| Eastern Sierra Regional Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| USGS aerial photo as of 2006 | |||
| IATA: BIH – ICAO: KBIH – FAA LID: BIH | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Public Works | ||
| Serves | Bishop, California | ||
| Location | Inyo County, east of Bishop | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 4,124 ft / 1,257 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 7/25 | 5,566 | 1,697 | Asphalt |
| 12/30 | 7,498 | 2,285 | Asphalt |
| 16/34 | 5,600 | 1,707 | Asphalt |
| Helipads | |||
| Number | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| H1 | 40 | 12 | Asphalt |
| H2 | 100 | 30 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2006) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 26,000 | ||
| Based aircraft | 64 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (IATA: BIH, ICAO: KBIH, FAA LID: BIH) is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) east of the central business district of Bishop, in Inyo County, California, United States. It is owned by the City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works.[1]
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Eastern Sierra Regional Airport covers an area of 830 acres (340 ha) at an elevation of 4,124 feet (1,257 m) above mean sea level. It has three asphalt paved runways: 7/25 is 5,566 by 100 feet (1,697 x 30 m); 12/30 is 7,498 by 100 feet (2,285 x 30 m); 16/34 is 5,600 by 100 feet (1,707 x 30 m). It also has two helipads: H1 is 40 by 40 feet (12 x 12 m) and H2 is 100 by 100 feet (30 x 30 m).[1]
For the 12-month period ending October 23, 2006, the airport had 26,000 aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day: 88% general aviation and 12% military. At that time there were 64 aircraft based at this airport: 81% single-engine, 13% multi-engine, 2% jet and 5% glider.[1]
The airfield was opened in April 1940. The site consisted of 897.22 acres subleased from Inyo County, California. During World War II the airfield was known as Bishop Army Airfield and was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Technical Service Command. The site was used for aircraft flight and ordnance delivery training. Aircraft maintenance was also accomplished at the site as well as ordnance storage.
On 2 May 1949, Army cancelled its initial lease of 897.22 acres with Inyo County for Bishop Airport under the War Assets Administration's Peacetime Reduction Mission, and the base was declared excess to requirements and returned to civil control.
The USAF subleased from Inyo County runway use rights and a heliport area of 4.76 acres known as the Bishop Test Site from 15 November 1965 to 19 June 1971 and from 25 November 1980 to 30 September 1985. The Air Force used the heliport area and runway for performance testing of helicopters and other aircraft. The DoD facilities included runway expansion, fuel facilities, utilities, buildings, aircraft maintenance, hospital and barracks. Today, the airport is owned by the City of Los Angeles, California and leased to Inyo County.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.