Take to the Skies in Van Nuys

When Isaac Van Nuys built the first wood frame house in the San Fernando Valley back in 1872, he could not have imagined that his name would be synonymous with a bustling population area. Where he saw wheat fields and pasture land, now there are some 150,000 people and all the features of a 21st century San Fernando Valley town. Plus, of course, one of the busiest airports in the world.

Industry has long been important to Van Nuys. Once the home of a major manufacturing facility for Chevrolet, Van Nuys now hosts an Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Home Depot, and other large employers. The town is also the location of the San Fernando Valley Administration Center which provides municipal, county, state, and federal government services for the Valley population.

For almost a 80 years, the Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has been a center of activity in the town. From a small field in the 1920's it has grown to be the world's busiest general aviation airport. No commercial flights come here, yet private and chartered aircraft flights account for nearly a half million takeoffs and landings a year.
In the early days, Van Nuys Airport served barnstormers and intrepid airmen – and women – who sought flying records. They included:

• A men’s solo endurance record of 37 hours, by Herbert Fahy, in 1929.
• A women’s endurance record of 42 hours, by Elinor Smith and Bobbi Trout, in 1929.
• A women’s speed record of 196 mph, by Florence “Pancho” Barnes, in 1930.

Just about 20 miles north of the Los Angeles Airport (LAX), the airport was a favorite of several Hollywood stars. Gene Autry, Cecil B. DeMille, and Howard Hughes were among the celebrities who flew here. The airport has become increasingly popular as it offers both convenience and a measure of anonymity for celebrities and politicians. And for those who need to fly out of LAX, the Flyaway Bus Service offers non-stop service between VNY and LAX.

Van Nuys Airport has a film-friendly policy that aims to keep film production at "home" in Lost Angeles. From Casablanca to the TV show 24, the airport has been part of many films and TV shows over the years. The 1980's action-espionage series Airwolf used the VNY hangars as the site of "Santini Air," the charter air service operated by Dominic Santini and played by Ernest Borgnine. Even during the war years of the 1940's when the airport was a defense-manufacturing center, the entertainment industry discovered a young woman there on an aircraft assembly line. Her name would be Marilyn Monroe.

The airport is not only about movies and takeoffs and landings; the 730 acres of VNY are home to 100 businesses plus a 27-hole golf course. Los Angeles police, fire, and water and power helicopters have hangars and maintenance facilities here. The Los Angeles schools have an aviation mechanics school where future airframe and power plant mechanics get their training.

A 1960's guided tour program opened the doors of the airport to the local community for a journey through aviation past and present. VNY continues to offer tours today, giving about 10,000 adults and children a close-up look at the airport each year. And for those who can't get enough of airplanes, a public observation area adjacent to the east side of the airfield features permanent displays, special children’s exhibits and a continuous live broadcast of air traffic controllers in the airport’s control tower.

We hope you've enjoyed this stop on our continuing San Fernando Valley tour. Happy landings!

San Fernando Valley Tour – Oaks and Old Movies in Encino

This is the beginning of a series, not unlike the serials of the old movie theater double feature. Back in the day – like the early to mid-20th century – when you went to the movies on Saturday, you saw a newsreel, cartoons, and two feature movies. There was also an ongoing adventure with a new chapter every week to keep you coming back.

There won't be any hoof-pounding Western adventures in this series, but there will be interesting history, intriguing facts, and fascinating trivia about the communities of the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and the Westside of Los Angeles. Whether you are a native or newcomer, we hope you'll enjoy the journey.

First on the tour is Encino. It is truly hard to go anywhere in the Los Angeles area without finding a connection to the movie industry. Homes of the stars and hangouts of the famous are everywhere. Even a well-known Realtor® chose Encino for his home base. Here in Encino, though, not only the people are stars; the district itself has played a role in film and literature.

Like much of this area, Encino was once mission land owned by the Spanish government. When the missions were abandoned in the early 1800's, about seven square miles was given to three Grabielino Indians and became known as Rancho Los Encinos (Ranch of the Oaks.) By the middle of the 19th century the land had been a cattle ranch, grown wheat and barley, and had become a stop on the stage line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. According to the Encino Chamber of Commerce, some of the buildings from those days are still seen in the Los Encinos State Park.

Through all this, a massive California Live Oak tree stood on what became Ventura Boulevard, and watched over more than a thousand years of human history before falling during an El Niño storm in 1998.

Encino is now home to more than 40,000 people who live in the area bordered on the west by Tarzana, on the north by the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, on the east by Sherman Oaks, and on the south by the Encino Reservoir.

And now for the connections to film and literature we promised: (with thanks to Wikipedia)

• In the glory days of filmmaking, Encino was also the site of RKO Studios "Encino Ranch" and the site of such iconic movies as It's a Wonderful Life and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
• It is the setting of the 1992 comedy, Encino Man.
• Encino is mentioned in Frank Zappa's 1982 hit song, "Valley Girl."
• "The Point" from Fast Times at Ridgemont High was located in Encino (Encino Little League Field).
• Encino was where Ali's family lived (Elisabeth Shue) in the movie The Karate Kid. Their country club was Encino Oaks and they lived on Alonzo Avenue.
• Encino is where specials on the popular cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants take place.
• Encino is the setting of the first half of Chilean author Alberto Fuguet's novel "Las Películas de mi Vida (The Movies Of My Life)"
• According to a recurring on-air gag of the 1970's show Match Game, panelist Brett Somers would take host Gene Rayburn to a nice hotel in Encino after the show if she were "feeling frisky."
• Encino has been home to many of Hollywood's stars, including Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Michael Landon, and Phil Hartman.

Rich in history, Encino is one of the San Fernando Valley's treasures. That's the end of today's tour. Please join us again next time for…Tarzana!