Benton Field (BZF)

Benton Field is a public-use general aviation airport owned and operated by the City of Redding, located about one mile west of downtown Redding in Shasta County, Northern California. It is Redding's first airport and continues to serve private pilots, flight training, charter operations and local aviation businesses.

Originally purchased by the City in 1920 as a site for an aerial landing place, the airfield was named for Lieutenant John W. Benton, a Shasta County Army Air Corps pilot who died in a 1927 crash. The original airstrip opened on July 4, 1929, and the airport was formally activated in April 1940. Today it functions as a general aviation facility that complements nearby Redding Regional Airport, which handles scheduled commercial airline traffic.

The airport covers about 80 acres and operates a single asphalt runway of roughly 2,420 feet, with no control tower. Its fixed-base operator provides fuel, aircraft parking and tiedowns, hangars, maintenance and flight training, and the airfield is home to the California Highway Patrol Northern Division Air Operations unit.

Benton Field is reached by car from Placer Street and Airpark Drive on Redding's west side, a short distance from the city centre and close to Interstate 5. The location gives pilots and travelers convenient access to Redding and nearby outdoor destinations such as Shasta Lake, Whiskeytown Lake and Lassen Volcanic National Park.