Background and Inventory
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Chapter 1 Background and Inventory MARIPOSA-YOSEMITE AIRPORT miles southeast of the airport, along State Highway 49. State Highway 49 borders the Location and Environs airport to the east, south and to the west, and provides direct access to the facility. The steep ariposa-Yosemite Airport is located in hills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range create west central Mariposa County, California. M a natural border for the airport along its northern The airport is approximately 70 miles northeast edge. of Fresno, 37 miles east of Merced and 18 miles southwest of Yosemite National Park. The Mariposa County is comprised of several rural airport lies along the western slope of the Sierra communities. Mount Bullion, directly to the south Nevada foothills at an elevation of approximately of the airport, is the closest community. The 2,250 feet above mean sea level (MSL). areas to the immediate north, east, and west are Yosemite National Park occupies the majority of relatively undeveloped with the exception of land within the County. California’s Central occasional rural residential development. The Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills lie west of the majority of urbanized development exists within airport (Figure 1A). The topography in the the Town of Mariposa and eastern Yosemite immediate airport environs consists of steep Valley. The rich history of the gold rush era can sloping hills to the north and to the east, with still be experienced in the numerous historical slow rising hills to the south and west. buildings and abandoned mining towns which are spread throughout the County of Mariposa. Airport Development and Facilities History The Mariposa County Airport was constructed in 1936 in a collaborative effort by the Federal Works Agency, the Works Project Administration, and the County of Mariposa. The airport was dedicated to the County in 1937. The airport is located immediately east of the intersection of State Highway 49 and the Mt. Bullion Cut-off Road. State Highway 49 is the main north-south highway in the County and connects Mariposa County to other highways and urban areas of the Central Valley. According to the Department of Finance for the State of California, the County of Mariposa has no incorporated cities. The town of Mariposa, the county seat, is located approximately four- Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Master Plan (April 2008) 1-1 BACKGROUND AND INVENTORY CHAPTER 1 Figure 1A Location Map Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Master Plan (April 2008) 1-2 BACKGROUND AND INVENTORY CHAPTER 1 The Mariposa-Yosemite Airport was originally medium-intensity runway edge lights are constructed as only a dirt strip. It was not until available. To facilitate landing operations, a the late 1940’s that the runway was paved with Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) is in asphalt. place for both Runway 08 and Runway 26. From the time of its inception, Mariposa- Mariposa-Yosemite Airport’s main building area Yosemite Airport has served an integral part in is located in the south-central portion of the the County’s emergency and evacuation plans. airport’s property. There are 45 hangars of various sizes and condition occupying the During the course of the 1997 flood which majority of the airport’s building area. In addition devastated the Yosemite Valley, Mariposa- to aircraft hangars, there are 51 tiedown Yosemite Airport was used as a base of locations available for both transient and based operations for many of the Forest Service aircraft. A public-use aviation fuel helicopters sent into the flood zone storage and dispensing facility is to conduct rescues. The airport has located just north of the airport’s also, in numerous instances, served terminal building between the two as a temporary place of refuge for transient aircraft tiedown aprons. displaced residents of the county. The above ground fuel tank provides In the early 1990’s, the Stumpfield general aviation gas to the flying Mountain Fire ravaged the County public. of Mariposa. In an effort to On the northeast side of the airfield extinguish the fire, 14 fire attack lies a separate building area. This helicopters, including the CH-47 building area includes a small house Chinook and S-64 Skycrane, were for the airport manager, two private aircraft temporarily based at Mariposa-Yosemite Airport hangars, and four old hangars owned by the helping to resolve a devastating situation. County. Additional facilities in this vicinity include Facilities the airport’s Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS), the airport’s segmented circle, Mariposa-Yosemite Airport is owned by the and the airport beacon. County of Mariposa and maintained by the County Public Works Department. Mariposa- Yosemite Airport is the only airport within Mariposa County. A summary of Mariposa- Yosemite Airport facilities is presented in Table 1A on the following page. Runway 08-26 is 3,306 feet in length and 60 feet wide. Both runway ends have straight-in nonprecision instrument approach capabilities with visibility minimums down to 1¼ statute mile. Both