Hesperia Airport, is a public-use and privately ownedairport located three nm south of the central business district of Hesperia, California. Silverwood Aviation INC is the owner of the Airport. There is a restaurant and Motel at the Airport. The national plan of integrated airport system classified the airport as a general aviation, basic utility airport. The nearest flight service station is located at Riverside. As an FSS, the airport provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during and after flights and provides assistance during emergencies. Furthermore, the airport consists of a 16 unit motel with swimming pool, restaurant,bar and additional land for extensions. Mercy Air, a well known med-evac company have a fixed base at the airport, including permanent medical and flight crews and their maintenance; they have serviced critical care transportation throughout California and Nevada for over 25 years.
History
On August 16, 1960, Marion A. Alley, a Glendora investor, president and board chairman of the new Hesperia Bowl Corporation and nine others bought the Hesperia Airport for $250,000 from Harry Stanford of Hesperia. At the time they planned to expand and modernized the airport; this included adding a 24-hour fly-in service. Included in the purchase were the bar, restaurant, motel and swimming pool. Named chief pilot instructor and airport manager was Charles Janisse. Under the new management the airports intentions was to attract weekend recreationalist, executives and golfers to the desert area.
Accidents
On June 3, 1963, a World War II T-28 single engine trainer plane crashed in a shallow ravine killing the two star performers at approximately 1:35pm during an airshow. The casualties were the airport manager and pilot, Leonard T. Lewis, 27, and the manager of the airport restaurant, Maitland John McNeill, 36. A Cessna 337 Skymaster crashed killing the crew of four men on October 3, 1979, minutes after take off en route to Torrance Municipal Airport. The wreckage was spotted at 8:30 pm, according to the San Bernardino County Department 3. Three of the victims were from the Rancho Palos Verdes area, and the fourth victim was from the Westminster area. The National Air Transportation and Safety Board conducted an investigation. On March 7, 2017, a hobby ultralight aircraft crashed near the Hesperia airport at approximately 10 am. The pilot and only occupant was pronounced dead at the scene by the San Bernardino County Fire officials. The Federal Aviation Administration did not investigate this crash, because the aircraft was not registered.
Facilities and aircraft
Hesperia Airport covers an area of at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway: 3/21 is with an asphalt surface. For the 12-month period ending August 17, 2007, the airport had 6,000 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 16 per day. At that time there were 32 aircraft based at this airport: 29 single-engine, two multi-engine, one helicopter, and one ultralight. Hesperia airport is famous for its low fuel prices.
