Redlands Municipal Airport
Redlands Municipal Airport (IATA: REI, ICAO: KREI) is a public airport located two miles (3.2 km) northeast of downtown Redlands, serving San Bernardino County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers 194 acres (79 ha) and has one runway.
Among some of the Redlands Airport first notable aviation figures was Mr. Beryl Williams who founded the Redlands Aircraft Company in 1916. Williams is best remembered at the time for painting his bi-plane with seven coats of light blue paint so it would not be visible from the ground. Since the first recorded Air Meet at the University of Redlands in 1911, Civil Aviation has been a part of Redlands, California. It wasn't until 1947, when Robert Kanaga and Austin Welch built the Redlands Flying Inn Airport that Redlands had its own first formal airport. Kanaga and Welch constructed a 3,500 foot runway, a maintenance shop and a hangar. During the 1950s, Kanaga was called up for active duty in the Korean War and he and Welch were forced to sell the airport. At the time, the City did not have funds to purchase the airport so it was sold to the Southern California Turkey Growers Association who ran a turkey and chicken ranch on the site. In the late 1950s, Roy Haskins and Alexander Theos then purchased the turkey ranch and began to refurbish the buildings to turn it back into an aviation facility.
In 1962, with the help of a $20,000 loan from Lockheed, the City was finally able to purchase land to expand the airport site and make the airport a municipal facility. Several airport improvement projects followed to extend and widen the runway, install lights, erect a beacon; which was originally at Norton Airforce Base in San Bernardino and install fencing. Today, the Redlands Municipal Airport sits on 180 acres in northeast Redlands and is home to a variety of businesses including a fixed base operator with a fueling station, flight training schools, and various aircraft repair and refurbishing establishments. Redlands is also home to EAA Chapter 845, an active chapter. The Redlands Airport Association, formed in June 2014, is also a very active organization at the airport, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Redlands Airport.
Former airline service
In the 1970s, Hughes Airwest operated twin turboprop Fairchild F-27 aircraft into Redlands on intercity service as did Golden West Airlines with commuter service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) operated with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter twin turboprop aircraft.
Recent vandalism in the summer 2014 has affected the passenger terminal and it is no longer open on a 24-hour basis.
References
External links
- Resources for this airport:
