Monterey Bay Academy Airport is located near the city of Watsonville

Watsonville, California

Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 51,199 according to the 2010 census.Located on the central coast of California, the economy centers predominantly around the farming industry. It is known for growing strawberries, apples, lettuce and a host...

 in Santa Cruz County

Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. This private use airport is owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

 and located on the campus of the Monterey Bay Academy

Monterey Bay Academy

- Description:Monterey Bay Academy is located on about south of Santa Cruz, California, on the edge of the community of La Selva Beach between Manresa State Beach to the north, and Sunset State Beach to the south. The campus is directly on a beach on central California’s Monterey Bay, which is...

, site of the former Camp McQuaide

Camp McQuaide

Camp McQuaide is a former United States Army camp located near the city of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. After it was closed, it redeveloped into the Monterey Bay Academy and the airfield was reopened as the Monterey Bay Academy Airport....

.

History

In the 1940s, a small aircraft landing strip was built at Camp McQuaide

Camp McQuaide

Camp McQuaide is a former United States Army camp located near the city of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. After it was closed, it redeveloped into the Monterey Bay Academy and the airfield was reopened as the Monterey Bay Academy Airport....

 so airplanes could drop targets into the ocean. After the end of the war, in 1948, it was converted to the private boarding school Monterey Bay Academy

Monterey Bay Academy

- Description:Monterey Bay Academy is located on about south of Santa Cruz, California, on the edge of the community of La Selva Beach between Manresa State Beach to the north, and Sunset State Beach to the south. The campus is directly on a beach on central California’s Monterey Bay, which is...

.

Between 1980 and 1984 the airport was home to Pterodactyl Limited

Pterodactyl Ascender

The Pterodactyl Ascender is a family of U.S. designed and built ultralight aircraft that were sold in kit form between 1979 and 1984 under Pterodactyl Limited and is currently being sold by DFE Ultralights....

, a company that manufactured ultralight aircraft.

See also

• List of airports of Santa Cruz County
• Seventh-day Adventist Church
  Seventh-day Adventist Church
  The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...