Catalina Airport

Catalina Airport
Buffalo Springs Airport

Aerial view of the airport from the East.

Catalina Airport runway diagram
IATA: CIB – ICAO: KAVX – FAA LID: AVX
– WMO: 72292
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Catalina Island Conservancy
Serves Avalon, Catalina Island, California
Location Avalon, California
Elevation AMSL 1,602 ft / 488 m
Coordinates 33°24′18″N 118°24′57″W / 33.40500°N 118.41583°W
Map
KAVX

Location of Catalina Airport

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
4/22 3,000 914 Asphalt
Statistics (2006)
Aircraft operations 23,000
Based aircraft 10

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 $25 landing fee.[2] 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 Douglas DC-3 aircraft daily. There is currently no scheduled passenger service to or from the airport although Golden West Airlines did operate scheduled passenger flights during the 1970s to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capable de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter twin turboprop aircraft . 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.[3]

Douglas-DC3---Catalina

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. [4]

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 family - who owned Santa Catalina Island for decades - used to keep their DC-3 in the large hangar at the airport.

Some exterior shots in the movie The In-Laws were shot at Catalina Airport, it doubling as a rural Latin airport.[5] The tower is readily identifiable.

Gallery

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 FAA Airport Master Record for AVX (Form 5010 PDF), retrieved 15 March 2007
  2. ↑ http://catalina.com/the-airport-in-the-sky/
  3. ↑ Catalina Island - Airport Information
  4. ↑ Great Circle Mapper: CIB / KAVX - Avalon, California (Catalina Airport)
  5. ↑ IMDB Shooting Locations: The In-Laws

External links