Santa Cruz Sky Park
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz Sky Park was an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located in Scotts Valley, California
Scotts Valley, California
Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles south of downtown San Jose and six miles north of Monterey Bay, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,580...
, within Santa Cruz County.
Historical Timeline
| 2/1947 | Sky Park Airport, a private field built by Jack and Lola Graham on their property, begins operation in Scotts Valley. One of its primary purposes is to provide a facility for training of pilots under terms of the G.I. Bill.1 |
| 2/1949 | Jack Wilson and Wayne Voights were managers of Skypark Airport. |
| 5/1957 | Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce passes a resolution encouraging City to sell lands originally acquired for Swanton Airport and to use the money for acquisition and operation of Sky Park. An accompanying study cites the advantages of Sky Park. A heliport Heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars... can be developed there to provide short-haul public transportation with connections to Watsonville Airport Watsonville Municipal Airport Watsonville Municipal Airport is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Watsonville, a city in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. The airport covers and has two runways... which can be expanded to meet the needs of the jet age.1 |
| 8/1960 | The City of Santa Cruz is again urged to acquire Sky Park, this time in a citizens' group report called "Santa Cruz of Tomorrow". Reasons are stated why Watsonville Airport cannot adequately serve the needs of the Santa Cruz area. Realignment of the Sky Park runway to add 500 feet is proposed.1 |
| 7/1961 | H.K. Friedland & Associates completes a Preliminary Airport Site Selection Study under contract to the City of Santa Cruz. Nine sites are examined. Sky Park is deemed inadequate because many FAA Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S... criteria cannot be met and federal aid therefore would not be obtainable. A site on the Wilder Ranch, two miles west of the city limits, is selected as the optimum location.1 |
| 8/1961 | Santa Cruz Airport Commission in a report to the City Council disagrees with Friedland study recommendation. Commission instead notes that Sky Park is for sale, that it is the best facility for airport purposes, and that "federal assistance is not practical nor necessary for the acquisition and development of an airport". The City—in cooperation with the County, if possible—is urged to acquire the Airport.1 |
| 11/1961 | Santa Cruz City Council requests the California Aeronautics Commission to grant waivers of certain Sky Park deficiencies and, in the event the City and/or the County of Santa Cruz purchase the airport, to reissue an airport permit.1 |
| 1/1962 | Santa Cruz City Council approves a resolution to acquire Sky Park.1 |
| 10/1962 | City Council approves agreement to purchase the 45.8 acre (185,000 m²) Sky Park property from owner Jack Graham for $197,000. The agreement calls for an initial payment of $120,000, obtained as proceeds from the sale of Swanton tract airport property, for approximately 27.5 acres (111,000 m²) with additional land to be purchased with payments of about $10,000 per year to be spread over 8 years. The parcels not immediately acquired will be leased by the City for $100 per month until purchased. The existing lease between Graham and Russell and Esther Rice for operation of the airport will be honored by the City.1 |
| 11/1962 | State Division of Aeronautics reissues airport permit for Sky Park.1 |
| 10/1963 | Santa Cruz City Council requests that the Sky Park property be excluded from the proposed incorporation of Scotts Valley.1 |
| 1/1964 | Sky Park property is annexed to the City of Santa Cruz.1 |
| 1965 | James Dahm takes over the Rices' lease for operation of Sky Park.1 |
| 6/1966 | Master Plan of the Santa Cruz Municipal Airport (Sky Park) is approved by Santa Cruz City Council.1 |
| 7/1966 | City of Santa Cruz requests $11,700 in federal aid for construction of a realigned runway and parallel taxiway at Sky Park. Total project cost is estimated at $23,400.1 |
| 8/1966 | Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S... turns down Sky Park grant application because the proposed construction would not meet federal standards:
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| 1966 | City of Scotts Valley is incorporated.1 |
| 3/1968 | Lease agreement between City of Santa Cruz and James Dahm for operation of Sky Park is signed. Lease is for 25 years.1 |
| 1968 | Realigned runway at Sky Park is constructed.1 |
| 10/1975 | County does a "Preliminary Initial Study" of Sky Park to provide background for development of airport policies to be included in the County Regional Transportation Plan. The policy as ultimately adopted by the County Regional Transportation Commission recommends that Sky Park remain a recreational airport operating at a level no greater that it then is.1 |
| 2/7/1981 | Apple Computer Apple Computer Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad... Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Steve Wozniak Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne... crashes his V-tail Beechcraft Bonanza Beechcraft Bonanza The Beechcraft Bonanza is an American general aviation aircraft introduced in 1947 by The Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. , it is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft, and has been in continuous production longer than any other airplane in history... on takeoff for a flight to San Diego at Sky Park Airport with three passengers aboard. He received facial injuries and had temporary short-term memory loss for five weeks following the accident.2 |
| 1/1983 | Sky Park closed. |
| 10/1989 | Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Loma Prieta earthquake The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time... president George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to... lands at the former Santa Cruz Sky Park site in Marine One Marine One Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by the HMX-1 "Nighthawks" squadron, either the large VH-3D Sea King or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk", both due to be replaced by the... to tour the damage to Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946... . |
| 3/1990 | City of Scotts Valley publishes Environmental Impact Report by Earth Metrics analysing the Redevelopment Plan for Sky Park.3 |
Sources
- 1 Appendix A (pp. A-1 - A-4) of the Santa Cruz Sky Park Airport Master Plan Report, Santa Cruz City Council, 1979.
- 2 Interview with Steve Wozniak on Woz.org and Steve Wozniak, Genius of Apple - Still Fathering the Computer Revolution
- 3 Environmental Impact Report for the Scotts Valley Redeveopment Area, Earth Metrics Incorporated, Report 7888, State of California Clearinghouse, March, 1990