Riverside Municipal Airport

Riverside Municipal Airport (Riverside Arlington Airport, decades ago) (IATA: RAL, ICAO: KRAL, FAA LID: RAL), is four miles (6 km) southwest of downtown Riverside, the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States.[1]

Riverside Municipal Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorCity of Riverside
ServesRiverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan Area
LocationRiverside, California
Elevation AMSL819 ft / 250 m
Coordinates33°57′07″N 117°26′42″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9/27 5,401 1,646 Asphalt
16/34 2,850 869 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 60 18 Asphalt

Scheduled flights to Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport (Arizona) on Western Express Air ended when that airline ceased operations at the end of May 2007.[2]

Runway 9/27 was paved about 1956 and Bonanza Air Lines appeared soon after; until 1969 it and successor Air West flew DC-3s and Fairchild F-27s to LAX, Las Vegas, Palm Springs and beyond. Golden West Airlines served Riverside in the 1970s with nonstop and direct de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to LAX.

Riverside Municipal Airport has been home to Civil Air Patrol Squadron 5 since 2005.

In 2013, FedEx Express, a cargo airline, donated a Boeing 727-200F to California Baptist University for its new aviation science program. The aircraft is on permanent display at the airport and provides a working laboratory for aviation science students. The aircraft, N266FE (cn 21672/1538), is a Boeing 727-233/Adv(F).[3][4]

Facilities

The airport covers 525 acres (212 ha) and has two runways and one helipad:

  • 9/27: 5,401 x 100 ft. (1,646 x 30 m), asphalt
  • 16/34: 2,850 x 48 ft. (869 x 15 m), asphalt
  • H1: 60 x 60 ft. (18 x 18 m), asphalt

The runway has ILS, GPS, and VOR approaches.

Should there be plans to expand, the Airport's Master Plan supports lengthening runway 9/27 to 6,153 feet (1,875 m). Runway 27 has a Visual Approach Slope Indicator.

The crosswind runway, RWY 16-34, is suited for smaller aircraft. Runway 34 has a Precision Approach Path Indicator.

General aviation

The airport is home to about 100 general aviation aircraft.

  • FBOs:
    Riverside Air Service
  • Airport businesses
    Capital Jet Management

References
  1. FAA Airport Form 5010 for RAL PDF
  2. Western Air Express (official site)
  3. A video of its arrival on January 10, 2013 can be found here.
  4. "FedEx donates Boeing 727 to CBU Aviation Science program". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
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