Ocotillo Airport

Last updated
Ocotillo Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCounty of San Diego
Serves Ocotillo Wells, California
Elevation  AMSL 160 ft / 49 m
Coordinates 33°08′52″N116°07′54″W / 33.14778°N 116.13167°W / 33.14778; -116.13167
Website www.sandiegocounty.gov/dpw/airports/ocotillo.html
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
13/314,2101,283Dirt
9/272,475754Dirt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations405

Ocotillo Airport( FAA LID : L90) is a county-owned, public-use airport located in Ocotillo Wells, an unincorporated community in San Diego County, California, United States. [1]

Contents

Facilities and aircraft

Ocotillo Airport covers an area of 353 acres (143  ha ) at an elevation of 160 feet (49 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways with dirt surfaces: 13/31 is 4,210 by 150 feet (1,283 x 46 m) and 9/27 is 2,475 by 150 feet (754 x 46 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2010, the airport had 810 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 68 per month. No aircraft was based at the airport during that time. [1]

US Navy World War II

During World War II the airport was used by the US Navy and called Naval Outlying Field, Ocotillo Dry Lake. It was used for training and to support Borrego Valley Maneuver Area, Benson Bombing Range and the Borrego Hotel Target Area, as a bub base of Naval Air Base Salton Sea in support of San Diego Naval Air Station. The US Navy returned the airport to the county in 1956. The airport opened in the late 1920s for private planes. In the late 1930 that Navy started to land planes at the private airport and took over the airport when the war started. [2] [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Beach Airport</span> Domestic airport in Long Beach, California

Long Beach Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of downtown Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an operating base for JetBlue, but this ended on October 6, 2020, as the carrier moved its operating base to LAX, amidst the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Long Beach Airport's largest airline is now Southwest Airlines as JetBlue has ended all services at Long Beach.

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

Watsonville Municipal Airport is three miles (5 km) northwest of Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The airport covers 330 acres (134 ha) and has two runways. The largest aircraft to ever land at Watsonville were 05-5141 and 05-5143, C-17 Globemaster IIIs from March ARB, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown Field Municipal Airport</span> Airport

Brown Field Municipal Airport is in the Otay Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States, 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Downtown San Diego and named in honor of Commander Melville S. Brown, USN, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1936. Its main runway is 7,972 feet (2,430 m) long. Its FAA/IATA airport code is SDM. Formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station Brown Field, it is now a civilian reliever airport and a port of entry from Mexico. It is sometimes staffed by the U.S. Customs Service, but only upon request of incoming pilots to the Federal Aviation Administration. The development plans for the SDM airport have been announced on 4th Oct 2022, the development will occur in phases over 20 years. The plans include a new FBO terminal building and individual airplane hangars. There is also talk of adding a million square feet of retail and industrial buildings and possibly a hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station North Island</span> Naval Air Station in Northern Coronado Peninsula, San Diego County, California

Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island, at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NBC), and the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillespie Field</span> Airport in El Cajon, California

Gillespie Field is a county-owned public towered airport 11.5 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, in El Cajon, San Diego County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth Municipal Airport (Massachusetts)</span> Airport

Plymouth Municipal Airport is a town-owned, public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) southwest of the central business district of Plymouth, a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013, it is categorized as a general aviation airport. Due to space issues, the airport has 2 gates in Carver, Massachusetts.

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

Borrego Valley Airport is a county-owned public airport three miles east of Borrego Springs, in San Diego County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Kearny</span>

Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocotillo Wells, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Ocotillo Wells is an unincorporated community in San Diego County, California, United States. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the Imperial County line on California State Route 78 at an elevation of 163 feet (50 m). The name became official in 1962 when it was adopted for federal use by the US Board on Geographic Names. A federally recognized variant name, Ocotillo, can cause confusion with the community of Ocotillo, California in Imperial County, 29 mi (47 km) to the south on Interstate 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach</span>

Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) Imperial Beach is a United States Navy facility for helicopters, situated on 1,204 acres (5 km2) approximately 14 miles (23 km) south of San Diego and within the city limits of Imperial Beach, California. It is known as "The Helicopter Capital of the World".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saufley Field</span> Military airport in Escambia County, Florida, US

Saufley Field is a military airport and support facility located in unincorporated Escambia County, Florida, United States, five nautical miles (9 km) west of the central business district of Pensacola.

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

Brewton Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located 3 nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of Brewton, a city in Escambia County, Alabama, United States. Originally constructed by the U.S. Navy during World War II as an auxiliary field to the Naval Air Station Pensacola complex, it was later redesignated as Navy Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) Brewton before being conveyed to the city of Brewton as a public use facility. Although under civilian ownership, the airfield still functions concurrently as NOLF Brewton and is used by Navy training aircraft located at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida.

