| Illinois Valley Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: none – ICAO: none – FAA LID: 3S4 | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Josephine County Airports | ||
| Location | Cave Junction, Oregon | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,394 ft / 425 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 18/36 | 4,807 | 1,465 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2004) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 6,000 | ||
| Based aircraft | 22 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Illinois Valley Airport (FAA LID: 3S4) is a county-owned public-use airport located four miles (6.4 km) southwest of the central business district of Cave Junction, a city in Josephine County, Oregon, United States.[1]
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The Illinois Valley Airport, also known as the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base,or even the Cave Junction Airport, was built by the US Forest Service. It operated from 1943 to 1981 as a smokejumper base, during which time the smokejumpers parachuted on 1445 fires for 5390 fire jumps, or about 142 jumps per year.[2]
Lunar orbiter commander Stuart Roosa was a firefighter at the Siskiyou Smokejumper Base in 1954. In 1971, Roosa took a packet of Douglas Fir seeds with him to the moon, and when he returned the Forest Service planted these "Moon Trees" across the US, including two at the Illinois Valley Airport. The smokejumpers cared for these trees, but after their departure, both trees died.[3]
Illinois Valley Airport covers an area of 175 acres (71 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (18/36) measuring 4,807 x 75 ft (1,465 x 23 m). For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2004, the airport had 6,000 aircraft operations, all of which were general aviation.[1]
The airport has a fixed base operator, aircraft rentals and instruction, hangar rentals, and a restaurant (closed) and a small campground. All other services are four miles (6 km) north in Cave Junction.[4]