Catalina Airport

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Catalina Airport
Douglas DC-3 on take-off
Catalina Airport runway diagram
IATA: CIB – ICAO: KAVX – FAA: AVX
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Catalina Island Conservancy
Serves		Catalina Island
Location		Avalon, California
Elevation AMSL		1,602 ft / 488 m
Coordinates		33°24′18″N, 118°24′57″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
4/22	3,000	914	Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations			23,000
Based aircraft			10
Source: Federal Aviation Administration^[1]

Catalina Airport (IATA: CIB, ICAO: KAVX, FAA LID: AVX) is a privately-owned airport located six miles (10 km) northwest of the central business district of Avalon, California^[1] 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 $20.00 (US) landing fee. The airport is primarily used for general aviation. The airport is also used for airfreight from the mainland. Supplies for the island are delivered via DC3 aircraft daily. There are no scheduled passenger flights to or from the airport. It is also known as the Airport in the Sky due to the fact it lies near the island's highest point at an elevation of 1,602 ft (488 m) All roads to the airport from the island's population centers climb steeply upward. ^[2]

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Catalina Airport is assigned AVX by the FAA and CIB by the IATA. The airport's ICAO identifier is KAVX. ^[3]

There is a restaurant at the airport, the Buffalo Springs Station restaurant, and for private pilots in the Los Angeles area, the airport is one local choice for a $100 Hamburger (aviation slang for a private general aviation flight for the sole purpose of dining at a non-local airport). The restaurant and airport is also a stop on some of the tours of the interior of Catalina Island from Avalon.

The airport originally opened as "Buffalo Springs Airport" in the late 1930s and was made by leveling off the top of a hill. Scheduled passenger service was briefly provided by United Airlines in DC-3s; long-disused refueling equipment is located in the pavement in front of the terminal building; no fuel currently available. The Wrigley (chewing gum) family -- who owned Santa Catalina Island for decades -- used to keep their DC-3 in the large hangar at the airport.

[edit] Facilities and aircraft

Catalina Airport covers 25 acres and has one asphalt runway (4/22) measuring 3,000 x 60 feet (914 x 18 m). Surface elevation of the runway is 1602 feet (488 m) above sea level.^[1] The runway is known for being pitched up in the middle, so that on short approach it appears much shorter. Pavement condition varies widely; after recent maintenance it is good, but following the rainy season there are often potholes, soft spots, and chunks of loose asphalt on the runway. Terrain falls off steeply at both ends of the runway. Due to turbulence and downdrafts at the approach ends, lack of normal visual references on final approach, and the upslope of the first 1/3 of Runway 22 (which creates the illusion of being too high on final approach) the airport can be hazardous for inexperienced pilots. Aircraft at opposite ends of the runway cannot see each other. Contact with Unicom is required to obtain permission for landing.

For 12-month period ending April 13, 2006, the airport had 23,000 aircraft operations, an average of 63 per day: 98% general aviation (22,450), 2% air taxi (500) and <1% military (50). There are 10 aircraft based at this airport, all single-engine.^[1]