Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Beale Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation in Yuba County, California, home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and its U-2 Dragon Lady and RQ-4 Global Hawk fleets, alongside the Air Force Reserve's 940th Air Refueling Wing flying the KC-135 Stratotanker. For the simulator pilot it is notable for its exceptionally long runway and its long association with high-altitude reconnaissance flying, though it remains a closed military field with no public access.
Beale Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base in Yuba County, California, roughly 10 miles east of Marysville and Yuba City and about 40 miles north of Sacramento. It is the host base of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, which operates the Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady and RQ-4 Global Hawk on intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance missions, and it also hosts the Air Force Reserve's 940th Air Refueling Wing flying the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. For a simulator pilot the field is of interest chiefly for its very long, ILS-equipped runway and its long history as a centre for high-altitude reconnaissance flying, though it is a closed military installation with no public access.
Beale sits within Class C controlled airspace and lies outside the small community of Linda, close to Marysville and Yuba City, about 40 miles north of Sacramento in California's Central Valley. Approach and departure services in the area are provided by NORCAL Approach and Departure.
The airfield has a single physical runway, 15/33, of hard surface construction measuring 11,997 feet in length. The runway is lit and equipped with an ILS, reflecting its use by high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and heavy tankers that require substantial runway length.
Air traffic services are provided on Tower 119.4 MHz and Ground 121.6 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 27.35 MHz. Approach and Departure are handled by NORCAL Approach/Departure on 125.4 MHz. Additional frequencies include PMSV (Metro) on 23.98 MHz, the 940th Command Post on 25.602 MHz (ACP), the Wing Command Post on 32.1 MHz (POST), a Supervisor of Flying frequency on 138.5 MHz (MISC), and PTD on 140.875 MHz.
The base lies close to the towns of Marysville and Yuba City to the west and the community of Linda immediately adjacent, with Sacramento some 40 miles to the south serving as a broader area reference.
The site began life as Camp Beale, established in 1942 and named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale, a U.S. Navy lieutenant and California militia brigadier general who had been an explorer and frontiersman in the state. During the Second World War the camp's roughly 86,000 acres housed more than 60,000 soldiers, a prisoner-of-war encampment, and a 1,000-bed hospital. The installation passed from Army to Air Force control in 1948, and after a period of inactive status during which a permanent runway and supporting infrastructure were constructed, it was formally redesignated Beale Air Force Base on 1 April 1951. In 1959 the base was announced as the site for a Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile installation under the 4126th Strategic Wing.
Beale remains an active US Air Force base and is not open to the public; visiting aircraft require prior permission. It is the home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, which trains, equips and employs the U-2 Dragon Lady and RQ-4 Global Hawk for worldwide reconnaissance operations, supported by T-38 companion trainers. The Air Force Reserve's 940th Air Refueling Wing is also based here, flying the KC-135 Stratotanker under Air Mobility Command.
