Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Travis Air Force Base sits on the western edge of the Sacramento Valley, three miles east of Fairfield, California, and is the primary strategic airlift hub of the United States Air Force on the West Coast. Home to the 60th Air Mobility Wing's C-5 Galaxies, KC-46 Pegasus tankers and C-17 Globemasters, it offers a simulator pilot two enormous parallel hard runways with ILS guidance, set within an active military airspace environment. Its history runs from a wartime ferrying base for Pacific-bound bombers to today's premier Air Mobility Command installation.
Travis Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation near Fairfield, California, operated by Air Mobility Command and hosting the 60th Air Mobility Wing along with the 349th Air Mobility Wing and 621st Contingency Response Wing. It is one of the busiest military air terminals in the country for cargo and passenger traffic, known as the "Gateway to the Pacific", and is of interest to the simulator pilot for its very long dual runway system, full ILS approaches and its role as a strategic transport hub operating heavy types such as the C-5 Galaxy, KC-46 Pegasus and C-17 Globemaster III.
The base lies about three miles east of the central business district of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, on the southwestern edge of the Sacramento Valley. As an active military airfield it sits within its own controlled airspace environment tied to military traffic patterns rather than civilian VFR routes, and access is governed accordingly.
Travis has two parallel hard-surfaced runways, both lit. Runway 03R/21L is 10,992 feet long, with an ILS serving the 21L approach. Runway 03L/21R is 10,987 feet long, with an ILS serving the 03L approach. Field elevation is 46 feet.
Radio services at Travis include Approach on 119.9 MHz, the ATIS on 116.4 MHz, Clearance Delivery, Departure also on 119.9 MHz, Ground on 121.8 MHz, Tower on 120.75 MHz, and PMSV Metro on 26.92 MHz. A Command Post frequency of 141.9 MHz and a further post frequency of 28.557 MHz are also listed, along with a CLD frequency of 127.55 MHz. An Aero Club UNICOM operates on 123.3 MHz.
Travis is an active military aerodrome and civilian access, including circuit joining, is restricted; prior permission is required before any flight to or from the field.
The base lies on the southwestern edge of the Sacramento Valley, close to Fairfield, which serves as the principal nearby landmark for orientation when approaching the field.
The base began as Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base, activated on 11 May 1943 after construction started in 1942 to serve as a home for medium bombers and fighters defending the West Coast. Fourth Army Air Force and US Navy aircraft used the runways for pilot training even before the base formally opened, with a mock aircraft-carrier deck painted on the runway to help Navy pilots practise carrier landings, taking advantage of the site's strong prevailing winds. The base was quickly assigned to the Air Transport Command and became a key processing point for aircraft and crews bound for the Pacific theatre, with the first three B-24 Liberators arriving on 4 July 1943; over the following fourteen months more than 2,000 military aircraft passed through. The private contractor Consairway, flying C-87 transports, based its headquarters here from December 1943. Women's Army Corps personnel arrived from August 1943, and the first black unit in the Pacific Wing, Section D, arrived in February 1944. A 125-bed hospital treated returning wounded servicemen as the base's mission shifted after November 1944 to handling military passengers and cargo. The adjacent "Secret City", later Fairfield Air Force Station, stored and maintained nuclear weapons under high security from around 1940 until its dissolution in 1962. The Military Air Transport Service took over on 1 June 1948, and squadrons from the base supported the Berlin Airlift that year. The base was renamed Travis Air Force Base in 1951 in honour of Brigadier General Robert F. Travis, killed on 5 August 1950 when a B-29 crashed on takeoff and its cargo, including a Mark 4 nuclear weapon, detonated, killing him and eighteen others. From 1949 the Strategic Air Command operated long-range reconnaissance and bomber units here, including B-29s, B-36 Peacemakers and B-52 Stratofortresses, before the Military Airlift Command resumed control in 1958 and the 60th Military Airlift Wing became host unit in 1966.
Travis today is the host installation for the 60th Air Mobility Wing, the largest wing in Air Mobility Command, operating a fleet including C-5 Galaxies, KC-46 Pegasus tankers and C-17 Globemaster IIIs; the base received its first KC-46A in July 2023 and retired its final KC-10 in September 2024. The 349th Air Mobility Wing and 621st Contingency Response Wing are also based here, alongside the David Grant USAF Medical Center. As an active military airfield, prior permission is required for any flight to or from Travis.