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

Holtville Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) northeast of the central business district of Holtville, a city in Imperial County, California, United States. Holtville was a U.S. Navy airfield during World War II.

Jacumba Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) east of the central business district of Jacumba, in San Diego County, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California during World War II</span> Overview of the role of the U.S. state of California during World War II

California during World War II was a major contributor to the World War II effort. California's long Pacific Ocean coastline provided the support needed for the Pacific War. California also supported the war in Europe. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, most of California's manufacturing was shifted to the war effort. California became a major ship builder and aircraft manufacturer. Existing military installations were enlarged and many new ones were built. California trained many of the troops before their oversea deployment. Over 800,000 Californians served in the United States Armed Forces. California agriculture, ranches and farms were used to feed the troops around the world. California's long coastline also put the state in fear, as an attack on California seemed likely. California was used for the temporary and permanent internment camps for Japanese Americans. The population of California grew significantly, largely due to servicemen who were stationed at the new military bases/training facilities and mass influx of workers from around the U.S. in the growing defense industries. With all the new economy activity, California was lifted out of the great depression. Over 500,000 people moved to California from other states to work in the growing economy. California expanded its oil and mineral production to keep up with the war demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borrego Valley Maneuver Area</span> California training base during World War II

Borrego Valley Maneuver Area also called the Borrego Springs Naval Maneuver Area was a US Army Anti-Aircraft Training Center (AARTC) and a subcamp of Camp Callan. Located near Borrego Springs, California in San Diego County in the Imperial Valley. Opened in March 1942 and in use until August 1944, it was operated by the Western Defense Command. Marine Corps also used the site to train troops in driving army vehicles. The site was picked as it was 400 square miles, 255,840 acres, of barren desert, barren mountains, and badlands. When closed the land returned to the State of California. Built at the site were bombing stations, strafing stations, and rocket targets. Also installed was Anti-Aircraft Artillery for training. First week troop did dry run training and the second week live-fire training. Ammo fired was from .33 to 90mmm. The US Navy trained in the bombing, gunnery, and rocketry. California Institute of Technology help with the rocket training. The air support the base was Naval Outlying Landing Field Clark's Dry Lake, Naval Outlying Field, Ocotillo Dry Lake and Borrego Hotel Naval Outlying Landing Field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Field Clark's Dry Lake</span> US Naval Station in California

Naval Outlying Field Clark's Dry Lake was a United States Navy facility built for World War 2. The site had two runways and a bombing range for training. The base was a subcamp of NAS San Diego. The site was built in 1938 and closed in 1962, but not used continuously. The range is in the Anza-Borrego Desert, west of Salton Sea, north of Borrego Springs, California. The Field Clark's Dry Lake was supported and used by Naval Auxiliary Air Station Salton Sea 27 miles away. The airfield was on the western side of Clark's Dry Lake. The airfield was mostly used as an Emergency Landing strip. The bombing target range was northeast of the runways. When in use the ground staff had a radio communication station to talk the aircraft. In addition to bombing training, the base had gunnery and rocketry targets for training. The main runway was 7,500-feet, the other 5,000-feet, and both not usable when wet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station Los Alamitos Naval Outlying Landing Fields</span> 1940s US Navy runways in California

Naval Air Station Los Alamitos Naval Outlying Landing Fields were a set airfield near Naval Air Station Los Alamitos to support the training of US Navy pilots during World War 2. The support airfields are called Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF). For the war, many new trained pilots were needed. The Naval Outlying Landing Fields provided a place for pilots to practice landing and take off without other air traffic. The remotes sites offered flight training without distractions. Most of the new pilots departed to the Pacific War after training. The Outlying Landing Fields had little or no support facilities. Naval Air Station Los Alamitos opened in 1942 and was transferred to the US Army in 1977 as Los Alamitos Army Airfield. Most of the Outlying fields closed in 1945, having completed the role of training new pilots. To open the needed Outlying Landing Fields quickly, the Navy took over local crop dusting and barnstorming airfields. Naval Air Station Los Alamitos was also called Los Alamitos Naval Reserve Air Base. During the war Marine Corps Air Station El Toro also used the outlying Landing Field. The Timm N2T Tutor was the most common plane used for training on the outlying landing fields.

References

  1. 1 2 3 FAA Airport Form 5010 for L90 PDF . Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 11 February 2010.
  2. "Naval Outlying Field, Ocotillo Dry Lake". www.militarymuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  3. "Borrego Hotel Target Area and Emergency Landing Field Ocotillo Wells, CA" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2013. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  4. "Archives Search Report|Findings for Benson/Ocotillo Dry Lake" (PDF). militarymuseum.org. May 1997. Retrieved 2021-02-09.