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Santa Ynez Airport (Kunkle Field), KIZA, is a small uncontrolled general aviation field in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, a mile southeast of the town of Santa Ynez. It is a popular stopover for private pilots visiting the surrounding wine country, and also serves as a staging base for Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department helicopters.
Santa Ynez Airport, also known historically as Kunkle Field, is a publicly owned general aviation airport in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, close to the towns of Solvang and Buellton. It has no control tower and handles a steady mix of local and transient light aircraft, gliders and helicopters, making it a straightforward and scenic destination for a VFR sim flight into California's Central Coast wine country. The field has long been used by private owners as a base for storing and refuelling aircraft, and it doubles as a staging point for Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department helicopter operations.
The airport lies one mile southeast of the central business district of Santa Ynez, within the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. It sits under the airspace served by Santa Barbara Approach/Departure, whose frequency is published for the field, indicating operation within controlled airspace associated with the wider Santa Barbara area rather than as a fully isolated uncontrolled strip. There is no on-field control tower.
The airport has a single physical runway, 08/26, hard-surfaced and lit. The 08 threshold has 3,120 ft available and the 26 threshold 2,808 ft, reflecting differing declared distances at each end.
Santa Ynez has no control tower. Pilots can expect Santa Barbara Approach/Departure on 124.15 MHz for the surrounding airspace. The field has an AWOS-3 automated weather observation on 118.075 MHz, and traffic is coordinated on the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 122.8 MHz. There is no ILS at the airport.
As an uncontrolled field, arriving and departing traffic self-announces and coordinates on the CTAF/UNICOM frequency of 122.8 MHz, with Santa Barbara Approach/Departure (124.15 MHz) providing the surrounding air traffic service. Pilots should monitor the AWOS on 118.075 MHz for current weather before joining.
The airport lies immediately southeast of the town of Santa Ynez, within the broader Santa Ynez Valley, and is within easy reach of the well-known Danish-styled town of Solvang and the town of Buellton, both useful landmarks for orientation when approaching from the surrounding wine country.
Santa Ynez Airport traces its origins to 1946, when a group of local men petitioned the Santa Barbara County board of supervisors to purchase 155 acres in the valley to establish a flying club. The State of California's Division of Aeronautics issued the first permit for flight operations on 30 September 1949. In 1950 the field gained a 2,000-foot asphalt runway and parallel taxiway, runway lighting followed in 1954, and a glider port opened the following year. In 1957 the runway was lengthened by 800 feet to essentially its current length. Between 1963 and 1982 the airport maintained a fleet of blue 1958 Chevrolet Yeomans courtesy cars that visiting pilots could simply take the keys for and drive off to Solvang or Buellton, a practice that became something of a local legend among regular visitors.
Santa Ynez Airport is a public, regional general aviation airport covering some 125 acres, with 24-hour self-service fuel available in both 100LL and Jet A, along with tie-down space for transient aircraft. In recent years the field has averaged around 83 aircraft operations a day, the large majority transient and local general aviation traffic with a small proportion of air taxi and military movements. Some 112 aircraft are based on the field, including single-engine and multi-engine airplanes, helicopters, gliders and ultra-lights, though no jets are based there. The airport is owned by Santa Barbara County and operated by the Santa Ynez Valley Airport Authority, and it also serves as a staging ground for Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department helicopters.
