Upton Municipal Airport

The Upton Municipal Airport is located southwest of the Town of Upton on Buffalo Creek Road. The runway, 13 -31 is a naturally occurring shale surface that measures approximately 3,710'x80'.  The runway is not plowed in the winter months, but is often free of snow due to the shale surface.

• For runway conditions, please call Airport Manager, Lori Materi at 307-746-8411.
• FAA Information available at AirNav.com.

The Future is Bright for Upton Municipal Airport

The Upton Municipal Airport has played a key role in Upton’s economy and infrastructure for many years. In the 1970’s Goodwell and Materi Exploration were the primary businesses using the airport, and Ed Hagerman was a flight instructor in Upton in the 1980’s. Since the Upton Municipal Airport was FAA chartered in 1960, the airport has worked to create more transportation access points in Upton, to put the town on the map.

The Upton Municipal Airport is made up of a volunteer board which runs the operations at the airport. Lori Materi leads the board as chairperson, with volunteers that make up the entirety of the board. The board works directly with the City Council, the Mayor and City Hall staff to provide aid and assistance to the airport and its resources. The board and Town of Upton work together to improve and develop the Upton Municipal Airport.

The Upton Municipal Airport is part of the Wyoming Airport System, the aeronautics division of the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The Wyoming Airports System helps Upton to be on the map to pilots, businesses and people looking to come to Upton.

Being part of the Wyoming Airports System has played a large impact on helping to grow Upton Municipal Airport to support more ideas and future development. Materi was a key factor in working to receive funding by the aeronautics division to create a master plan for the Upton Municipal Airport, laying down guidelines for future development at the airport. “The master plan is a blueprint, that if we start seeing any growth or development, we have that as part of our infrastructure. So it's got plans for an FBO, and a community hangar,” Materi explained.

The master plan, that of which Materi secured a significantly reduced match agreement of 90/10, provides an outline for airport improvements to match the needs of business prospects in the area. It gives concepts and plans for development opportunities for the airport, to match the demands from the economy in Upton.

The need for a master plan was generated by interest from people looking to move businesses to rural communities - those that have an airport, like Upton. According to Materi, “the calls she gets are more related to that kind of inquiry, calls related to people looking at locating at the industrial park. People who are interested in moving their business here, but they have aircraft associated with their business.”

The master plan for the Upton Municipal Airport is the first step in creating a viable resource for the community.

With the increased opportunities Materi and the board have worked to create for the airport, Upton has the potential to see new developments to the site that will benefit businesses and people alike in the community.

It’s Materi’s can-do attitude and her “why not us” mindset that has broken way for the future of the airport in Upton to be bright. The possibilities that Materi has worked to create in her spare time give opportunity to large businesses to locate in Upton, to grow a greater workforce and a more functional airport for recreational and professional use for all.

Article courtesy of the Weston County Gazette