Catalina Airport
| Catalina Airport Buffalo Springs Airport |
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Aerial view of the airport from the East.
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Catalina Airport runway diagram
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| 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 | ||||||||||
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 KAVX
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2006) | |||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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| Aircraft operations | 23,000 |
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| Based aircraft | 10 |
Catalina Airport (IATA: AVX, ICAO: KAVX, FAA LID: AVX) is a privately owned airport located six miles (10 km) northwest of the central business district of Avalon, California 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. 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.
The airfield 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.
The airport currently has no scheduled passenger service.
The airport originally opened as Buffalo Springs Airport in the spring of 1941. It was built by the Wrigley family of Chicago, who owned most of the island under the Santa Catalina Island Company, by leveling off the top of a hill. Prior to this, only seaplanes landed at Hamilton Cove Seaplane Base, just north of Avalon. The Wrigleys kept a DC-3 in the large hangar there.
In the autumn of 1942 the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) took control of the Buffalo Springs Airport for the duration of World War II, to support Army, Navy, Coast Guard, the Maritime Service, and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) activities on the island.
It also was a USAAF Fourth Air Force Replacement Training Station. Administratively, the airfield operated as a sub-base of March Field located in Riverside County.
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