Reedley Municipal Airport

Reedley Municipal Airport (FAA LID: O32), sometimes referred to in shorthand but not officially as RMA, is a public airport located four miles (6.4 km) north of Reedley, serving southeast Fresno County and northeast Tulare County, California, USA.

Reedley Municipal Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCity of Reedley
LocationReedley, California
Elevation AMSL383 ft / 116.7 m
Coordinates36°39′59″N 119°26′59″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 3,300 1,006 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Aircraft operations33,000
Based aircraft21

History of Operations

Great Western Airport

In 1946, the Reedley Flight Club created the Great Western Airport north of Reedley and southwest of Mount Campbell, as a private recreational facility. Since the early 1950's the Great Western Airport had been leased out for crop dusting operations under the name Great Western Aeronautics.[2]

Great Western Elementary School, named after the airport, was built south of the facility, it is now a part of Kings Canyon Unified School District.

Reedley Municipal Airport

In April 1975, the City of Reedley proposed the establishment of Reedley Municipal Airport on the site of what had previously been the Great Western Airport. In their proposal, they noted that Great Western Airport was substandard for significant aviation use, and so after the City's acquisition of the landing strip, significant renovation would be needed. At the time, the area was unincorporated, and within the proposal, the City requested to incorporate the land the airport sits on into the city itself, creating a legal exclave north of the City.[2]

In 2018, the Sustainable Aviation Project delivered four electric propulsion aircraft to Reedley Municipal Airport. Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba gave a presentation to the Economic Development Corporation, proposing Reedley as an ideal place to expand sustainable aviation technology and careers, to take advantage of Reedley's location near Fresno, and to combat Reedley's growing 33% unemployment rate.[3]

On August 7, 2020, Reedley Municipal Airport was the base of operations for the Giumarra Companies' test flight shipment of peaches to supply Gelson's Markets, a Southern California-based grocery retailer. The Cessna aircraft used for the test flew one hour from RMA to Whiteman Airport in Los Angeles. This delivery method was the first of its kind for Gelson's and the Giumarra Companies, when the peaches were sold at the retailer, they marketed them with information regarding the shipment, and the resulting freshness of the fruit. The test flight was considered a success, with Rob McDougall, CEO of Gelson's referring to it as "cutting edge."[4]

Facilities and aircraft

Reedley Municipal Airport covers an area of 138 acres (56 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (15/33) measuring 3,300 x 60 ft (1,006 x 18 m).[1]

There are 21 single-engine aircraft based at Reedley Municipal Airport, and during the 12-month period ending on 30 January 2020, the airport logged 33,000 operations.[5]

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for O32 PDF, effective 1/13/2011
  2. Reedley, City of (1975). Draft Environmental Impact Statement Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of The National Environmental Policy Act, 1968, PL 91-190 and Section 16 of the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970, PL 91-258 for Reedley Municipal Airport Reedley, California. Los Angeles, California: Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. Eager, Lee Ann. "All eyes on Reedley, Mendota, valley as center for Electric Aviation Industry". The Business Journal. The Business Journal. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. "Giumarra completes test flight of peaches within California". FreshFruitPortal.com. Yentzen Group. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  5. AIRPORT MASTER RECORD (Report). U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration. 2020-04-23. p. 1.
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