Eckert Field Airport started as a training base for World War II Army aviators north of Porterville. It is listed for purchase at $1.27 million. Photo via The Jamison Team/Tuscana Properties

Eckert Field Airport, a local airfield with history dating back to World War II — and a connection to Hollywood — is on the market.

According to The Jamison Team at Tuscana Properties in the San Jose area, the listing price is $1.27 million for the 25-acre property near Strathmore, about six miles north of Porterville in Tulare County.

The owners, Eric and Curt Schutze, are seeking a buyer that will keep the airport going rather than repurpose the land.

“I’m hoping somebody will have the resources and the interest to keep it operating as an airport,” Eric told Flying Magazine. “I hate to see so many airports in the United States going away and don’t want to see it turned into farmland.”

When it first opened, it was known as Trauger Auxiliary Field, and was used for training by the U.S. Army Air Force for pilots out of nearby Rankin Field. In the 1950s, Wendell Eckert purchased it, and in 1988, the Schutze family took ownership through inheritance. The airport has hosted fly-ins that would attract pilots from Watsonville, Merced, Porterville and several other locations, Flying Magazine reported.

According to the article, actor Steve McQueen was known to visit Eckert Field on his way to an annual aviation gathering in Porterville.

 

During these fly-ins, vintage aircraft were a common sight, including the Stearmans and Ryan PT-22s that World War II Army pilots trained on, and WACOs, a classic biplane.

The airport spans approximately 25 acres with 31,000 square feet of structure. It features a 2,000-foot-long asphalt runway along with 20 hangars, nearly half of which are currently leased. 

Robert Byker, a general contractor and aircraft owner, told Pilot Magazine he appreciates the airport’s quiet atmosphere. 

“I deal with people all the time, so it’s nice that I can go and work out there and nobody bothers me,” he said. “And I take care of pretty much the whole airport by keeping the hangars in shape, the doors working, doing weed control and other things.”

Byker, who trained at Eckert Field, acknowledges its challenges and explains why some pilots find the airport’s runway intimidating.

“Eckert Field is a pretty cool, old airport, but it’s scary to fly into for many pilots,” Byker told Pilot Magazine. “I trained out there, so the short runway doesn’t scare me, but for many pilots that are training, they look at it and say, ‘That’s awfully short.’”

He believes that could be a reason why it doesn’t see as much use today.

“So, you have to be a pretty good pilot to get in and out of there, which is [partly] why it’s not really busy. Every once in a while, you have somebody that will drop in, but it’s pretty much a graveyard now, which is why I like it,” Byker said.