Mountain Valley Airport

Last updated
Mountain Valley Airport
Kluft-photo-Mountain Valley Airport-Aug-2008-Img 1509.jpg
Tow plane and glider taking off
Summary
Airport typePublic use
OwnerLarry G. Barrett
Serves Tehachapi, California
Elevation  AMSL 4,220 ft / 1,286 m
Coordinates 35°06′04″N118°25′23″W / 35.10111°N 118.42306°W / 35.10111; -118.42306
Map
USA California location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
L94
USA California Southern location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
L94
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
9L/27R4,8901,490Asphalt/dirt
9R/27L4,8901,490Asphalt/dirt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations (year ending 5/24/2023)51,570
Based aircraft98

Mountain Valley Airport( FAA LID : L94) is a privately owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southeast of the central business district of Tehachapi, in Kern County, California, United States. [1] [2]

Contents

The airport is used for glider operations and training. [3] [4] [5] It was established for its close proximity to various advantageous lift effects for soaring where the Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountains and the Mojave Desert meet.

The Skylark North Glider School performs glider flight training for civilians as well as for the US Air Force Test Pilot School (from Edwards AFB), the National Test Pilot School (from the Mojave Air & Space Port), NASA and others. Due to the ongoing training contract with the US Air Force Test Pilot School, most NASA Space Shuttle pilots who came from the Air Force have probably received glider training at Mountain Valley Airport. [6]

Facilities and aircraft

Mountain Valley Airport covers an area of 170 acres (69 ha) at an elevation of 4,220 feet (1,286 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways designated 9L/27R and 9R/27L, each with an asphalt and dirt surface measuring 4,890 by 36 feet (1,490 x 11 m). [1]

For the 12-month period ending May 24, 2023, the airport had 51,570 aircraft operations, an average of 141 per day: 97% general aviation and 2% military. At that time there were 98 aircraft based at this airport: 80 glider and 18 single-engine. [1]

There is a sandwich shop and an RV park & campground on the field. The nearest fuel sales are at Tehachapi Municipal Airport two miles to the north.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kern County, California</span> County in California, United States

Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antelope Valley</span> Valley in Southern California, United States

The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States, and the southeast portion of California's Kern County, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and the San Gabriel Mountains. The valley was named for the pronghorns that roamed there until they were all eliminated in the 1880s, mostly by hunting, or resettled in other areas. The principal cities in the Antelope Valley are Palmdale and Lancaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mojave Air and Space Port</span> Facility located in Mojave, California

The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of 2,801 feet (854 m). It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration on June 17, 2004. The facility covers 2,998 acres and has three runways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reno Stead Airport</span> Airport in Reno, Nevada, United States

Reno Stead Airport is a large public and military general aviation airport located in the North Valleys area, 10 nautical miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. A former military installation until 1966, when it was known as Stead Air Force Base, the airport's sole remaining military presence consists of an Army Aviation Support Facility and the 189th General Support Aviation Battalion of the Nevada Army National Guard, flying CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The airport is owned by the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation reliever airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inyokern Airport</span> Airport

Inyokern Airport is a public use airport located 1 nautical mile northwest of the central business district of Inyokern, in Kern County, California, United States. It is owned by the Indian Wells Valley Airport District and serves the Indian Wells Valley area. The airport is mostly used for general aviation and was previously served by a number of commuter and regional airlines over the years with passenger flights to Los Angeles (LAX).

Minden–Tahoe Airport 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemet-Ryan Airport</span> Airport

Hemet-Ryan Airport is three miles (6 km) southwest of Hemet, in Riverside County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin A. Ford</span> American astronaut

Kevin Anthony Ford is a retired United States Air Force Colonel and NASA astronaut. Ford has received a number of special honors and awards, some of which are the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Ford has also logged more than 6,100 flying hours and also holds FAA certificates for airplanes, helicopters, gliders, and balloons. Ford has served in many roles at NASA since his selection in July 2000. The roles include as a Capsule Communicator or CAPCOM. He was also the Director Of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia from January 2004 to January 2005. He was pilot of STS-128 and flight engineer 2 of Soyuz TMA-06M from October 23, 2012, to March 16, 2013. He served as ISS flight engineer for Expedition 33, and commander of Expedition 34.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron Airport</span> Airport in Byron, California

Byron Airport is a public airport two miles south of Byron, in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2007–2011 categorized it as a reliever airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tehachapi Municipal Airport</span> Airport in Kern County, California, U.S.

Tehachapi Municipal Airport is in Tehachapi, Kern County, California. It covers 264 acres (107 ha) and has one runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denton Enterprise Airport</span> Airport in Denton County, Texas

Denton Enterprise Airport, also known as Denton Airport and previously Denton Municipal Airport, is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Denton, a city in Denton County, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Bikle</span> American aviator

Paul F. Bikle was director of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Facility from 1959 until 1971, and author of more than 40 technical publications. He was associated with major aeronautical research programs including the hypersonic X-15 rocket plane, and was a world record-setting glider pilot.

Hamilton Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located two miles (3 km) south of the central business district of Hamilton, a city in Hamilton County, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langlade County Airport</span> Airport in Antigo, Wisconsin

Langlade County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northeast of the central business district of Antigo, a city in Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021–2025, in which it is categorized as a basic general aviation facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crookston Municipal Airport</span> Airport in Polk County, Minnesota

Crookston Municipal Airport, also known as Kirkwood Field, is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) north of the central business district of Crookston, a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artesia Municipal Airport</span> Airport in Eddy County, New Mexico

Artesia Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) west of the central business district of Artesia, a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douthitt Strip</span> Airport in California

Douthitt Strip is a privately owned, private use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) east of the central business district of El Centro, a city in Imperial County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Airport (California)</span> Airport

Crystal Airport is a private-use airport located six miles south of Pearblossom, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorville Army Airfield auxiliary fields</span> US WWII airfield

Victorville Army Airfield auxiliary fields were four airfields used during World War II to support the Victorville Army Airfield pilot training near Victorville, California, and Adelanto, California. After the war the Victorville Army Airfield was renamed George Air Force Base on January 13, 1948. The airfields were built in 1941 by the United States Army Air Corps just before the war. Victorville Army Airfield covered 2,200-acre in the Mojave Desert. The US Army held a groundbreaking ceremony on 12 July 1941. The base, called Victorville Army Flying School, was ready to use before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Army built four runways in a triangle configuration, with one runway down the middle of the triangle. Seven hangars were built to support operation. On April 23, 1943, the base was renamed Victorville Army Airfield.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Form 5010 for L94 PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 28 December 2023.
  2. "Mountain Valley Airport". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. "Mountain Valley Airport". Skylark North Glider School. December 2004. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  4. "Where to Fly - Mountain Valley Airport - Tehachapi, CA". Soaring Society of America . Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  5. "Places to Soar in Southern California". socalsoaring.com (Sean Ford). 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  6. Hawkins, Dale. "Mountain Valley Airport – Tehachapi's Soaring Airport". Tehachapi Skywatch column. Tehachapi News . Retrieved 2008-08-14.