KNKX
Miramar Marine Corps Air Station – Mitscher Field
VFR
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Name
Miramar Marine Corps Air Station – Mitscher Field
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ICAO / IATA / GPS
KNKX / NKX / KNKX
- Type
- Region
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Timezone
6:16 pm (PST)
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Municipality
San Diego
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Coordinates
32° 52′ 6″ N 117° 8′ 34″ E
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Elevation
477 ft (145 m MSL)
About Miramar Marine Corps Air Station – Mitscher Field
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) (IATA: NKX, ICAO: KNKX, FAA LID: NKX) is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, a community of San Diego, California, about 14 miles (23 km) north of downtown San Diego.
The airfield has been named Mitscher Field since 1955, after Admiral M.A. Mitscher, who was the commander of Task Force 58 during World War II. The air station is the former location of Pacific Fleet fighter and Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft (F-4 Phantom II, F-14 Tomcat, E-2 Hawkeye) and is best known as the former location of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS), its TOPGUN training program and the movie of the same name. In 1996, NFWS was relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in western Nevada, 60 miles east of Reno, and merged into the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC). During the heyday of TOPGUN at NAS Miramar, the station was nicknamed "Fightertown USA".