Cable Airport is a non-towered public-use

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 surface ...

located two miles (3 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 ...

of Upland, a city in

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States 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 territorie ...

. It is privately owned by the Cable Land Company.

History

Cable-Claremont Airport (as it was known until 1961) was founded in 1945 by Maude and Dewey Cable, who bought the land for $8,500. This is . The Cables divided the land, selling the northern portion for what the entire parcel had cost them. That parcel was developed into a quarry by Holliday Rock, which recently erected its national headquarters near the approach end of Runway 24. The first runway, 1-19, built by Dewey Cable himself, was long. It ran north–south, perpendicular to the prevailing winds, and had a steep gradient. The main runway, 6-24, was completed six months later. Unlike the first runway, it ran east–west (parallel to the wind, which is ideal), had a hard, flat surface, and by 1947 was long and wide. Cable Commuter Airlines was a commuter air carrier operating

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 ...

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 turboprop aircraft that was initially based at the airport. In 1968, Cable Commuter Airlines was operating a hub at the

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 ...

(

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 ...

) with flights to such southern California destinations as Burbank, Colton, Inyokern, Ontario, Oxnard, Palmdale, Palm Springs, Santa Ana (

Orange County 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 ...

), Santa Barbara and Santa Maria as well as to Lake Havasu City in Arizona. Cable Commuter was acquired by

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 ...

, another southern California based commuter air carrier.

Today

KCCB is a Class G (untowered) airport. Runway 1-19 is no longer in existence. In its place are some hangars, a fuel island, and a covered, lighted wash rack. Runway 6-24, now lengthened to , has been resurfaced and is mostly flat, with some undulations on the east half. There is a terminal building with an FBO (flight school and rentals), aircraft repair shop, Maniac Mike's restaurant, and a control tower which is used to marshal aircraft during the annual Cable Air Show in January. (The tower is not normally used at any other time, as Cable is an uncontrolled airport.) This airport is also home to the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

Squadron 25. Cable Airport is still owned by the Cable family. Based on number of aircraft based at the field (450), it ranks as the largest privately owned airport in the world.

Facilities and aircraft

Cable Airport covers an area of which contains one

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

(6/24) measuring and two

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

s, each measuring . For the 12-month period ending August 31, 2016, the airport had 92,189

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 ...

aircraft operations, an average of 252 per day. There were 227 aircraft based at this airport: 94% single-engine, <1% multi-engine, <1%

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

, <1%

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

and <1%

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

Accidents and incidents

* June 24, 2006: A Cessna 560 Citation Encore operated by

Aero Charter Services Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane). Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to: Aeronautics Airlines and companies * Aero ( ...

en route from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

to Cable Airport approached runway 24 around 10:00 pm, overran the runway. and came to a hold about 850 feet beyond the runway threshold. The accident left one dead and two seriously injured. * May 6, 2016: After an unsuccessful attempt to restart their engines and approaching

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

, an

Antonov An-2R The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet Union, Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov ...

en route from Cable Airport to San Bernardino made a forced landing in a residential area which left none injured. According to the subsequent investigation, the lower gascolator and the fine fuel filter were filled partially with water which led to engine failure. * September 17, 2018: A

Piper PA-24 Comanche The Piper PA-24 Comanche is an American four-seat or six-seat, low-wing, all-metal, light aircraft of semimonocoque construction with tricycle retractable landing gear. Piper Aircraft designed and developed the Comanche, which first flew on May ...

en route from

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

, Nevada to Cable Airport landed short of the runway and left two uninjured. The incident was reportedly caused by engine failure. * January 3, 2022: A Cessna 120 crashed during a go-around attempt after encountering the wake turbulence of a low-flying helicopter operating at the airport. The aircraft entered an uncommanded right bank and impacted the surface of the airport upside down. The sole pilot onboard survived with minor injuries.

References

External links

Cable Airport
(official site) * {{IE Mass Transit Upland, California Airports in San Bernardino County, California