Hemet-Ryan Airport
Hemet-Ryan Airport Ryan Field | |||||||||||||||
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AMSL 1,512 ft / 461 m | | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 33°44′02″N 117°01′21″W / 33.73389°N 117.02250°W | ||||||||||||||
Website | rchmtra.com | ||||||||||||||
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Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2008) | |||||||||||||||
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Hemet-Ryan Airport (IATA: HMT, ICAO: KHMT, FAA LID: HMT) is three miles (6 km) southwest of Hemet, in Riverside County, California.[1]
Hemet-Ryan is a main
History
The airfield opened in September 1940 for the United States Army Air Corps. It was assigned to the West Coast Training Center (later Western Flying Training Command) as a primary (level 1) pilot training airfield. Later it was activated as an Air Corps Training Detachment with Ryan School of Aeronautics conducting primary flight training under control of 5th Flying Training Detachment. Known sub-bases and auxiliaries were:[2]
- Banning Auxiliary Field (Unknown location)
- Highland Auxiliary Field (Unknown location)
- Ryan Auxiliary Field #1 33°47′26″N 117°00′58″W / 33.79056°N 117.01611°W
- Ryan Auxiliary Field #2 33°44′49″N 117°13′10″W / 33.74694°N 117.21944°W
- Ryan Auxiliary Field #3 33°48′10″N 117°11′05″W / 33.80278°N 117.18472°W[3]
- Valle Vista Auxiliary Field 33°45′35″N 116°53′30″W / 33.75972°N 116.89167°W[4]
- Gibbs Auxiliary Field 32°48′56″N 117°08′22″W / 32.81556°N 117.13944°W
Flight training was performed with
The airport was inactivated in December 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program, the airfield was declared surplus and turned over to the
For over 50 years (about 1959–2009), Hemet-Ryan was a popular site for operating sailplanes (gliders). Sailplane Enterprises, a commercial glider flight school, operated there from 1969 to 2009. The Cypress Soaring club was based there from 1969 to 2009. Orange County Soaring Association (OCSA) also used Hemet-Ryan as its home base from 1991 to 2009. On September 30, 2009, the Riverside County Economic Development Agency closed Hemet-Ryan to glider operations. OCSA filed a complaint with the FAA pursuant to Title 14 CFR Part 16 against the County of Riverside. On February 11, 2011, the FAA ruled that the closure was in violation of Federal law and Federal grant obligations. The County declined to appeal the ruling.[7] On November 18, 2016, the Cypress Soaring Club returned to Hemet-Ryan and resumed sailplane operations on runway 4-22. As of November 2019, Cypress Soaring has seven sailplanes and a Cessna 182, used for aerotowing, based at Hemet-Ryan Airport.
On August 6, 2023, during the 2023 California wildfire season, two firefighting helicopters crashed into each other in Cabazon, California, having taken off from Hemet-Ryan Airport about fifteen minutes earlier.[8]
Ryan Air Attack
Ryan Air Attack is a joint
History of Ryan Air Attack
The
From the beginning of Ryan Air Attack Base, Cal Fire and the USFS used privately owned contracted World War II vintage aircraft. The type and sizes of aircraft varied based on vendor, availability of flyable airframes and spare parts. As the years counted off and the flight hours increased these airplanes became static museum displays or were robbed for parts to keep the dwindling fleet flying. Because of the dwindling air tanker fleet, Cal Fire acquired excess
In 1977 Cal Fire began a two-week pilot helitack program using a contracted helicopter. Headed up by Captain Emil Derdowski and two firefighters, the program was eventually extended to a total of four weeks. The success of this pilot program brought on line the Hemet-Ryan Helitack Base using a full-time contract helicopter staffed with three captains and nine firefighters operating out of Ryan Air Attack Base.[5]
In 1992 Cal Fire acquired several larger
Future of Ryan Air Attack
In June 2007 The Hemet-Ryan Airport was approved $2.5 million from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and over $25 million from the state for the redevelopment of the air-attack facilities. The upgrades would include extending the runway from 4,300 feet (1,300 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) to accommodate heavier firefighting aircraft such as the MAFFS C-130. The runway expansion would take place on the southwest portion of the complex and require re-alignment of bordering Stetson Avenue and Warren Road. The new base would also include a 5,842-square-foot (542.7 m2), 22-bed barracks building, a 4,812-square-foot (447.0 m2) three-bay vehicle storage facility and shop; a 4,646-square-foot (431.6 m2), two-story operations building containing pilot facilities, administration and dispatch center; a 15,300-square-foot (1,420 m2), two-bay open-shade canopy and an 8,211-square-foot (762.8 m2) helicopter/ OV-10 enclosed hangar. Also planned are new public and secured staff parking areas, six fire-retardant loading pits to handle inter-agency aircraft, along with equipment tanks, pumps and piping used to mix and deliver fire retardant.[10]
Because of critical need, the strategic location of the base and proven performance and handling of large wildfires, Cal Fire and the state consider the project top priority in the list of firefighting capital improvements.[9]
Construction was to begin in 2008, but as of 2010, Cal Fire is still waiting for the promised state funds. Meanwhile, Cal Fire has been drawing plans and preparing to open the project to contractor bidding, and the Riverside County Economic Development Agency has agreed to manage the project.[9]
Facilities
Apart from hosting Cal Fire air attack operations, the Hemet-Ryan is also home to a
with the next one being in 2011.In 2008 the airport had 75,444
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 8, 2010.
- ^ "Highland Auxiliary Field". www.militarymuseum.org.
- ^ "Ryan Auxiliary Field No. 3". www.militarymuseum.org.
- ^ "Valle Vista Auxiliary Field No. 5". www.militarymuseum.org.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ryan Air Attack Base History". Riverside County Fire Department. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ Associated Press, “Wafs Fly Planes To Hemet for Use At Army School”, The San Bernardino Daily Suni, San Bernardino, California, Monday July 12, 1943, Volume 49, page 4.
- ^ "Director's Determination" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ Wigglesworth, Alex (August 17, 2023). "Fire helicopter lacked collision-avoidance system before midair crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c Asbury, John (June 22, 2010). "Cal Fire waiting on state, county funding to renovate aging Hemet-Ryan firefighting base". The Press Enterprise. Retrieved September 15, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Hemet-Ryan firefighting base to undergo rebuilding". Hemet press Enterprise. June 8, 2007. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
- ^ John, Asbury (August 15, 2010). "Medical emergency helicopter now based in Hemet". The Press Enterprise. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Air Hemet timetable dated January 1985.
Other sources
- This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
- Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. OCLC 57007862, 1050653629
External links
- Hemet-Ryan Flight School, LLC Archived December 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Hemet-Ryan Airshow Archived March 12, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- FAA Terminal Procedures for HMT, effective April 18, 2024
- Resources for this airport:
- FAA airport information for HMT
- AirNav airport information for HMT
- ASN accident history for HMT
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for HMT