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San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport , McChesney Field, is near San Luis Obispo, California. Two passenger airlines have flights to Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The airport also has general, cargo and corporate/executive aviation facilities. ==History== The airport began as one man's dream. Earl Thomson, along with his brothers-in-law, William "Chris" and David Hoover, talked county officials into leasing them the land. By April 1939 the airport opened with an hangar and dirt runways. Prior to the present airport being established, Pacific Seaboard Air Lines served San Luis Obispo. In 1933, Pacific Seaboard was operating two daily round trip flights with single engine Bellanca CH-300 aircraft on an intrastate routing of Los Angeles - Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - San Luis Obispo - Paso Robles - Monterey - Salinas - San Jose - San Francisco.〔http://www.timetableimages.com, Summer 1933 Pacific Seaboard Air Lines system timetable〕 Pacific Seaboard would subsequently move its entire operation to the eastern U.S., be renamed Chicago and Southern Air Lines, become a large domestic and international air carrier and then in 1953 be acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines thus providing Delta with its first international routes.〔http://www.deltamuseum.org, Chicago and Southern (C&S) Air Lines〕 In 1940 hard surface runways and lights were installed by the War Department. In 1940 and 1941, 183 private pilots and 20 advanced students were trained here though a federally sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program for armed services fliers. The federal government took over the airport during World War II and turned control back to the county in 1946. Southwest Airways started passenger flights with Douglas DC-3s that year. In 1947 county supervisors contracted for another hangar, ramp, and eventually an administration building. The supervisors named Chris Hoover full-time airport manager in 1953. In 1987 the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport was dedicated as McChesney Field, in honor of Leroy E. McChesney for his leadership and dedication to aviation. Mr. McChesney resided in the county since 1920 and had been a pilot since 1949. He was a longtime member of the California Aviation Council, a member of the California Aeronautics Board, and other aviation organizations. Mr. McChesney was the Grand Marshal of the first Airport Day in 1984. The airport has a terminal building, restaurant, numerous hangars and airplane related businesses. In 1988 a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) control tower opened. Southwest Airways Douglas DC-3 flights to San Luis Obispo lasted from 1946 to 1956 when the airline then moved its service to Paso Robles Municipal Airport (PRB) in northern San Luis Obispo County due to the short runway at San Luis Obispo not being able to accommodate more modern aircraft such as the Martin 4-0-4 and Fairchild F-27. Pacific Air Lines, Air West and Hughes Airwest, the successors to Southwest Airways, listed San Luis Obispo in their respective timetables but actually served Paso Robles with Fairchild F-27 turboprops until 1974.〔http://www.timetableimages.com, April 2, 1968 Pacific Air Lines system timetable & July 1, 1968 Air West system timetable〕〔http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1972 Hughes Airwest system timetable〕 In 1975, after ceasing all service to Paso Robles the year before, Hughes Airwest was operating McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service into nearby Santa Maria Public Airport (SMX) in an attempt to continue to also serve the San Luis Obispo area; however, this nonstop jet service to Los Angeles and San Francisco flown from SMX in northern Santa Barbara County only lasted a short time.〔http://www.departedflights.com, Oct. 26, 1975 Hughes Airwest system timetable〕 San Luis Obispo Airport did not have any scheduled airline service from 1956 until 1969 when Swift Aire Lines began scheduled flights as the primary runway at SBP had been lengthened to 4,800 feet by that time. Swift Aire's headquarters were located in San Luis Obispo; it eventually operated Fokker F27 turboprops (purchased new from Fokker) as well as Nord 262 turboprops and de Havilland Heron prop aircraft. When the control tower opened in 1988 SkyWest Airlines, WestAir operating as United Express and Wings West (later merged into American Eagle) were in operation flying commuter turboprop aircraft with WestAir operating the Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante followed by the British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31. After the 1981 demise of Swift Aire following an unsuccessful merger with Golden Gate Airlines, Wings West Airlines established its headquarters in San Luis Obispo and flew several turboprop types first operating as an independent commuter air carrier and later as American Eagle. Propjet types flown by Wings West into San Luis Obispo included the British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 and Jetstream 32, the Beechcraft C99, the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (Metro III models) and the Saab 340. American Eagle later flew Embraer ERJ-140 regional jets to Los Angeles and San Jose. American Eagle ceased serving San Luis Obispo in November, 2008, and closed its maintenance and operational base on the airport. Several other commuter airlines served San Luis Obispo as well over the years with turboprop aircraft flying nonstop to Los Angeles (LAX) including Delta Connection service operated by SkyWest with Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners (Metro II and Metro III models) and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias, Imperial Airlines operating Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes, Mesa Airlines flying as United Express and operating Beechcraft 1900Cs and USAir Express operated by Trans States Airlines flying British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 32s.〔http://www.departedflights.com, July 1, 1983 & April 2, 1995 Official Airline Guide (OAG) editions〕 The airport also previously had Delta Connection service flown by SkyWest nonstop to Salt Lake City (SLC) operated with Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets which ended on September 1, 2008. America West Express Canadair CRJ-200s operated by Mesa Airlines flew nonstop to Phoenix and Las Vegas; the Las Vegas flights were then discontinued. With the merger of America West Airlines and US Airways, the America West Express service between San Luis Obispo and Phoenix was transferred to US Airways Express which now operates as American Eagle following the completion of the American Airlines-US Airways merger. Two airlines now serve San Luis Obispo: United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines and American Eagle operated by Mesa Airlines. United Express Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets fly nonstop to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) while American Eagle Canadair CRJ-900s fly nonstop to Phoenix (PHX). The CRJ-900 is currently the largest aircraft ever flown on scheduled passenger flights into San Luis Obispo. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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