Culver City Hughes
Hughes CC
1932-1985
Alsace / Playa Vista, Culver City, California
33.976111, -118.417222 · 15 feet
Location
Tracking
Millennium Drive, Playa Vista, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, 90096, United States
Nearby Locations
| Km | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles International Airport | KLAX | 3.8 | 167° |
| Santa Monica Municipal Airport | KSMO | 5.4 | 325° |
| Century City Heliport | CCD | 9.4 | 360° |
| UCLA Wilshire Glendon / Occidental Petroleum Heliport | 44CN | 9.5 | 345° |
| Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal Airport | KHHR | 9.6 | 128° |
 Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Heliports |
75CL | 10.4 | 345° |
Opened in 1932 at the foot of a bluff, to the southwest of Culver City municipal airport and north of Los Angeles (LAX) International, at a time when the area was fairly undeveloped. The plant was producing fixed wing aircraft, undertaking research (into helicopters such as the XH-17 Flying Crane, the XV-9 and the giant XH-28) and missile building.
It was also the site of the production line for the Hughes 269. The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was produced here until the line was moved to San Diego (Rose Canyon) around 1967. The Hughes Model 77 - which went on to become the Boeing AH-64 Apache - was designed here and in 1981 Hughes decided to produce that model from the new plant at Mesa, AZ.
The writing was on the wall for the privately owned airport as more and more land was being taken up for development and the last aircraft movement was in 1985, although the site was in non-flying use for a number of years before component production ceased. The runway was dug up and used as hard core for further development and apart from a few buildings of historical significance, the site had effectively disappeared by 2002, with just a few road names left to tell the story.
It was also the site of the production line for the Hughes 269. The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was produced here until the line was moved to San Diego (Rose Canyon) around 1967. The Hughes Model 77 - which went on to become the Boeing AH-64 Apache - was designed here and in 1981 Hughes decided to produce that model from the new plant at Mesa, AZ.
The writing was on the wall for the privately owned airport as more and more land was being taken up for development and the last aircraft movement was in 1985, although the site was in non-flying use for a number of years before component production ceased. The runway was dug up and used as hard core for further development and apart from a few buildings of historical significance, the site had effectively disappeared by 2002, with just a few road names left to tell the story.