Eastern Sierra Regional Airport facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport
Bishop Army Airfield |
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USGS aerial photo, 2006
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works |
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| Operator | Inyo County | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Bishop, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Inyo County, east of Bishop | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 4,124 ft / 1,257 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°22′23″N 118°21′49″W / 37.37306°N 118.36361°W | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
 KBIH
Location in California
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| Runway | |||||||||||||||||||
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| [[Helipad|]] | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2006) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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Eastern Sierra Regional Airport (IATA: BIH, ICAO: KBIH, FAA LID: BIH) is an airport located near Bishop, California. It is in Inyo County, about two miles east of Bishop. The airport is owned by the City of Los Angeles and managed by Inyo County. It was once known as Bishop Army Airfield.
Contents
Airport Features
The airport is quite large, covering about 830 acres of land. It sits at an elevation of 4,124 feet above sea level. This means it's pretty high up!
Runways and Helipads
The airport has three main asphalt runways. These are the long, paved strips where planes take off and land.
- Runway 7/25 is 5,566 feet long.
- Runway 12/30 is 7,498 feet long. This is the longest runway at the airport.
- Runway 16/34 is 5,600 feet long.
Besides runways, there are also two helipads. Helipads are special landing areas just for helicopters.
- Helipad H1 is 40 feet by 40 feet.
- Helipad H2 is 100 feet by 100 feet.
Airport Activity
In 2006, the airport had about 26,000 aircraft operations. This means planes took off or landed about 26,000 times that year. On average, that's about 71 flights every day!
Most of these flights, about 88%, were for "general aviation." This includes private planes, corporate jets, and small charter flights, not big airline passenger planes. The other 12% were military flights.
At that time, 64 aircraft were based at the airport. This means 64 planes called Eastern Sierra Regional Airport their home. Most of these were single-engine planes.
Airport History
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport has an interesting past, especially during wartime.
World War II Use
The airfield first opened in April 1940. During World War II, it was called Bishop Army Airfield. It was a smaller base connected to Muroc Army Airfield.
The military used Bishop Army Airfield for important training. Pilots learned how to fly different aircraft and how to deliver bombs. The base also stored aircraft and weapons. In 1943, it became part of Tonopah Army Airfield.
After World War II ended, Bishop Army Airfield was used to store military planes. In 1949, the Army decided they didn't need the base anymore. It was then returned for civilian use.
Later Military Use
Even after World War II, the U.S. Air Force used parts of the airport again. From 1965 to 1971, and again from 1980 to 1985, they rented areas. This area was known as the Bishop Test Site.
The Air Force used this site to test how well helicopters and other aircraft performed. They even added things like fuel stations, buildings, and aircraft maintenance areas.
Today, the airport is owned by the City of Los Angeles. It is leased to Inyo County for public use.
Past Airline Flights
Eastern Sierra Regional Airport used to have regular passenger flights from different airlines.
Airlines and Destinations
In 1971, an airline called Trans Sierra Airlines flew from Bishop. They had daily flights to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Jose (SJC). They used small twin-propeller planes called Cessna 402s.
Later, Trans Sierra Airlines changed its name to Sierra Pacific Airlines. In the mid-1970s, they flew to Burbank (BUR) in the Los Angeles area. They also flew to Las Vegas (LAS), with a stop at Mammoth Yosemite Airport. They even had nonstop flights to Fresno (FAT) using Handley Page Jetstream planes.
In the early 1980s, other airlines served the airport:
- Air Sierra flew nonstop to Fresno using Piper Navajo planes.
- Wings West Airlines flew to Santa Monica (SMO) and Sacramento (SMF). They also had nonstop flights to Oakland (OAK). They used Cessna 402 aircraft.
- Mojave Airlines flew to Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN), and other California cities. They used Beechcraft C99 turboprop planes.
- By 1988, Alpha Air offered flights to Los Angeles (LAX) and Oakland (OAK). They also flew nonstop to San Jose (SJC) using Beechcraft 1900C planes.
Current Status
Today, Eastern Sierra Regional Airport does not have any scheduled passenger flights. If you want to fly from the area, you would need to go to the nearby Mammoth Yosemite Airport (MMH).
