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Shafter Airport

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Shafter Airport

Minter Field
4 September 1994
Summary
OwnerMinter Field Airport District
ServesShafter, California
Elevation AMSL421 ft / 128 m
Coordinates35°30′27″N 119°11′32″W / 35.50750°N 119.19222°W / 35.50750; -119.19222
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 4,501 1,372 Asphalt
17/35 2,972 906 Concrete
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations45,000
Based aircraft89

Shafter Airport (IATA: MIT, ICAO: KMIT, FAA LID: MIT), also known as Minter Field, is a public use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) east of the central business district of Shafter, in Kern County, California, United States. It is owned by the Minter Field Airport District.[1]

Facilities and aircraft

The airport covers an area of 1,206 acres (488 ha) at an elevation of 421 feet (128 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 12/30 with 4,501 x 100 ft (1,372 x 30 m) asphalt surface and 17/35 with a 2,972 x 100 ft (906 x 30 m) concrete surface.[1]

For the 12-month period ending January 18, 2007, the airport had 45,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 123 per day. At that time there were 89 aircraft based at this airport: 81% single-engine, 3% multi-engine, 1% jet, 6% helicopter and 9% ultralight.[1]

History

Lerdo Field, as the airport was initially known during World War II was first opened in June 1941 when the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) dispatched a small garrison of airmen to open an airfield at Shafter.[2]

The name was derived from close proximity to the highway of the same name. The airfield commander utilized Bakersfield College as his headquarters, while airmen were quartered in temporary facilities from Bakersfield to Wasco while barracks and other structures were being built. As construction proceeded though the rest of the year, the Minter Sub-Depot was established as a branch of the Sacramento Air Depot.

In August, the first operational training units (OTU)s began arriving at Minter, the airfields mission being advanced pilot training of USAAC bomber, attack, transport and pursuit pilots. In April of 1942, contracts for the construction of more than 65 on-base buildings were let while the constantly increasing numbers of cadets were housed in a large tent city erected as temporary shelter.

With the relative completion of construction in July 1942, the airfield was renamed Minter Field a member of the locally prominent Minter family. The Lieutenant, a World War I veteran, was killed in a mid-air collision over March Field in July, 1932. The airfield was placed under the overall command of the United States Army Air Forces Fourth Air Force, Headquartered at Hamilton Army Airfield, just north of San Francisco.

The primary aircraft flown at Minter Field was the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, which was used for basic flight training. Other training aircraft included the Cessna UC-78 Bobcat, as well as the AT-6 Texan advanced trainer, North American B-25 Mitchell twin-engine medium bomber, and Lockheed P-38 Lightning, as well as other widely used fighter, bomber and observation craft.

With the end of the war in 1945, airfield was determined to be excess by the military and turned over to the local government for civil use in March 1948.[3]

The Gossamer Condor piloted by Bryan Allen won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977 by completing a figure '8' course specified by the Royal Aeronautical Society at Minter Field. A California State Monument is located at the Field for this event.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for MIT PDF, effective 2008-04-10
  2. ^ Thole, Lou (1999), Forgotten Fields of America : World War II Bases and Training, Then and Now - Vol. 2. Publisher: Pictorial Histories Pub, ISBN 1575100517
  3. ^ "Minter Army Airfield History". Minter Field Air Museum. Retrieved 2008-04-20.


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