South
County Airport (pictured at right) derives its name from being the
southernmost airport in Santa Clara County. It sports a 3,100' runway
with pilot-controlled lighting, and is home to about 70 aircraft,
including your host's Piper Archer. Its location immediately adjacent
to Highway 101 makes it easy to find from both the ground and the
air. Plenty of tiedown parking, as well as self-serve avgas, is
available.
Two popular general-aviation airports are located within 15 nautical miles
of South County Airport:
- Hollister Airport (3O7),
14.4 nm southeast, attracts a diverse mix of recreational aircraft: experimental,
amatuer-built, classics, gliders, crop dusters, turboprop jump planes, warbirds,
private jets, and the usual spam cans. Scenic glider rides and glider training
are offered by Soar Hollister,
while Sky Dive Hollister
boasts the highest tandem jumps in the world. Between flights, the Ding-a-Ling
Cafe located right on the field offers typical American breakfast and lunch
fare. Driving to Hollister from South County takes 35 minutes, covering
a distance of 22 miles.
- Watsonville Airport (WVI),
12.7 nm southwest, sits in the center of the scenic Monterey Bay coastline,
and is home to more than 300 aircraft. One attraction on the field is Zuniga's,
a good Mexican restaurant that will make non-alcoholic margaritas on request.
Due to mountainous terrain, driving to Watsonville from South County takes
50 minutes, covering 25 miles.
South County, Hollister, and Watsonville airports are all nontowered fields,
and situated well away from controlled airspace. San Jose Class C does have
a narrow 3000'-6000' sector starting about 5 nm north of South County, to
protect jet arrivals into SJC. Navigating around this airspace, as well as
San Francisco Class B, Oakland Class C, and Monterey Class C, is relatively
straightforward. It is possible to navigate under the San Francisco Class
B airspace to visit the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, the former
site of the infamous maximum-security federal prison.
If you prefer a turf runway, or need a landing site for a seaplane, check
out Frazier Lake Airpark
(1C9), 9.9 nm southeast
of South County Airport. The turf runway is 2,500' long, and the
water channel is 3,000' long. No services are available at this
field, however.
If you are looking for a place to land your personal jet, Hollister
Airport is your best bet, with a 6,350-foot-long runway.
Click
here for a detailed view (138Kb) of the Q99-WVI-3O7 area. If
you're dying to see the entire
San Francisco Class B area (241Kb), including the San Jose Class
C and Oakland Class C airspace, be my guest.
There are more than 50 nontowered, paved fields within 100 nautical miles
of South County Airport. Expanding to a 150-nm radius, almost 100
uncontrolled airports become available for your exploring. See Flying
Trips for suggestions.
