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Rankin Field became one of the 62 civilian-owned flying schools in the U.S. that taught 1.4 million World War II Army pilots to fly. It was assigned to the West Coast
Training Center (later Western Flying Training Command). Its primary training aircraft was the PT-17 Stearman, of which over 200 were
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in 1940 when he signed a contract with the War
Department to open a school to train United States Army Air Corps flight cadets. The "Rankin Aeronautical Academy, Inc." was established and in February 1941, the school began basic (level 1) pilot training at Mefford Field, located about six miles west
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Mefford Field, a civilian airfield located in Tulare, CA, served as the temporary site for the Rankin
Aeronautical Academy, a flight school to teach United States Army Air Corps flight cadets. Rankin Field was established by
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As Rankin
Academy moved to its permanent site, Mefford Field returned to daily operations as a civilian airfield, which it continues to do to this day.
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aircraft operations, an average of 71 per day. At that time, there were 48 aircraft based at this airport: 88% single-
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of the still under-construction Rankin Field. Classes were moved to Rankin Field in May 1941.
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579:. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas
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For the 12-month period ending April 5, 2011, the airport had 26,180
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535:. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from
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Tulare
Municipal Airport – Mefford Field Master Plan (May 2006)
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Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in
California
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515:. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
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History of Air
Education and Training Command, 1942–2002
432:surface measuring 3,901 by 75 feet (1,189 x 23 m).
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595:Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy
728:Buildings and structures in Tulare, California
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631:WW2 Military Airfields: Alabama – California
533:National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
367:National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems
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477:California World War II Army Airfields
723:Airports in Tulare County, California
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571:Air Force Historical Research Agency
526:"2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A"
408:Mefford Field covers an area of 206
349:, United States. It is owned by the
16:Airport in Tulare County, California
365:. This airport is included in the
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708:1941 establishments in California
210:Location of airport in California
565: This article incorporates
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651:FAA Terminal Procedures for TLR
303:Federal Aviation Administration
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482:List of airports in California
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653:, effective September 5, 2024
508:FAA Airport Form 5010 for TLR
718:Airports established in 1941
669:airport information for KTLR
658:Resources for this airport:
637:Aerial image as of June 1994
691:aeronautical chart for KTLR
663:airport information for TLR
593:Shaw, Frederick J. (2004),
575:Manning, Thomas A. (2005),
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447:, 4% multi-engine, and 2%
627:at City of Tulare website
621:at City of Tulare website
428:designated 13/31 with an
420:of 265 feet (81 m) above
363:central business district
347:Tulare County, California
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675:accident history for TLR
633:at AirfieldsDatabase.com
404:Facilities and aircraft
353:and located three
134:265 ft / 81 m
567:public domain material
546:on September 27, 2012.
162:36.15667°N 119.32667°W
369:for 2011–2015, which
167:36.15667; -119.32667
685:live flight tracker
681:airport information
361:) southeast of its
280:Aircraft operations
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341:) is a public use
122:Tulare, California
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271:Statistics (2011)
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645:The National Map
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469:Aviation portal
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128:Elevation
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619:Mefford Field
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23:Mefford Field
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679:FlightAware
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537:the original
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102:Airport type
371:categorized
165: /
153:119°19′36″W
140:Coordinates
702:Categories
689:SkyVector
607:1050653629
544:, 2.03 MB)
488:References
445:helicopter
397:assigned.
390:Tex Rankin
379:facility.
150:36°09′24″N
46:orthophoto
418:elevation
233:Direction
603:57007862
589:29991467
585:71006954
455:See also
416:) at an
373:it as a
357:(6
301:Source:
262:Asphalt
240:Surface
667:AirNav
430:asphalt
383:History
343:airport
237:Length
221:Runways
97:Summary
601:
583:
449:glider
441:engine
426:runway
283:26,180
259:1,189
256:3,901
253:13/31
118:Serves
105:Public
639:from
529:(PDF)
443:, 6%
410:acres
110:Owner
44:2006
683:and
673:ASN
661:FAA
641:USGS
599:OCLC
581:OCLC
412:(83
328:KTLR
324:ICAO
316:IATA
130:AMSL
73:KTLR
69:ICAO
58:IATA
42:USGS
542:PDF
512:PDF
345:in
339:TLR
335:LID
332:FAA
320:TLR
245:ft
203:TLR
178:Map
87:TLR
83:LID
80:FAA
62:TLR
704::
605:,
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531:.
496:^
451:.
414:ha
359:km
337::
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318::
291:48
248:m
85::
71::
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540:(
314:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
