Moffett Federal Airfield
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| Moffett Federal Airfield | |||
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| IATA: NUQ – ICAO: KNUQ | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Private | ||
| Operator | NASA Ames Research Center | ||
| Location | Mountain View, California | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 32 ft / 9.8 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 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 joint civil-military 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. Formerly a United States Navy facility, the former naval air station is now owned and operated by the NASA Ames Research Center. Tenant military activities include the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard, operating the HC-130 Hercules, MC-130 Combat Shadow and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft, as well as the adjacent Onizuka Air Force Station and Headquarters for the 7th Psychological Operations Group of the U.S. Army Reserve. NASA also operates several aircraft from Moffett, including the ER-2, a civilian research version of the U-2.[1]
By far the most famous and visible sites are hangars #1, #2, and #3, which dwarf the surrounding buildings. Hangar One is one of the most remarkable hangars in the world[citation needed]. Hangars #2 and #3 are significant more for their size than their unique styling or design. Hangar One is a Naval Historical Monument and the entire airfield is a United States Registered Historic District.[2]
In May, 2008 The National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Hangar One on their list of America's Most Endangered Places. [3]
The NASA Ames site is home to several wind tunnels, including the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (a National Historic Landmark), and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC).
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[edit] History
In 1931, Mountain View and Sunnyvale 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, since the area is often clear while other parts of the San Francisco Bay are covered in fog. This is due to the Coast Range to the west which blocks the cold oceanic air which is the cause of San Francisco fog.
The base, originally named Airbase Sunnyvale CAL, was accepted by the U.S. Navy on February 12, 1931 and dedicated NAS Sunnyvale on April 12, 1933. After the death of Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, who is credited with the creation of the airfield,[4] in the loss of the USS Akron on April 4, 1933, the Naval Air Station was renamed NAS Moffett Field on September 1, 1933.
After the ditching of the Macon on February 12, 1935, and until 1941, the Navy transferred claimancy of Moffett Field to the War Department and the installation was under the control of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
In 1941, control of the facility was returned to the Navy as NAS Moffett Field. From the end of World War II until its closure, NAS Moffett Field saw the development and use of several generations of land-based anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft, including the Lockheed P2V Neptune and Lockheed 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 while Moffett's other squadrons and aircraft periodically deployed to other Pacific, Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf bases for periods of up to six months.
In 1960, the nearby Air Force Satellite Test Center was created adjacent to NAS Moffett Field. Often referred to as "the Blue Cube," it is operational today as Onizuka Air Force Station.
In August 1986 during the Moffett Field NAS Airshow the Italian demonstration team, Frecce Tricolori, performed as well as the German jet team, the Vikings, in front of the crowd.
At its peak in the 1990s, NAS Moffett Field was the U.S. Navy's principal Pacific Fleet base for the P-3C operations. In addition to headquarters staffs for Commander, U.S. Patrol Wings Pacific Fleet (COMATWINGSPAC); Commader, Patrol Wing TEN (COMPATWING 10); and Commander, Reserve Patrol Wing Pacific / Patrol Wing FOUR (COMRESPATWINGPAC/COMPATWING 4), the air station also hosted the west coast P-3C Fleet Replacement Squadron, six additional active duty P-3C squadrons and a Naval Reserve P-3C squadron in addition to NASA and California Air National Guard aviation activities.
Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure. The west coast Fleet Replacement Squadron, Patrol Squadron THIRTY-ONE (VP-31), was deactivated and its functions combined with its east coast counterpart, Patrol Squadron THIRTY (VP-30) at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. Several active duty P-3C squadrons, the Naval Reserve P-3C squadron and COMRESPATWINGPAC/COMPATWING 4 were also deactivated, while COMPATWINGSPAC, COMPATWING 10 (redesignated COMPATRECONWING 10) and the remaining squadrons transferred to NAS Whidbey Island, Washington.
On July 1, 1994, NAS Moffett Field was closed as a military base and turned over to the NASA Ames Research Center. 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 Federal Airfield has moderate air traffic, with an average of 5-10 flights landing per day. Moffett is regularly used by the California Air National Guard, NASA, Lockheed Martin Space Systems (commercial satellite manufacturer), the Google founders for their private planes, Air Force One during presidential visits to the Bay Area as well as several other organizations.
[edit] Hangar One
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. The airship hangar is constructed on a network of steel girders sheathed with galvanized steel. It rests firmly upon a reinforced pad anchored to concrete pilings. The floor covers eight acres (32,000 m²) and can accommodate 10 football fields. The airship hangar measures 1,133 feet (343 m) long and 308 feet (93 m) wide. The building has aerodynamic architecture. Its walls curve upward and inward, to form an elongated dome 198 feet (60 m) high. The clam-shell doors were designed to reduce turbulence when the Macon moved in and out on windy days. The "orange peel" doors, weighing 200 tons (204.75 tonnes) each, are moved by their own 150 horsepower motors operated via an electrical control panel.
