Minden–Tahoe Airport
airport in Nevada, United States of America
Minden–Tahoe Airport (IATA: MEV, ICAO: KMEV, FAA LID: MEV) is a general aviation airport serving the Carson Valley in Douglas County, Nevada, United States, including the towns of Minden, Gardnerville and Genoa, Nevada; and Lake Tahoe to the west. The airport is about five miles north of Minden. It is home to the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center and regional firefighting air tanker base.
The airport is a mecca for soaring, and many North American and world records have been flown out of Minden in the many gliders that it hosts.
Gliders are usually towed to altitudes of 1,000 to 2,000 ft (300 to 610 m) over the airport, and they are often able to make out and return flights to the White Mountains, Owens Valley, and Eastern Nevada, often covering distances of over 500 mi (800 km).
During winter months the famous Sierra mountain wave can carry gliders well over 25,000 ft (7,600 m), with the Minden record well over 40,000 ft (12,000 m).
A non-fatal mid-air collision near the Pine Nuts range between a glider and a small jet at 16,000 ft (4,900 m) has heightened the awareness for all airplanes flying in the area that both types of aircraft need to watch for each other.
The airport is undergoing an expansion plan where glider operations will be moved to the east side of the airport.
Minden–Tahoe Airport is the base for the "Introduction to Soaring" tutorial mission supplied with Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
Facilities
Minden–Tahoe Airport covers 996 acres (403 ha) at an elevation of 4,722 ft (1,439 m). It has two asphalt runways: 16/34 is 7,399 by 100 ft (2,255 by 30 m) and 12/30 is 5,299 by 75 ft (1,615 by 23 m).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Minden–Tahoe Airport” as airport in Nevada, United States of America. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as airport in Nevada, United States of America. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3565039. Authority coordinates are 39.001, -119.752. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Minden–Tahoe Airport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Minden–Tahoe Airport primary sources, Minden–Tahoe Airport archive and Minden research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Minden–Tahoe Airport”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Minden–Tahoe Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.