Reedley Municipal Airport , sometimes referred to in shorthand but not officially as RMA, is a public
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located four miles (6.4 km) north of
Reedley, serving southeast
Fresno County
Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...
and northeast
Tulare County
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
History of Operations
Great Western Airport
In 1946, the Reedley Flight Club created the Great Western Airport north of Reedley and southwest of
Mount Campbell, as a
private recreational facility. Since the early 1950's the Great Western Airport had been leased out for
crop dusting operations under the name Great Western Aeronautics.
Great Western Elementary School, named after the airport, was built south of the facility, it is now a part of
Kings Canyon Unified School District.
Reedley Municipal Airport
In April 1975, the City of Reedley proposed the establishment of Reedley Municipal Airport on the site of what had previously been the Great Western Airport. In their proposal, they noted that Great Western Airport was substandard for significant aviation use, and so after the City's acquisition of the landing strip, significant renovation would be needed. At the time, the area was unincorporated, and within the proposal, the City requested to incorporate the land the airport sits on into the city itself, creating a
legal exclave north of the City.
In 2018, the
Sustainable Aviation Project delivered four
electric propulsion aircraft to Reedley Municipal Airport. Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba gave a presentation to the
Economic Development Corporation
An economic development corporation ("EDC") is an organization common in the United States, usually a 501(c)(3) non-profit, whose mission is to promote economic development within a specific geographical area. These organizations are complementary ...
, proposing Reedley as an ideal place to expand sustainable aviation technology and careers, to take advantage of Reedley's location near Fresno, and to combat Reedley's growing 33% unemployment rate.
On August 7, 2020, Reedley Municipal Airport was the base of operations for the Giumarra Companies' test flight shipment of peaches to supply
Gelson's Markets, a Southern California-based grocery retailer. The
Cessna aircraft
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...
used for the test flew one hour from RMA to
Whiteman Airport
Whiteman Airport (previously known as Whiteman Air Park) is a general aviation airport in the northeastern San Fernando Valley community of Pacoima, in the city of Los Angeles, California, United States.
The airport was founded as Whiteman Air ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. This delivery method was the first of its kind for Gelson's and the Giumarra Companies, when the peaches were sold at the retailer, they marketed them with information regarding the shipment, and the resulting freshness of the fruit. The test flight was considered a success, with Rob McDougall, CEO of Gelson's referring to it as "cutting edge."
Facilities and aircraft
Reedley Municipal Airport covers an area of 138 acres (56 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (15/33) measuring 3,300 x 60 ft (1,006 x 18 m).
There are 21 single-engine aircraft based at Reedley Municipal Airport, and during the 12-month period ending on 30 January 2020, the airport logged 33,000 operations.
References
External links
{{US-airport-minor, O32
Airports in Fresno County, California