The airship hangar's interior is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling.[4] A person unaccustomed to its vastness is susceptible to optical disorientation. Looking across its deck, planes and tractors look like toys. Along its length maintenance shops, inspection laboratories and offices help keep the hangar busy. Looking up, a network of catwalks for access to all parts of the structure can be seen. Two elevators meet near the top, allowing maintenance personnel to get to the top quickly and easily.
Narrow gauge tracks run through the length of the hangar. During the lighter-than-air period of dirigibles and non-rigid aircraft, the rails extended across the apron and into the fields at each end of the hangar. This tramway facilitated the transportation of an airship on the mooring mast to the airship hangar interior or to the flight position. During the brief period that the Macon was based at Moffett, Hangar One not only accommodated the giant airship but several smaller non-rigid lighter-than-air craft simultaneously.
Hangar One today is the center of a spirited debate over its own future. Plans to convert it to a space and science center have been put on hold with the discovery in 2003 that the structure is leaking toxic chemicals into the sediment in wetlands bordering San Francisco bay. The cause of the chemicals stem from the lead paint and toxic materials, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used in the creation of the hangar. The debate is occurring over whether to tear down the hangar and reuse the land, or to clean the toxic waste from the site and refurbish the hangar for future preservation.
The US Navy is evaluating options for remediating the PCBs, lead and asbestos. NASA is evaluating options for reuse of the hangar.
Some historic and nonprofit groups would like the hangar preserved as a historic landmark, however, as the hangar is a major bay area landmark and historic site. Any person in the South Bay area under the age of 70 has never lived without the massive structure dominating the area skyline, and many people have become attached to it.
In 2006, an offer to clean the hangar and coat its outsides with solar panels to recoup the costs of cleaning was floated by a private company, but the plan never saw fruition because it was too costly.
An episode of the Discovery Channel TV show MythBusters utilized one of the smaller hangars to disprove the myth that it is not possible to fold a sheet of paper in half more than seven times. The sheet of paper covered nearly the full width of the airship hangar. Other episodes of Mythbusters have utilized the hangar to test myths such as "Inflating a football with helium allows longer kick distances", and "Airworthy aircraft can be constructed of concrete"
[edit] Facilities
Despite its closure as an active military base, Moffett Field still has many active facilities and residents. Active military families still live on Moffett Community Housing, and the former base has several lodges which primarily house academics and students associated with the Ames Research Center. Moffett Field's facilities available to residents include a pool, post office, golf course, tennis courts, gas station, and several small shops and restaurants, including an on-site McDonald's which closed April 30, 2008.
[edit] Status of former military buildings
Many of the buildings at Moffett Field which once supported its active military presence have been abandoned and left standing due to asbestos contamination within the structures[citation needed].
[edit] Airfield
Moffett Field is an active airfield, and has two active 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] University facilities
Moffett Field also hosts three university branch campuses: San Jose State University's (SJSU) Metropolitan Technology Center, Carnegie Mellon West, and UC Santa Cruz. These are within the base primarily to support the academic research and collaboration that these three (3) schools perform with NASA Ames.
[edit] Private aircraft
Moffett Airfield is the home to the private jet owned by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They pay $1.3 million a year to park their customized wide-body Boeing 767-200 and two other Gulfstream V jets owned by Google executives at the airfield which is generally closed to private aircraft. [5][6] Additionally, the airplanes have had scientific equipment installed by NASA, to allow for experiments to be run in flight.
Community opposition to the use of the airfield for private purposes has blocked previous deals, including opening the field up to Federal Express and UPS in the 1990s. Only two other private groups - Lockheed Martin and a helicopter operator - have use of the airfield.
[edit] Assigned units
- 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard
- 7th Psychological Operations Group Headquarters, United States Army Reserve
[edit] See Also
[edit] External links
- Moffett Field page at GlobalSecurity.org
- NASA Ames Research Center
- Moffett Field Museum
- Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- FAA Airport Diagram(PDF), effective 5 June 2008
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KNUQ
- ASN accident history for NUQ
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KNUQ
[edit] References
- ^ Moffett Field History. NASA Ames Research Center. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ US Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, CA Historic District (Moffett Field) Santa Clara County, California - National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080521/ap_tr_ge/travel_yesterday_s_places_endangered_places
- ^ a b US Naval Air Station Sunnyvale, CA Historic District (Moffett Field). California's Historic Silicon Valley. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ Helft, Miguel. "Google Founders’ Ultimate Perk: A NASA Runway", New York Times, September 13, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ Kopytoff, Verne. "Google founders pay NASA $1.3 million to land at Moffett Airfield", San Francisco Chronicle, September 13, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
This article contains material that originally came from a National Park Service website. According to their site disclaimer, "Information presented on this website, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain."
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