Mountain Valley Airport

Mountain Valley Airport
Tow plane and glider taking off
Summary
Airport typePublic use
OwnerLarry G. Barrett
ServesTehachapi, California
Elevation AMSL4,220 ft / 1,286 m
Coordinates35°06′04″N 118°25′23″W / 35.10111°N 118.42306°W / 35.10111; -118.42306
Map
L94 is located in California
L94
L94
L94 is located in southern California
L94
L94
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
9L/27R 4,890 1,490 Asphalt/dirt
9R/27L 4,890 1,490 Asphalt/dirt
Statistics (2023)
Aircraft operations (year ending 5/24/2023)51,570
Based aircraft98

Mountain Valley Airport (FAA LID: L94) is a privately owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southeast of the central business district of Tehachapi, in Kern County, California, United States.[1][2]

The airport is used for glider operations and training.[3][4][5] It was established for its close proximity to various advantageous lift effects for soaring where the Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountains and the Mojave Desert meet.

The Skylark North Glider School performs glider flight training for civilians as well as for the US Air Force Test Pilot School (from Edwards AFB), the National Test Pilot School (from the Mojave Air & Space Port), NASA and others. Due to the ongoing training contract with the US Air Force Test Pilot School, most NASA Space Shuttle pilots who came from the Air Force have probably received glider training at Mountain Valley Airport.[6]

  1. ^ a b FAA Airport Form 5010 for L94 PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 28 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Mountain Valley Airport". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Mountain Valley Airport". Skylark North Glider School. December 2004. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Where to Fly - Mountain Valley Airport - Tehachapi, CA". Soaring Society of America. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Places to Soar in Southern California". socalsoaring.com (Sean Ford). 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  6. ^ Hawkins, Dale. "Mountain Valley Airport – Tehachapi's Soaring Airport". Tehachapi Skywatch column. Tehachapi News. Retrieved 2008-08-14.