Mefford Field Airport

Mefford Field (IATA: TLR, ICAO: KTLR, FAA LID: TLR) is a public airport located three miles (3.8 km) southeast of Tulare, serving Tulare County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers 206 acres (83 ha) and has one runway.

History

On the outskirts of Visalia Army Air Field, California, where many U.S. pilots received basic flight training. Tex Rankin was president of the Hollywood Motion Picture Pilots Association in December 1940 when he signed a War Department contract to open a school to train U.S. Army pilots. First flights began the following February at Mefford Field, on the outskirts of Tulare, where a B-17 now looks out on U.S. Highway 99. Construction work on Rankin Field, about 6 miles east, began the same month and finished in late spring. Rankin Field became one of the 62 civilian-owned flying schools in the U.S. that taught 1.4 million WW II Army pilots to fly.

In 1939, when war broke out in Europe, Army schools had the capacity to train only 750 pilots a year. Recognizing the need to drastically expand, Hap Arnold initiated a program under which civilian schools provided the first 60 hours of flight time to Army Aviation Cadets. The new program was so successful that the U.S. was able to train pilots faster than it could produce aircraft. While Germany lost air superiority because it was not able to replace pilots killed in combat, Arnold’s program began tapering off nine months before D-Day.

The Visalia Municipal airport was in existence when construction of another nearby field, Sequoia Field, was started. In the late summer of 1941, a detachment of U.S. Army personnel was sent to Visalia to supervise operations at Sequoia Field. On August 28, 1941, its initial headquarters was set up at Visalia Municipal Airport, and qualification of Sequoia Field’s first contingent of flight instructors began.

Location & QuickFacts

FAA Information Effective:	2006-09-28
Airport Identifier:	TLR
Longitude/Latitude:	119-19-34.2000W/36-09-22.7000N -119.326167/36.156306 (Estimated)
Elevation:	271 ft / 82.60 m (Estimated)
Land:	206 acres
From nearest city:	3 nautical miles SE of Tulare, CA
Location:	Tulare County, CA
Magnetic Variation:	15E (1985)

Owner & Manager

Ownership:	Publicly owned
Owner:	City Of Tulare
Address:	830 S. Blackstone St. Tulare, CA 93274
Phone number:	559-685-2300
Manager:	Rich Lujan DIRECTOR OF RECREATION/PARKS/ LIBRARY/AIRPORT MANAGER
Address:	830 S. Blackstone St. Tulare, CA 93274
Phone number:	559-684-4310

Airport Operations and Facilities

Airport Use:	Open to public
Wind indicator:	Yes
Segmented Circle:	Yes
Control Tower:	No
Attendance Schedule:	ALL/ALL/0800-DUSK
Lighting Schedule:	DUSK-DAWN ACTVT MIRL RY 13/31 - CTAF.
Beacon Color:	Clear-Green (lighted land airport)
Landing fee charge:	No
Sectional chart:	San Francisco
Region:	AWP - Western-Pacific
Traffic Pattern Alt:	1000 ft
Boundary ARTCC:	ZOA - Oakland
Tie-in FSS:	RIU - Rancho Murieta
FSS on Airport:	No
FSS Phone:	916-354-0161
FSS Toll Free:	1-800-WX-BRIEF
NOTAMs Facility:	RIU (NOTAM-d service avaliable)
Federal Agreements:	NGY

Airport Communications

CTAF:	122.700
Unicom:	122.700

Airport Services

Fuel available:	100LLA
Airframe Repair:	MAJOR
Power Plant Repair:	MAJOR
Bottled Oxygen:	NONE
Bulk Oxygen:	NONE

Runway Information

Runway 13/31

Radio Navigation Aids

Based Aircraft

Operational Statistics

General Info
Country	United States
State	CALIFORNIA
FAA ID	TLR
Latitude	36-09-22.700N
Longitude	119-19-34.200W
Elevation	271 feet
Near City	TULARE

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