Airport to Celebrate 20 Years of Service

Jimmy Carter had just won the presidency and disco was surging in popularity in 1976, when Ventura County hashed out a deal to transform the abandoned Oxnard Air Force Base into a general aviation airport.

On Saturday, airport officials will celebrate two decades of operation, with speeches and a display of missiles, bombers, helicopters and experimental aircraft at the former military base.

“The base was closed in 1969, and the property declared surplus,” said Tad Dougherty, the Camarillo Airport manager. “But there was a six- or seven-year battle between the cities and the county about the fate of the property.

“Some wanted it to be an airport, and others didn’t,” he said.

Millions of takeoffs and landings later, the air field has blossomed into a regional center for recreational aviation and corporate travel, Dougherty said.

On Saturday, there will be airplane and helicopter rides, a B-25 bomber and other aircraft on display and an exhibition of missiles from Point Mugu Navy base.

Speeches will be delivered by Supervisor Maggie Kildee and the airport’s first manager, Chris Kunze. A proclamation will be presented by Camarillo Mayor David M. Smith commemorating the anniversary.

The event, which is free to the public, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A reenactment of the 1976 ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. For more information, call 388-4274.