Catalina Airport is a privately owned airport located 6.4 miles (10.2 km) northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Avalon, California Avalon is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island, in the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. The city is a resort community with the waterfront dominated by tourism-oriented businesses. The ...

, United States,Santa Catalina Island – Google Maps (accessed 10 May 2019)
/ref> in the middle of Catalina Island. The airport is open to the public and allows general aviation aircraft to land there. The only requirement is that inbound pilots state their intention to land and that they pay a $35 landing fee. The airport is primarily used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

. The airport is also used for airfreight from the mainland. Supplies for the island are delivered daily. The airfield is known as the "Airport in the Sky" because it lies near the island's highest point at an elevation of . All roads to the airport from the island's population centers climb steeply upward. The road distance from the airfield to Avalon is ten miles (16 km). The airport currently has no scheduled passenger service.

History

Catalina Island was developed as a tourist site beginning in the 1920s by

William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He was founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Penns ...

, who owned most of the island under the Santa Catalina Island Company. In 1941 his son Philip K. Wrigley among others including Charles Hulen Moore built a runway on the island by blasting and leveling two hills and filling the canyon between them to create a leveled area. The airport opened as Buffalo Springs Airport in the spring of 1941, as a private airport. Prior to this, only seaplanes landed at Hamilton Cove Seaplane Base, just north of Avalon.

World War II

In the autumn of 1942 the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) took control of the Buffalo Springs Airport for the duration of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, to support Army, Navy, Coast Guard, the Maritime Service, and the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

(OSS) activities on the island. It was also a USAAF Fourth Air Force Replacement Training Station. The airfield operated during that time as a sub-base of

March Field March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Ma ...

located in Riverside County. At the conclusion of the war, the military presence departed. A California aviation veteran, Richard Probert (1907–2008), worked to have Buffalo Springs Airport opened to the public. To that end he caused a terminal building to be raised, and in 1946 the field began operating as a public use airport, called Catalina Airport.

Former commercial flights

In the early 1950s,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

served the airport with scheduled passenger service with nonstop flights to

Long Beach Airport 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 ...

and direct, one-stop service to

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

operated with

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

aircraft. During the mid-1950s,

Catalina Air Lines Catalina Air Lines was a seaplane airline founded in 1940 as Catalina Air Transport, and was based in Long Beach, California. History In 1953, it became Avalon Air Transport, named after the city of Avalon, California, located on Santa Catalin ...

was operating

de Havilland Dove The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report whic ...

twin propeller aircraft on nonstop flights to Los Angeles International and Burbank Airport (now

Bob Hope Airport Hollywood Burbank Airport, legally and formerly marketed as Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope , is a public airport northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. e ...

). By the late 1950s,

Pacific Air Lines Pacific Air Lines was a regional airline (then called a "local service" air carrier as defined by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board) on the West Coast of the United States that began scheduled passenger flights in the mid 1940s under the name ...

was providing flights with Douglas DC-3 aircraft to Los Angeles International, Long Beach Airport, and Burbank Airport. In the late 1960s, Catalina-Vegas Airlines was operating nonstop service to San Diego

Lindbergh Field San Diego International Airport , formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport northwest of Downtown San Diego, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.. US Federa ...

Golden West Airlines Golden West Airlines was a commuter airline that operated flights on a high volume schedule in California. It ceased operations in 1983. History The original Golden West Airlines, headquartered at Van Nuys, California, was founded in 1968 a ...

provided flights during the early 1970s with

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

short takeoff and landing

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

capable twin turboprop aircraft with nonstop service to Los Angeles (

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

) and Orange County Airport (SNA, now

John Wayne Airport John Wayne Airport is a commercial and general aviation airport that serves Orange County, California, and the Greater Los Angeles area. The airport is located in an unincorporated area of Orange County, and it is owned and operated by the cou ...

). Golden West also acquired Catalina Air Lines, which served the island with seaplane flights operated from Avalon and Two Harbors. In 1987, Resort Commuter Airlines operating as a

Trans World Express Trans World Express (TWE) was the fully owned and certificated, regional carrier for Trans World Airlines (TWA) and an airline trademark name for TWA's corporation. * Trans World Express - The formerly independent regional airline known as Ranso ...

air carrier on behalf of

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

) was flying nonstop service to Los Angeles (

) and the Orange County Airport (SNA).

Film shoots

Some exterior shots in the movie '' The In-Laws'' were shot at Catalina Airport, it doubling as a rural Latin airport. The tower is readily identifiable.

Repairs

After some seventy years of use, the asphalt runway was in poor condition, requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in maintenance. The Aeronautics Division of

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

directed the Catalina Island Conservancy to create a long-term repair plan. The Conservancy worked with the

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

, whose forces performed the repairs as a training exercise in January 2019. An encampment was erected at the airport to support the 120-person crew, and by 3 May the runway was reopened for operation. The work cost about five million dollars, paid by the airport owners. The first airplane to land on the 3,000' (914m) runway was a 1944

that had originally been owned and operated by the Wrigley family."Airport In The Sky reopens". AOPA Newsletter, 5 May 2019 (accessed 10 May 2019)
/ref>

Catalina Island Conservancy

The airport is now owned by the

Catalina Island Conservancy The Catalina Island Conservancy is a nonprofit organization established to protect and restore Santa Catalina Island, California, United States. The Conservancy was established in 1972 through the efforts of the Wrigley and Offield families. The ...

, which permits

air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a airline ticket, ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad h ...

aircraft to fly into the airport.

Amenities

Located in the airport are publicly accessible toilet facilities and a restaurant and gift shop called DC3 Gifts and Grill.

Operation

Runway 4/22 is a

tabletop runway A tabletop runway is a runway that is located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends adjacent to a steep precipice which drops into a deep gorge. This type of runway creates an optical illusion of being at the same level as the pl ...

. The runway extends nearly to the edges of the flattened area, allowing no overrun protection. The first 1800 feet of Runway 22 slopes uphill toward the southwest, with the remainder being level or slightly downhill. The result is that aircraft on short final for Runway 22 only see the first part of the runway, the remainder only becoming visible as the airplane approaches the crest. This has resulted in accidents and blown tires as pilots thought they were about to go off the end of the runway. In strong southwest winds there can be a strong downdraft at the approach end of Runway 22. As a result of these factors, many aircraft rental agencies require a "Catalina checkout" with one of their instructors. Pilot caution is recommended. In January 1984, a private Learjet overshot Runway 22, killing six people.ASN Aircraft accident Learjet N44GA
/ref> After that, the Catalina Island Conservancy limited the number of aircraft allowed to use the airport.

Gallery

Image:Hangar KAVX Avalon Airport Catalina Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, Catalina Airport's DC-3 hangar Image:KAVX Avalon Airport Catalina Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, The tower in 2013 Image:KAVX from the runway photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, Catalina Airport from the runway Image:Catalina Island Interior photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, Catalina Island interior Image:CatalinaAirport-kavx.jpg, Airport aerial view from the west

References

External links

Buffalo Springs Station restaurant
{{Portal bar, Aviation, World War II Airports in Los Angeles County, California Santa Catalina Island (California) Buildings and structures in the Channel Islands of California Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in California Airports established in 1941 1941 establishments in California