Redlands Airport Association

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Redlands Airport Association

The RAA is a group of users and supporters that
advocate for Redlands Municipal Airport. We are a Chapter of the California Pilots Association

The Redlands Airport Association is a group of pilots, aircraft owners, airport tenants, and interested parties that strive to look out for well being of the airport. Check out our website at: www.raacp.org

10/09/2026

City of Redlands Plane-or-Treat is go for landing at Redlands Municipal Airport on Sunday, Oct 25, 2–5 PM! 🎃✈️ Trick-or-treating, airplane displays, live music and food. It’s $5 per person and costumes are encouraged. Pre-register with the QR code or at redlands.gov/plane-or-treat. Come say hi to the RAA while you’re there! A lot of our members aircraft will be on display to look at!

09/25/2026

⚠️⚠️⚠️Heads-up: KREI is FULLY closed Mon–Tue Oct 5–6 for rubber removal and pavement marking — all flight ops shut down. Aircraft owners: relocate or pre-position before Oct 5. City is checking temporary ramp options at SBD/RAL (not confirmed yet). Pilots, hangar neighbors, and visiting aircraft — please plan ahead. Check your NOTAMS

Airport notice · raacp.org

09/22/2026

⚠️Heads-up: KREI runway is closed Wed Sep 23, 7:00–10:15am PT for RSA maintenance (obstacle removal in the RWY 8 approach). Expected reopen at 10:15am. Check NOTAMs before you fly.

raacp.org

09/18/2026

📊 Pattern Poll Friday!
At KREI, which do you prefer — LEFT traffic for RWY 8, or RIGHT for RWY 26?
Reply with 8 or 26 and one sentence why.

Fly neighborly · CTAF 123.05 · raacp.org

09/16/2026

👀 Wingtip Wednesday!

Name that type ✈️ (or guess the N-number if you’re feeling bold).

Drop your answer below — first correct reply gets a Stories shout. Members, hangar neighbors, and visiting pilots welcome.

09/15/2026

✈️ RAA membership meeting is coming up!

📅 Wed Sep 23 · 6:00 PM
📍 Redlands Airport lobby

Members, pilots, and anyone curious about what’s going on at the field — you’re welcome. Come hear what’s next for Redlands Airport.

🔗 raacp.org

09/13/2026

**Coyote lookout**
Heads-up: coyotes are active near the avocado grove east of RWY 26. Be on the lookout around the field. Airport wildlife program · raacp.org

09/09/2026

A little morning PSA…. Help us reduce near misses around KREI: clear the ~2500 MSL pattern on SBD transit, LEFT traffic for RWY 8 / RIGHT for RWY 26, CTAF 123.05 within 10 NM (AIM 4-1-9). All pilots welcome. raacp.org
AOPA City of Redlands Learn To Fly LLC. High Performance Helicopters Karl Grove Reid’s Flight Service ATP Flight School

08/29/2026

Ever notice the tall tower and rotating beacon at KREI?
That iconic landmark has a much deeper story than most people realize.
KREI’s tower and beacon date back more than a century to the pioneering days of the U.S. Air Mail. In the early 1920s, the government built a nationwide system of lighted airways so pilots could safely fly the mail at night. Beacons were placed roughly every 10 miles, each powered by its own generator. Many early airmail pilots lost their lives before this system existed.
A beautifully restored example of one of these original beacons (complete with 51-foot tower and generator building) still stands today at Flabob Airport in Jurupa Valley, honoring those early pilots.
Most of the federal airway beacons were eventually decommissioned as radio navigation took over. The very last one was removed in 1972 from a site just east of Cabazon in Whitewater Canyon. That final beacon is now preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
Our Redlands beacon and tower were given a second life. Surplus FAA equipment was installed here in February 1966 to serve as the airport’s rotating beacon. Contemporary Redlands Daily Facts articles from 1965 and 1966 document the project and reveal the original locations:
• The beacon came from Box Springs Mountain (north of March Air Force Base)
• The tower came from near Beaumont in the Banning Pass
It’s a tangible piece of early aviation history still guiding pilots into Redlands today.
📷 Swipe through for photos of our beacon + historical context
🔗 Full documentation (including the 1924 charts and original newspaper articles):https://raacp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Redlands-Beacon-and-Tower-Historical-Info.pdf
🔗 Smithsonian story on the last airway beacon: A Guiding Light
The Airway Beacon Tower:
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/guiding-light-airway-beacon-tower
Next time you’re at the airport, take a second look at that tower. It’s more than just a navigational aid—it’s living history.
AirportBeacon

08/23/2026

KREI -Redlands Municipal Airport is getting our beacon and 100 year old tower an overhaul. All back to the FAA tower colors of orange and white. It’s awesome and looking forward to it being completed!

Address

1745 Sessums Drive. Ste. 1
Redlands, CA
92374

Website

https://raacp.org/

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