runways are approved for “circle-to-land” operations. The runway is paved with asphalt rated at 12,000 pounds for aircraft with single- wheel landing gear configurations and marked for nonprecision operations. Pilot controlled Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Master Plan (April 2008) 1-3 BACKGROUND AND INVENTORY CHAPTER 1 Table 1A Airport Profile GENERAL INFORMATION AIR TRAFFIC PROCEDURES ! Airport Ownership ! Airplane Traffic Patterns Mariposa County Runway 08: Right traffic County Public Works Department manages and Runway 26: Left traffic operates facility ! Typical Pattern Altitude ! Jurisdiction: Unincorporated portion of Mariposa County 3,254 ft. MSL (1,000 ft. AGL) ! Property Size: 94.6 acres owned in fee, 29.6 in easements ! Instrument Approaches (Runway 8-26) (124.2 total acres) GPS-A: 11/4 mi. visibility, 3,900’ MSL minimum descent ! Airport Classification: General Aviation Airport altitude (1,646’ AGL) ! Airport Elevation: 2,254 ft. MSL GPS-B: 11/4 mi. visibility, 4,180’ MSL minimum descent altitude (1,926’ AGL) “Circle to land” operation approved for all runways RUNWAY/TAXIWAY DESIGN ! Communications: CTAF/UNICOM: 122.7 Runway 08-26 ! Airport Reference Code: B-1 (Small) ! BUILDING AREA Critical Aircraft: Beechcraft Baron ! ! Location: West of mid-field Dimensions: 3,306 ft. long, 60 ft. wide ! ! Aircraft Parking Location Pavement Strength (main landing gear configuration) West of Runway 8-26, center of building area 12,500 lbs. (single wheel) ! ! Aircraft Parking Capacity Average Gradient: 0.97% T-Hangars: 45 spaces ! Runway Lighting Based Tiedowns: 26 spaces Pilot-controlled medium intensity runway edge lighting Transient Tiedowns: 25 spaces (MIRL) ! Fixed Based Operators ! Runway Marking County run airport service center Non-precision instrument ! Services ! Visual Approach Aids County provides Fuel: 100LL Runway 26: PAPI ( 4.5 ˚, Threshold Crossing Height 40’) on left side ENVIRONS Runway 08: PAPI ( 4.0 ˚, Threshold Crossing Height ! 36’) on left side Access: Primary access via State Highway 49 ! ! Primary Taxiways Nearby Land Uses Full-length parallel taxiway on west side of Runway Agricultural lands to the northwest and south 8-26 Airfield primarily surrounded by open space Town of Mt. Bullion to the south Helicopter parking positions Scattered rural residential ! Location: West of Runway 26 ! Topography ! Critical Aircraft: Bell 412 Generally steep hillsides in immediate airport vicinity ! Dimensions: 50 ft. long, 50 ft. wide Terrain rises to the north and east (Mt. Bullion and Sierra Nevada Foothills) ! Surface Type: Concrete ! Lighting: Taxiway lights AIRPORT PLANNING DOCUMENTS ! Airport Policy for Commercial/Business Usage Adopted by the County Board of Supervisors April 1999 ! Airport Master Plan Adopted by County Board of Supervisors April 1995 ! Airport Comprehensive Land Use Plan Approved by County Board of Supervisors June 1995 ! Environmental Impact Report Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Master Plan and Comprehensive Land Use Plan Approved by the State Clearinghouse May 1995 Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Master Plan (April 2008) 1-4 BACKGROUND AND INVENTORY CHAPTER 1 AERONAUTICAL SETTING and provides a direct route between two VOR navigation facilities: Friant and Linden. Area Airports Three public-use airports are located within a 30 COMMUNITY PROFILE statute mile radius of Mariposa-Yosemite Airport Mariposa County was incorporated in 1850. At (Figure 1B). Of these airports, Merced Municipal that time it was the largest county in California Airport is the only commercial airport providing encompassing over 20% of the states total land airline service and enhanced facilities. Other area. However, since the late 1850’s, Mariposa than Merced Municipal Airport, Pine Mountain County, the original “Mother of Counties”, has Lake Airport in Tuolumne County has the been broken into 11 smaller counties. Today greatest number of based aircraft (113 based Mariposa County consists of over 931,000 aircraft as of 2005). Table 1B below provides acres, 452,384 acres of which belongs to the detailed information on these airports. Yosemite National Park. Table 1B Area Airports Location Facilities Services / 4 3 Airport Name / Direction 1 2 Owner Community/ County Distance Based Aircraft of Runways Number Longest Rwy (ft.) Surface Lighted-Intensity Approach Visibility Category Control Tower AvGas Jet Fuel Maintenance Rentals Auto Food Mariposa Mariposa/ Mariposa-Yosemite ― 52 1 3,306 A M 1¼ NP ― 3 ― 3 3 ― County Mariposa Tuolumne Groveland/ Pine Mountain 24N 113 1 3,625 A M 1 VIS ― 3 ― 3 ― 3 County Tuolumne Atwater/ Castle Merced County 25W 21 1 11,802 A/C H ½ ILS ― 3 3 3 3 3 Merced Merced Municipal/ Merced/ City of Merced 30SW 99 1 5,903 A H ½ ILS ― 3 3 3 ― 3 Macready Field Merced 1 Distance in statute miles from MPI; 2 A=Asphalt, C=Concrete; 3 M=Medium, H=High; 4NP=Nonprecision, V=Visual, ILS=Instrument Landing System Area Airspace Rather than incorporated cities, Mariposa County consists of a handful of small towns, the Federal regulations establish various categories largest of which is Mariposa, located 4 miles of airspace with distinct operating requirements southeast of the airport.