Nevada County Air Park

Nevada County Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerNevada County
LocationGrass Valley, California
Elevation AMSL3,154 ft / 961 m
Coordinates39°13′26″N 121°00′11″W / 39.22389°N 121.00306°W / 39.22389; -121.00306
Websitemynevadacounty.com/...
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
7/25 4,351 1,326 Asphalt
Statistics (2001)
Aircraft operations27,750
Based aircraft142
Source: FAA[1] and airport website[2]

Nevada County Air Park (ICAO: KGOO, FAA LID: GOO, formerly O17) is a public airport in Nevada County, California, three miles east of Grass Valley, California.[1] It is also known as Nevada County Airport.[2]

Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and IATA, but this airport is GOO to the FAA and has no IATA code.[3] (IATA assigned GOO to an airport in Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia.[4])

History

The air park was built by local entrepreneur Errol MacBoyle to fly gold mined by his Idaho–Maryland Mine Corporation to Mills Field, now known as San Francisco International Airport. From there it was driven to the San Francisco Mint by the company's treasurer. Located on MacBoyle's Loma Rica Ranch property, Loma Rica Airport was a mile east of MacBoyle's residence. By 1934, the airstrip included a hangar, shops, and a full time radio operator. Eventually, the airport included lights for night landings on its 2400 foot airstrip.[5][6]

The airport was closed down at the onset of World War II due in part to the government shutdown of mining operations along with the wartime ban on civilian flight within 150 miles of the coast of California. The airport property was purchased from the MacBoyle estate by Charles Litton Sr. in 1955. Litton had previously moved his company's engineering laboratory to Grass Valley in 1953. After acquiring the property, Litton spent $10,000 to repair the runway that had fallen into disrepair and partnered with local government and businesses through the Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce to reopen the airport and build an industrial park in order to attract new business to the region.

The airport was reopened in 1956 and renamed Loma Rica Airport. In 1957, the airport and access roads were given to Nevada County.[5]: 351  The United States Forest Service and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection began using the airport as a base for their wildfire air attack operations in 1958. A major renovation took place in 1965 when the landing strip was lengthened to 4,000 feet (1,200 m). In 1994 a 3000 square foot terminal was added and the following year the landing strip was again extended.

Facilities

Nevada County Air Park covers 117 acres (47 ha) at an elevation of 3,154 feet (961 m). Its single runway, 7/25, is 4,351 by 75 feet (1,326 x 23 m).[1]

In 2015 the airport had 27,750 aircraft operations, average 76 per day: 96% general aviation and 4% air taxi. 142 aircraft were then based at this airport — 95% single-engine, 4% multi-engine and 1% helicopter.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Form 5010 for GOO PDF, effective 2009-07-02.
  2. 1 2 Nevada County Airport page at Nevada County Web site
  3. ↑ Great Circle Mapper: KGOO - Grass Valley, California - Nevada County Air Park
  4. ↑ Aviation Safety Network: GOO / YDGI - Goondiwindi Airport, QLD, Australia
  5. 1 2 McKinney, Gage (2016). MacBoyle's Gold. Santa Rosa: Comstock Bonanza Press. pp. 197–199. ISBN 9780933994614.
  6. ↑ Clark, Jack (2005). Gold in Quartz: The Legendary Idaho Maryland Mine. Grass Valley: Comstock Bonanza Press. pp. 195–197. ISBN 0933994311.
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