Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) in California

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Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) in California

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The Early Days of Flight at Mojave

The city of Mojave is located in the California desert about 95 miles north of Los Angeles, near Edwards Air Force Base, on Highway 58 between Barstow and Bakersfield.

The Mojave Airport was first opened in 1935 as a small, rural airfield serving the local gold and silver mining industry.

With the advent of World War II, the U.S. Marine Corps took over the field in 1942, and expanded it into a training facility known as the Marine Corps Auxiliary Air Station (MCAAS) Mojave.

During World War II the field trained thousands of Navy and Marine pilots for combat, using SBD dive bombers and F4U Corsairs.

MCAAS was decommissioned in 1946, and became a U.S. Navy airfield. At the end of 1953, the USMC reopened MCAAS Mojave as an auxiliary field to MCAS El Toro. In 1961, Kern County obtained title to the airport.

Entrance sign at the Mojave Air & Space Port ... "Imagination Flies Here"

 

Mojave Airport (MHV) Today

Today, the Mojave Air and Space Port and industrial park is home to more than 60 companies engaged in flight development, highly advanced aerospace design, flight test and research, the wind industry, heavy rail industrial manufacturing, and airliner storage and reclamation.

Tenants include the National Test Pilot School, Virgin Galactic, BAE Systems, Orbital ATK, Scaled Composites, ASB Avionics and many more. Related facilities include the Stuart O. Witt Event Center, Monster Fitness and the Voyager Restaurant.

The airport is assigned FAA Identifier MHV, and is located at 2,787 feet above sea level. Runway 12/30 is 12,503 feet in length, 200 feet wide.

The tower at Mojave Air and Space Port in the California desert (photo courtesy of the Mojave Air and Space Port)

 

It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spaceport by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2004. The development and launch of the experimental SpaceShipOne was arguably the biggest "first" in the history of Mojave Air and Space Port.

Mojave is also the location of the filming of many major film productions. The Mojave Air and Space Port website offers details about movie production and includes an extensive location/set gallery.

 

FAA Diagram of the Mojave Air and Space Port

 

Airliner storage area at the Mojave Airport in the California desert (photo courtesy of the Mojave Air and Space Port)

 

Airliner Storage and Reclamation at Mojave

The Mojave airport is also a storage facility for commercial airliners, due to its vast area and dry desert conditions.

Large Boeing, Airbus, McDonnell-Douglas, and Lockheed aircraft owned by major airlines are stored at times at Mojave.

Some aircraft reach the end of their useful lifetime and are scrapped at the Mojave aircraft boneyard, while others are refurbished and returned to active service.

Boeing 747 airliners from Atlas Air and Southern Air in storage at the Mojave Airport in the California desert (photo courtesy of the Mojave Air and Space Port)

 

Airbus airliners stored at the Mojave Air and Space Port in the California desert (photo courtesy of the Mojave Air and Space Port)

 

Boeing 747 being reclaimed at the Mojave Airport in California (photo courtesy of the Mojave Air and Space Port)

 

Touring the Mojave Air and Space Port

Aircraft scrapping at Mojave Airport in California Photo by the AirplaneBoneyards.com Staff

The Mojave Air & Space Port does not offer tours to the public. However, they do invite visits during the monthly “Plane Crazy Saturdays" to see the airport, static displays and possible fly-ins. Contact the Mojave Chamber of Commerce for dates and details.

The Voyager Restaurant is located in the airport terminal building, under the old tower adjacent to transient parking. It is open 7 days a week, for breakfast and lunch.

During official, major events, visitors should enter the airport property from the south on Airport Boulevard at the Highway 58 entrance. They will be directed to specific areas for parking and viewing.

For directions to the Mojave Air and Space Port, see the interactive map at the bottom of this page.

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