🇺🇸 Blythe Airport

Blythe Airport (BLH/KBLH) is a publicly-owned, public-use general aviation facility located six miles west of Blythe, California,. It is owned and managed by the County of Riverside.

Notable Features and History:

• Established in the late 1930s by the Civil Aeronautics Administration as an emergency landing field.
• During World War II, it was known as Blythe Army Air Field and served as a significant training base for the United States Army Air Forces, including heavy bombardment crew training with B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators.
• The base had a peak population of nearly 8,000 personnel in December 1943.
• The airfield was declared surplus in 1946 and transferred to the County of Riverside in 1948.
• Today, abandoned runways and concrete parking ramps from its military past are visible in aerial photography.

Current Status:

• The airport is operational and open to the public.
• It has two asphalt runways: 8/26 (6,543 x 150 ft) and 17/35 (5,800 x 100 ft), both in fair condition,.
• There is no air traffic control tower.
• Fuel (100LL and Jet-A) is available.
• As of 2010, the airport had 25,150 aircraft operations annually, with 99% general aviation and 1% military.
• An active construction notice is in effect for the airport.

*Sources researched: nfdc.faa.gov, airnav.com, skyvector.com, aopa.org, en.wikipedia.org*