Columbia Airport (California)

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Columbia Airport
CAL FIRE OV-10 and S-2T aircraft performing a flyby over Columbia Airport in March 2007
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerCounty of Tuolumne
LocationColumbia, California
Elevation AMSL2,118 ft / 646 m
Coordinates38°01′50″N 120°24′52″W / 38.03056°N 120.41444°W / 38.03056; -120.41444
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 2,600 792 Turf
17/35 4,670 1,423 Asphalt
Statistics (2011)
Aircraft operations46,020
Based aircraft106

Columbia Airport (IATA: COA, FAA LID: O22) is located a mile southwest of Columbia, in Tuolumne County, California, United States. It is owned by the County of Tuolumne.[1]

Facilities[edit]

Columbia Airport covers 356 acres (144 ha) and has two runways: 17/35 is 4,670 x 75 ft (1,423 x 23 m) asphalt and 11/29 is 2,600 x 100 ft (792 x 30 m) turf.[1]

In the year ending August 3, 2011, the airport had 46,020 aircraft operations, average 126 per day: 96% general aviation, 4% air taxi and less than 1% military. 106 aircraft are based at the airport: 91% single engine, 4% helicopter, 3% multi-engine, 1% jet, and 1% ultralight.[1]

Cal Fire Firefighting Air Attack Base[edit]

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) operates an aerial firefighting air attack base at the airport with five aircraft based at the airfield. The typical complement of aircraft is one Rockwell OV-10 tactical (spotter) airplane, two Grumman S-2T air tankers, and one Sikorsky S-70i helicopter.[2] The base also hosts a helitack crew, a team of wildland firefighters who are transported by helicopter to fires. In addition to the firefighting mission, the helicopter is also equipped with a hoist for search and rescue missions. The Columbia Air Attack Base has facilities for refilling water and retardant on up to six firefighting aircraft, on rotation.[3]

Historical air service[edit]

The airport had scheduled passenger airline service operated by Yosemite Airlines, a small commuter air carrier which was based at Columbia Airport, from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) as well as the airline's timetables, Yosemite Airlines flew nonstop and direct service between the airport and Sacramento International Airport (SMF), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) with small Beechcraft, Cessna and Piper prop aircraft.[4][5][6] The airline's route maps from this same time period also show nonstop service from the airport to Lake Tahoe, Modesto and Stockton.[7]

In 1999, Scenic Air, another commuter airline, was operating daily nonstop service between the airport and Oakland International Airport (OAK) with Grumman Gulfstream I propjet aircraft.[8]

The airport was used as a filming location for several sequences in the 1992 film Radio Flyer. [9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d FAA Airport Form 5010 for O22 PDF, effective 2/9/2012
  2. ^ "Columbia Air Attack Base".
  3. ^ McCarthy, Guy (2022-04-21). "Fire Hawk helicopter ready for fire season at Columbia Air Attack Base". The Union Democrat. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  4. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Nov. 15, 1979 & April 1, 1981 editions, Official Airline Guide (OAG), San Francisco-Columbia schedules
  5. ^ http://www.timetableimages.com, Jan. 24, 1977 & Dec. 11, 1979 Yosemite Airlines timetables
  6. ^ Feb. 1, 1976 Official Airline Guide (OAG)
  7. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, Yosemite Airlines route maps
  8. ^ http://www.departedflights.com, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Oakland-Yosemite National Park schedules
  9. ^ "Radio Flyer". Film America.

External links[edit]


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