Mesa Del Rey Airport

Mesa Del Rey Airport
(former King City Airport)
(former King City Naval Aux. Air Station)
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of King City
Serves King City, California
Elevation AMSL 374 ft / 114 m
Coordinates 36°13′43″N 121°07′17″W / 36.22861°N 121.12139°W / 36.22861; -121.12139Coordinates: 36°13′43″N 121°07′17″W / 36.22861°N 121.12139°W / 36.22861; -121.12139
Map
KIC
Location of airport in California
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 4,479 1,365 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations 7,862
Based aircraft 19

Mesa Del Rey Airport (IATA: KIC, ICAO: KKIC, FAA LID: KIC) is a city-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) northeast of the central business district of King City, in Monterey County, California, United States.[1] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2]

History

Opened in April 1940 as Palo Alto Airport or King City Airport. Originally had 4,570' NW/SE hard surfaced runway. It was used for most of World War II by the United States Army Air Forces as a primary (level 1) contract pilot training airfield. It also had four local auxiliary airfields for emergency and overflow landings. Pilot training contractor was Palo Alto Airport, Inc. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. It also had several PT-17 Stearmans as well. Known sub-bases and auxiliaries were:

The construction of the flying school began December 1940. The buildings, the barracks, administration, PX, mess hall, the schoolrooms, and the aircraft hangars as well as the runways and aprons, were built from scratch and were completed by May 1941. The first set of cadets arrived on March 15, and the first class of 50 started on March 21, 1941. Pilot training had ended October 16, 1944.[3] Military control of the airport was transferred to the United States Navy in April 1945. It was known as King City Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS). The Navy declared airport surplus on 30 September 1945. Eventually it was discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport. [4] [5] [6]

Facilities and aircraft

Mesa Del Rey Airport covers an area of 149 acres (60 ha) at an elevation of 374 feet (114 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 11/29 with an asphalt surface measuring 4,479 by 100 feet (1,365 x 30 m).[1]

For the 12-month period ending February 25, 2009, the airport had 7,862 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 21 per day. At that time there were 19 aircraft based at this airport: 90% single-engine, 5% multi-engine, and 5% helicopter.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Master Record for KIC (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on September 27, 2012. External link in |work= (help)
  3. ↑ King City, California The First Hundred Years 1886-1986. San Antonio Valley Historical Association, King City Centennial Committee. 1986. Print
  4. ↑  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
  5. ↑ Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
  6. ↑ Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC


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