Half Moon Bay Airport

Eddie Andreini Sr. Airfield
Half Moon Bay Airport

2015 photo short final runway 30
IATA: HAF – ICAO: KHAF – FAA LID: HAF
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner San Mateo County
Location Moss Beach, near Half Moon Bay, California
Elevation AMSL 66 ft / 20 m
Coordinates 37°30′48″N 122°30′04″W / 37.51333°N 122.50111°W / 37.51333; -122.50111Coordinates: 37°30′48″N 122°30′04″W / 37.51333°N 122.50111°W / 37.51333; -122.50111
Map
KHAF

Location

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 5,000 1,524 Asphalt/Concrete
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations 60,150
Based aircraft 40

Eddie Andreini Sr. Airfield (Half Moon Bay Airport) (IATA: HAF, ICAO: KHAF, FAA LID: HAF) is a public airport in San Mateo County, six miles (9 km) northwest of Half Moon Bay, California.[1][2] The airport is on the Pacific Coast, south of San Francisco.

History

The Half Moon Bay Airport is about 20 miles south of San Francisco. It was built by the California State Highway Department for the U.S. Army in 1942 as an auxiliary airfield for Salinas Army Air Base.

Known as Half Moon Bay Flight Strip, the airport supported Salinas AAF's ground support mission to train light observation and reconnaissance squadrons. These would have been light aircraft and fighters modified with camera equipment. Salinas Army Air base also had the mission of conducting coastal patrols. As such, the airfield would have been garrisoned by a detachment of the 301st Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron. With the reorganization of the Army Air Forces that took place in the first quarter of 1944, the Site was transferred to Air Technical Service Command and garrisoned by its own unit, the 4159th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Air Base). The mission of this unit was to operate the airfield for emergency landings, transient aircraft, and training missions. Other than refueling aircraft, no aircraft services would have been available.

On 1 June 1945 the War Department issued a five-year permit to the U.S. Navy to operate the Site as "Outlying Field, Half Moon Bay". Half Moon Bay field became an outlying field for Naval Air Station Moffett Field, to furnish facilities for utility aircraft providing target towing service for the Anti-Aircraft Training Center, Point Montara, California.

San Mateo County acquired the airport from the Navy in 1947. The airport is an important business, transportation and emergency service asset to the community.

Facilities

Half Moon Bay Airport facing West

Half Moon Bay Airport covers 325 acres (132 ha) at an elevation of 66 feet (20 m). Its asphalt/concrete runway, 12/30, is 5,000 by 150 feet (1,524 x 46 m).[1]

Half Moon Bay Airport provides a variety of emergency service and response functions including: Air ambulance and Medevac flights; law enforcement and homeland security patrols; Coast Guard sea-rescue operations; and use as a disaster relief staging site for the airlifting of emergency supplies in the event that roads are closed during a disaster or emergency.

Half Moon Bay Airport is home to about 80 aircraft and several related businesses. The airport is self-funded through airport user and business fees and receives no money from the county’s General Fund.

In the year ending September 11, 2008 the airport had 60,150 aircraft operations, average 164 per day: 99.8% general aviation and 0.2% air taxi. 40 aircraft were then based at the airport: 93% single-engine, 5% multi-engine and 3% helicopter.[1]

Pacific Coast Dream Machines

The airport hosts an annual benefit event in April, Pacific Coast Dream Machines, which features aircraft and automobiles.[3]

December 2015 Airport Renaming (Eddie Andreini Sr. Airfield)

On December 8th, 2015 the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors renamed the airfield at the Half Moon Bay Airport the Eddie Andreini Sr. Airfield to commemorate the many accomplishments and contributions that Eddie Andreini Sr. made to San Mateo County.

Andreini had been a leader of the San Mateo County aviation community for many years, learning to fly at the Half Moon Bay Airport in 1953, performing in countless air shows around the world for almost 50 years before he died in 2014 at the age of 77 in an air show crash.

The airshow pilot was an avid volunteer in the Half Moon Bay community, is credited for much of the success of the Pacific Coast Dream Machines - Half Moon Bay event and will always be remembered for gracing the skies over the coast with his air show tricks to the delight of residents and visitors.

The International Council of Air Shows awarded Andreini the Sword of Excellence Award, the highest honor an air show pilot can receive in 2004 and inducted him into the Air Show Hall of Fame in 2013 for his outstanding performances and generosity in mentoring younger air show pilots. [4]

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Master Record for HAF (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2009-07-02.
  2. ↑ "Half Moon Bay Airport". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑


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