Sitting at the tip of Coronado, Naval Air Station North Island is the birthplace of naval aviation and still one of the busiest military airfields on the West Coast.
The Navy set up its first aviation camp on this sandy spit in 1912, borrowing ground from the Army's Rockwell Field. The station was formally commissioned in 1917, and in 1963 Congress made the name official by resolution. Almost every early milestone in American flight has a North Island date attached to it: the first seaplane flight in 1911, the first air-to-air refuelling and the first non-stop transcontinental crossing in 1923. On 10 May 1927, a young airmail pilot lifted a silver monoplane off this field and pointed it east - the first leg of Charles Lindbergh's run to Paris.
Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Pacific and Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific both call the station home, which means MH-60S and MH-60R Seahawks in near-constant motion.
Key features
KNZY NAS North Island rebuilt in full: Custom ground polygon and buildings covering the entire base.
All major squadron hangars custom-modelled: HSC-3, HSC-85, HSM-41, HSM-49, VR-57, Wolfpack, Providers, Fleet Readiness Center Southwest, Coronado Air Terminal, DMU, tower and admin buildings
100+ bespoke static aircraft in accurate squadron liveries
Full ground-support coverage: GPUs, air-start carts, fuel trucks, fire apparatus, IFLOLS, tow gear, extinguishers, windblast barriers
San Diego Bay fleet: Arleigh Burke, Zumwalt, Kidd, Independence-class LCS, LHA, San Antonio-class LPD, Ohio-class SSBN, fleet oiler, carrier in repair, plus recreational traffic
USS Midway Museum modelled at Navy Pier
US Customs and Border Protection San Diego air unit facility and aircraft
Coronado township: housing, cottages and waterfront under the approach path
4,500+ placed objects across the Coronado peninsula, downtown waterfront and South Bay