The airport, an airstrip and 66 acres 0. Route 99 and California State Route 59 , was dedicated on April 3, The airport site was leased to George Voight for a term of five years, and a subsidiary airline of the Stinson Aircraft Company started Merced's first scheduled airline service. In May the City of Merced assumed responsibility for the airport; constructing buildings, hangars, and other improvements; expanding the site to acres 0.
In as the U. Army was trying to establish a 30, per year basic pilot training facility in the Merced area, Merced Municipal Airport was deemed unsuitable for a major training facility due to lack of room. The United States Department of War would ultimately select an area 2 miles 3. That year, land the Merced Regional Airport now occupies in southwest Merced near Childs Avenue was acquired from delinquent tax rolls. The city council approved the first phase of construction of a new airport shortly after the acquisition.
This new city owned airport would be known as " New Merced Municipal Airport ". The lease was terminated immediately after the war, and the airport was returned to civil control. In United Airlines built offices and a terminal building and began one Douglas DC-3 flight each way a day. That year damage incurred during the Army Air Force's use of the site was repaired, and more improvements were made using federal funds. United flights to Merced ended in The new terminal is slated to be 11, square feet, up from 5, square feet in the current building.
Each year the fly-in drew hundreds of pilots from across the western United States to Merced to display their rare and antique aircraft. The fly-in featured an air show and an antique car show. In , the 50th annual fly-in drew nearly planes and several stunt pilots. Merced Regional Airport covers acres ha at an elevation of feet 47 m. It has one runway :. United Airlines had Boeing s direct to Los Angeles and San Francisco, the airport's only scheduled passenger jets.
Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Municipal airport serving Merced, California, United States. NAIP photograph Source: Federal Aviation Administration. History [ edit ]. Fly-In [ edit ]. Facilities [ edit ]. Airlines and destinations [ edit ]. Passenger [ edit ]. Statistics [ edit ]. In popular culture [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ].
