| Gillespie Field | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| FAA airport diagram | |||
| IATA: SEE – ICAO: KSEE – FAA LID: SEE | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | County of San Diego | ||
| Serves | San Diego, California | ||
| Location | El Cajon, California | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 388 ft / 118 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 9L/27R | 5,342 | 1,628 | Asphalt |
| 9R/27L | 2,738 | 835 | Asphalt |
| 17/35 | 4,145 | 1,263 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2005) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 209,345 | ||
| Based aircraft | 964 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Gillespie Field (IATA: SEE, ICAO: KSEE, FAA LID: SEE) is a county-owned public-use airport located 10 miles (16 km) northeast of the central business district of San Diego, in El Cajon, San Diego County, California, United States.[1]
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In 1942 the United States Marine Corps chose a 688-acre (2.78 km2) site east of San Diego to conduct parachute training for the newly forming Parachute battalions. In September 1942 Camp Gillespie was completed and named in honor of Lieutenant Archibald H. Gillespie, a Marine officer who played a prominent role in the effort to separate California from Mexico in the 1840s.[3]
In February 1944, the camp was commissioned as Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Gillespie falling under the command of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. MCAAF Gillespie soon became responsible for Camp Pendleton Outlying Air Field. Among the units that transited and trained at MCCAF Gillespie were VMSB-141, Air Warning Squadron 10 and the Navy's VT-37.[4]
In 1946, the airfield was turned over to San Diego County and was turned into a general aviation facility.[4] In 1952, the County granted ownership of the facility by the federal government. In 1971, the County Sheriff stationed ASTREA, a helicopter law enforcement base at the airport. And in 1993, the San Diego Aerospace Museum located its restoration operations and a special exhibit at the field.
Gillespie Field covers an area of 852 acres (345 ha) which contains three asphalt paved runways:[1]
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 244,475 aircraft operations, an average of 669 per day: 99.9% general aviation, <1% air taxi and <1% military. There are 739 aircraft based at this airport: 90% single-engine, 4% multi-engine, 4% helicopter, 1% jet and 1% glider.[1]
Gillespie is also the home of the restoration facility Gillespie Field Annex[5] for the San Diego Air and Space Museum (formerly San Diego Aerospace Museum).[6] It is open to the public and has on display many vintage and modern aircraft;[7] and has an Atlas ICBM rocket as its gate guard, replica of the Spirit of St. Louis, and a recently restored F-102A Delta Dagger with drop tanks.
According to the FAA, in 2010 Gillespie Field was the 44th busiest airport in terms of traffic in the United States.[8]