Road Trip: Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California

[thedrifter]

Road Trip: Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California



Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX), formerly Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located about 10 miles north of downtown San Diego, California.

The base contains 23,116 acres. It is bisected by Kearny Villa Road and Interstate 15. The area east of Kearny Villa Road, called "East Miramar", is undeveloped and is used for military training.

On October 1 1997, NAS Miramar, California, officially became Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, as part of the DoD Realignment Program.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is a 24,000-acre installation located in the northern suburbs of San Diego and is one of the largest military bases in the area. The station averages 250 aircraft aboard on any given day, with up to 200,000 flight operations per year. During Base Realignment and Closure hearings in 1993, MCAS El Toro was selected for closure, and the Marine flight operations were recommended for transfer to NAS Miramar. Marine Corps Air Stations El Toro and Tustin were closed, and their assets moved to Miramar by the end of 1999.

Miramar is home for eight F/A-18C & F/A-18D Hornet jet squadrons, four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter squadrons, four CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter squadrons, one KC-130 transport and refueling squadron, and nine station support aircraft for a total of about 257 aircraft. When the move was completed, 12,200 Marines, Sailors and civilians called Miramar home.

To lessen the noise impact to the community, MCAS Miramar has made adjustments to their operations over the years, including the use of hush-houses, limitations on engine run-ups, and modification to flight plans.

NAS Miramar is divided into four land use sectors: Main Station, South/West Miramar, East Miramar, and Sycamore Canyon. These sectors are further divided into "improved," "semi-improved," and "unimproved" acreage. Improved acreage (1,363 acres) is land on which intensive development has taken place and grounds maintenance is performed.

hese areas include residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and construction sites. Semi-improved lands (6,931 acres) include agricultural outlease lands, the flight line, ammunition storage areas, fuelbreaks, fire roads, and drainage ways. Unimproved areas (14,891 acres) are considered resource management areas which contain environmental and Air Installation Compatible Use Zone constraints. Of the total land holdings, approximately 17,000 acres are unimproved or semi- improved and consist of native vegetation.

Learn More About MCAS Miramar

http://www.miramar.usmc.mil/home.htm





continued.....

[thedrifter]

In 1989 a team of dedicated Marine volunteers, led by Brigadier General Jay Hubbard, established The El Toro and Foundation at MCAS El Toro, CA. When El Toro was closed in 1999 by BRAC, a group of former Marines from San Diego, led by Major Generals Bob Butcher and Frank Lang formed the “Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation” and assumed the 501(c)(3) charter from the El Toro Foundation.





The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum (FLAM) has undergone a rigorous certification process and is one of only four certified Marine Corps Command Museums. The FLAM is the only museum in the world dedicated to the primary purpose of preserving the history of U.S. Marine Corps aviation and boasts a collection of over forty vintage aircraft, a library with extensive research materials, photos, video, valuable memorabilia and artifacts.

Visit The Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum

http://www.flyingleathernecks.org/index.html


Ellie