management as a base for fire fighting aircraft. In addition, it was the launch site of Earthwinds, which tried and failed multiple times to circumnavigate the globe.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, this airport is assigned RTS by the FAA, but has no designation from the IATA, which assigned RTS to Rottnest Island Airport in Rottnest Island, Western Australia.

Since 1964, Reno Stead Airport has been home to the National Championship Air Races, also known as the Reno Air Races, held every September. Formerly, the airport was known as Stead Air Force Base, then in the late 1960s it was operated by the Ag Aviation Academy.