Sierra Sky Park Airport

36°50′25″N 119°52′10″W / 36.84028°N 119.86944°W / 36.84028; -119.86944

Sierra Sky Park Airport
Summary
Airport typePrivately-owned, public-use
OwnerHerndon-Doolittle Association
ServesFresno, California
Elevation AMSL321 ft / 98 m
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 2,920 890 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft operations12,500
Based aircraft40

Sierra Sky Park Airport (FAA LID: E79, formerly Q60) is a privately owned, public-use airport seven miles (11 km; 6.1 nmi) northwest of the central business district of Fresno, a city in Fresno County, California, United States.[1] Established in 1946, it is recognized as the first residential aviation community (airpark) in the world, where residents can land, taxi down extra-wide neighborhood streets, and park their aircraft directly at their home.

Nearby airports include Fresno Chandler Executive Airport and Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

History

The Sierra Sky Park neighborhood was established in 1946 on 130 acres (53 ha) along the San Joaquin River. On October 23 of that year, William and Doris Smilie filed a subdivision plan with Fresno County creating a central runway surrounded by residential lots, each with permanent easements guaranteeing access to the runway. At the time, the site was several miles outside Fresno, surrounded by fig orchards and fields of cotton and alfalfa.[2]

The first home was built in 1952, and the Smilie's themselves moved in. Their concept was distinctive: residents could land, taxi along 60-to-80-foot-wide (18 to 24 m) streets, and park aircraft in driveways or hangars attached to their homes.[3][4][5] The community included several unique design features such as low street signs, tip-over mailboxes to minimize damage from wing strikes, and setbacks to accommodate aircraft wings. Streets were named for aviation figures such as Carl Spaatz, James Doolittle and David McCampbell.[2]

Because the concept was unprecedented, new state legislation was required. In 1963, the California legislature amended the vehicle code to allow aircraft to taxi on residential streets within registered airparks.[2]

Sierra Sky Park was widely reported in the press and became a model for similar developments. More than 500 residential airparks worldwide trace their origins to the concept, and the Smilie's were later consulted on airpark projects in the United States and abroad. In 1996, the 50th anniversary of the community, a monument was dedicated to the Smilie's.[2]

Facilities and aircraft

The airport portion of the community covers an area of 34 acres (14 ha) and contains one runway designated 12/30, with an asphalt surface measuring 2,473 by 50 feet (754 m × 15 m). For the 12-month period ending March 29, 2007, the airport had 12,500 general aviation operations, an average of 34 per day. At that time, there were 40 aircraft based at the airport: 98 percent single-engine and 2 percent multi-engine.[1]

Accidents and incidents

On December 26, 2016, an Express Series 90 crashed onto the shore of a lake, 820 feet (250 m) off runway 12. Both people on board were killed.[6]

On May 2, 2020, the engine of a Cessna 172 failed after takeoff. During the return landing, the aircraft overran the end of the runway. The pilot sustained minor injuries, and no one on the ground was harmed.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c FAA Airport Form 5010 for E79 PDF, effective December 20, 2007
  2. ^ a b c d Paquette, Larry (June 2001). "50-Year Flight Of Fancy". Plane & Pilot Magazine. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  3. ^ "The Front-Door Fliers". Time Magazine. December 10, 1965. Archived from the original on November 1, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
  4. ^ "Sierra Sky Park Inc". Madera Tribune. Vol. LIV, no. 182. October 2, 1946. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  5. ^ Gill, Cecile (February 19, 1947). "Airplane Runway for Subdivision". Coronado Compass. Vol. 2, no. 7. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Guy, Jim (2016). "Two dead in plane crash near Fresno's Sierra Sky Park". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  7. ^ "Pilot survives small plane crash on busy Fresno street". SFGate. Associated Press. May 2, 2020. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
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