Humboldt Air
Something I generally pass right by is news regarding our local airports. For once I couldn't help myself but to check out this item in the Eureka Reporter dealing with the county's airports, most specifically Rohnerville Airport, northeast of Fortuna.
One thing that got me wondering right off the bat was the statement that there are six airfields in Humboldt County. I can only think of five off the top of my head: Kneeland, Rohnerville, Murray Field (Eureka), Samoa and Arcata/ Mckinleyville. Which one am I missing?
I also didn't realize how dependent private air travel seems to be on the availability of hangar space on airfields. I see planes parked on the tarmac on Murray Field all the time. I figured that's where they always stay. Do they really need hangars?
Still, I can't help but wonder if the addition of fifty hangars to Rohnerville Airport might be a bit of a luxury. Then again, I know next to nothing about the subject so I suppose I should defer to others involved in aviation for intelligent discussion on the issue.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:58 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Dinsmore airport.
I wasn't sure where Dinsmore was. I thought it was near Rohnerville and they'd mixed the two together when the guy said his father was flown out of Dinsmore.
Used to be one in Willow Creek also.
I'm a pilot currently living in the desert near Mojave. My wife and I are looking to move to an area where the summer temperature doesn't spend most of the time 100F. Humbolt county is at the top of our lise ... except for the lack of hangar space for our airplane. Tieing-down outside in the damp, salty air of the Humbolt coast can seriously damage an aluminum airplane. Corrosion can literally destroy an airplane worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We sent in $50 to get on the hangar waiting list, but it may take years for our number to come up. We are also told there is no land available on most county airports to build private hangars.
We really like the Eureka/Arcada area, but because of the scarcity of hangar space we'll probably end up on the Oregon cost.
Fred,
Hoopa has a very nice airport and some hangar space that the tribe is using for storage. The strip I believe is just over 5,000 ft long. I would not advise having a plane tied down outside there for very long. I know of one pilot noticed in his preflight that someone had "borrowed" all of his gas. Bill Pearson who owns the Weitchpec store used to keep a plane there. The Willow Creek strip is no longer suitable for fixed-wing aircraft.
Hi there,
The six county-owned airports are: Garberville, Dinsmore, Kneeland, Rohnerville, Arcata, and Murray Field. Samoa is owned by the City of Eureka. Shelter Cove is private.
As for hangar space, that is driven by demand and there is currently a waiting list.
Check out the County's Aviation Division page for master plans for all of the airports. RREDC also has some info on their site.
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Fred !?!?!?!?! How long you lived in Humboldt ?? NOT SURE where dinsomore is ? You need to get out more brother.
there is such a waiting list because our previous airports manager was an ass. The new one is finally making things happen.
The Dinsmore airstrip comes in handy. An old hunting buddy of my Dad's grabbed the wrong cup when he was doing the dishes up on Buck Mountain, and accidentally chugged half a cup of dish soap instead of Old Crow. They got him off the mountain and flew him out of Dinsmore to get his stomach pumped. This was back in the days before Buck Mtn. got chopped up into forty-acre plots.
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