Marine Corps Air Station El Toro

MCAS El Toro
MCAS El Toro in 2010
IATA: none ICAO: KNZJ
Summary
Airport type	Defunct
Operator	United States Marine Corps
Location	Orange County, California
Opened	4 November 1942; 81 years ago (1942-11-04)
Closed	2 July 1999; 24 years ago (1999-07-02)
Occupants	3rd Marine Aircraft Wing
Elevation AMSL	383 ft / 117 m
Coordinates	33°40′34″N 117°43′52″W / 33.67611°N 117.73111°W / 33.67611; -117.73111
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 3,900 1,189 Asphalt 07L/25R 8,000 2,438 Asphalt 07R/25L 8,000 2,438 Asphalt 16L/34R 10,000 3,048 Concrete 16R/34L 10,000 3,048 Concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro (ICAO: KNZJ, FAA LID: NZJ) was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located next to the community of El Toro, near Irvine, California.

Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682-acre (19 km²) home of Marine Corps Aviation on the West Coast. Designated as a Master Jet Base, its four runways (two of 8,000 feet (2,400 m) and two of 10,000 feet (3,000 m)) could handle the largest aircraft in the U.S. military inventory. While it was active, all U.S. Presidents in the post-World War II era landed in Air Force One at this airfield. The El Toro "Flying Bull" patch was designed by Walt Disney Studios in 1944.^[2] It survived virtually unchanged until the close of the Air Station.

Following its decommissioning the site was used as a filming location, including the test track for the United States version of the BBC's Top Gear franchise.^[3] About 1,300 acres (530 ha) of land originally taken by the air station was converted into a large recreational center, the Orange County Great Park, while the rest was re-zoned for residential and commercial development.