French Valley Airport is a county-owned 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 surfa ...

in southwestern

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

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 ...

, located on Highway 79 near the cities of

Murrieta Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, making Murrieta one of the ...

and

Temecula Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a ...

.French Valley Airport
page at Riverside County EDA web site.

Facilities and aircraft

French Valley Airport covers an area of which contains one

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

paved

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, concre ...

which is designated as 18/36 and measures 6,000 x 75 ft (1,829 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending December 30, 2009, the airport had 98,185 aircraft operations, an average of 269 per day, all of which were

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 ...

. There are 170 aircraft based at this airport: 82% single engine, 12% multi-engine, 1% jet aircraft, 2%

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 ...

s 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 aile ...

s. Facilities include The French Valley Cafe which serves three meals a day seven days a week. Best known for breakfast, the cafe also has a full bar with the occasional happy hour. Whilst the interior is decorated with air memorabilia and views overlooking the runway they also have a patio which allows for outdoor service. Due to this they remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic despite a more limited menu. There is also Wings and Rotors Air Museum in hangar 7 (Bld 31), with military displays, flyable helicopters and an F-4 Phantom II in restoration to fly.

References

External links

* Airports in Riverside County, California {{California-airport-stub