Moffett Federal Airfield

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Moffett Federal Airfield

IATA: NUQ - ICAO: KNUQ
Summary
Airport type		Private
Operator		NASA Ames Research Center
Serves		Mountain View, California
Elevation AMSL		32 ft (9.8 m)
Coordinates		37°24′54.6″N, 122°02′54″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
14L/32R	9,202	2,805	Concrete
14R/32L	8,127	2,477	Asphalt

Moffett Federal Airfield (IATA: NUQ, ICAO: KNUQ), also known as Moffett Field, is a private airport located 3 miles (5 km) north of Mountain View, in Santa Clara County, California, USA. The airport is near the south end of San Francisco Bay, north of San Jose. This former United States Navy base is now owned and operated by the NASA Ames Research Center.

Moffett Field's "Hangar One" (built during the Depression era for the USS Macon) and the row of World War II blimp hangars are still some of the largest unsupported structures in the country. Hangar One is a Bay Area landmark.

Plans to convert it to a space and science center have been put on hold with the discovery in 2003 that the paint on the outside is leaching toxic chemicals. There are also concerns about substantial amounts of asbestos in the structure. The hangar has been closed ever since and is now threatened with demolition, although various concerned groups are fighting to save it. It is an aerodynamic building. The clam-shell doors were designed to reduce turbulence when the Macon moved in and out on windy days.

1 History
2 Facilities
3 Assigned units
4 The Hangar Today
5 External links

[edit] History

In 1931, Mountain View, California and Sunnyvale, California acquired a 1,000 acre (4 km²) parcel of land bordering San Francisco Bay, then "sold" the parcel for $1 to the US government as a home base for the Navy airship USS Macon.

The location proved to be ideal for an airport. Through a quirk of geography, the area is often clear while the rest of the San Francisco Bay is covered in fog. This is due to a gap in the Coast Range to the west which funnels the prevailing winds into the area, dispersing the fog.

The base, originally named Airbase Sunnyvale CAL, was accepted by the U.S. Navy on Feb 12, 1931 and dedicated NAS Sunnyvale on April 12, 1933. After the death of Rear Admiral William A. Moffett in the loss of the USS Akron on April 4, 1933, the Naval Air Station was renamed NAS Moffett Field on Sept 1, 1933.

After the ditching of the Macon on February 12, 1935, and until 1941, Moffett Field was under the control of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

View of Hangar One, the huge dirigible hangar, with doors open at both ends.

From the end of World War II until its close, NAS Moffett Field saw several generations of anti-submarine warfare aircraft, including the Lockheed P2V Neptune and P-3 Orion. Until the demise of the USSR and for some time thereafter, daily anti-submarine sorties flew out from Moffett Field to patrol along the Pacific coastline.

In 1960, the nearby Air Force Satellite Test Center was created adjacent to Moffett. It is operational today as Onizuka Air Force Station.

On July 1, 1994, Moffett Field was closed as a military base and turned over to NASA Ames Research Center. NASA still operates U-2 high altitude planes, an impressive sight as they quickly zoom out of view on takeoff. NASA Ames now operates the facility as Moffett Federal Airfield. Since being decommissioned as an active military installation, part of Moffett has been made accessible to the public, including a cordoned portion of the interior of the massive Hangar One. There were once balloon rides given on show days, and incidents of weather inside.

Moffett Airfield has seen very light air traffic, especially since the turn of the millennium. This might be due to its relative proximity to Travis Air Force Base. Moffett is regularly used to land Air Force One during presidential visits to the Bay Area.

Aerial View of Moffett Field and NASA Ames Research Center.

[edit] Facilities

Moffett Federal Airfield has two runways:

Runway 14L/32R: 9,202 x 200 ft. (2,805 x 61 m), Surface: Concrete
Runway 14R/32L: 8,127 x 200 ft. (2,477 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt

[edit] Assigned units

129th Rescue Wing

[edit] The Hangar Today

Hangar One today poses a serious threat to the environment and is leaking toxic chemicals into the bay. The cause of these chemicals is the lead paint and poisonous metals under ground. In the summer of 2006 it was seriously debated whether to put solar panels all over the hangar. This idea was soon quashed by the price. It is now debated whether or not to tear down the hangar before it does any more damage to the environment.