Redlands Municipal Airport is a public airport located two miles (3.2 km) northeast of downtown Redlands, serving San Bernardino County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers 194acre and has one runway.HistoryThe Redlands area witnessed some of the nation's earliest general aviation activity. The first recorded air meet held in the Redlands area (sponsored by the University of Redlands) was in 1911. In 1916, Beryl Williams founded the Redlands Aircraft Company in the town. He is remembered for painting his biplane in light blue paint, hoping to render it invisible from the ground.In 1947, Robert Kanaga and Austin Welch built the Redlands Flying Inn Airport (including a 3,500 foot runway, a maintenance shop, and a hangar), which marked the first official airport for the city. Kanaga was called for military duty during the Korean War, and the duo offered to sell the airport to the city. The sale was not concluded, since the city did not have the necessary funds available, so the property was purchased by the Southern California Turkey Growers Association; who used the property as a turkey and chicken ranch. In the late 1950s, Roy Haskins and Alexander Theos purchased the turkey ranch, and began to refurbish the buildings to restore it as an aviation facility. In 1962, with the help of a $20,000 loan from Lockheed, the City purchased land to expand the airport site and make the airport a municipal facility. Several airport improvement projects followed to extend and widen the runway, install lights, erect a beacon (which was moved onsite from its original installation at Norton Air Force Base), and install perimeter fencing.
