Apiay Air Force Base
Encyclopedia
Captain Luis Fernando Gómez Niño Air Base ( , also known as Apiay Air Base (Base Aérea de Apiay), is a Colombian military base assigned to the Colombian Air Force
(Fuerza Aérea Colombiana or FAC) Combat Air Command No. 2 (Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 2 or CACOM 2). It also hosts members of the Colombian Army
and Colombian Navy. The base is located in Apiay, near the city of Villavicencio
, in the Department of Meta
in central Colombia
, by the steps of the Andes
mountain range and the plains of the Colombian Llanos
.
The base also hosts members of the United States Military under a cooperation program under Plan Colombia
intended to help the Colombian military with the eradication of illegal drug trade
and the illegally armed groups in the Colombian armed conflict
.
Apiay has served as base for operations such as Plan Patriota
which included operations such as Operation JM
.
, to become the Apiay National Airfield (Aeródromo Nacional de Apiay), an auxiliary to Madrid Air Base. In 1956 it was equipped with AT-6 Texan and T-34 Mentor
aircraft, to provide training to pilots recently graduated from the Military Aviation School (Escuela Militar de Aviación). In 1959 the unit was elevated to a main base with the assignment of B-26 aircraft moved from the Palanquero Air Base
, changing its name to Comando Aéreo de Bombardeo. In 1961 it received the name Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base as a tribute to Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño (1907-1934), a Colombian military aviator.
In 1972, the base receives its first jet aircraft, T-33 and T-37, brought from the Combat Air Command No.1, and changes its name to the present day name of Combat Air Command No.2.
Today, the air base has responsibility for over 600.000 km2.ref> Reseña Histórica: Comando Aéreo de Combate No 2
of 1227 feet (374 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 10/28 with an asphalt
surface measuring 8204 by 164 ft (2,500.6 by 50 ).
Colombian Air Force
The Colombian Air Force or FAC is the Air Force of the Republic of Colombia.The Colombian Air Force is one of the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Colombia, charge according to the 1991 Constitution of the work to exercise and maintain control of Colombia's airspace to defend the...
(Fuerza Aérea Colombiana or FAC) Combat Air Command No. 2 (Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 2 or CACOM 2). It also hosts members of the Colombian Army
Colombian Army
The National Army of Colombia is the land military force of the government of Colombia and the largest service of the Colombian Armed Forces...
and Colombian Navy. The base is located in Apiay, near the city of Villavicencio
Villavicencio
Villavicencio is a city and municipality in Colombia, capital of the Department of Meta, with 361,058 inhabitants. The city is located at 4°08S, 73°40W, 75 km southeast of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá by the Guatiquía river...
, in the Department of Meta
Meta Department
Meta is a department of Colombia. It is close to the geographic center of the country, to the east of the Andean mountains. A large portion of the department, which is also crossed by the Meta River, is covered by a grassland plain known as the Llanos. Its capital is Villavicencio...
in central Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, by the steps of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
mountain range and the plains of the Colombian Llanos
Llanos
The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....
.
The base also hosts members of the United States Military under a cooperation program under Plan Colombia
Plan Colombia
The term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and combating a left-wing insurgency by supporting different activities in Colombia....
intended to help the Colombian military with the eradication of illegal drug trade
Illegal drug trade in Colombia
Illegal drug trade in Colombia refers to the practice of producing and distributing illegal drugs with psychoactive effects in Colombia. Colombia has had four major drug trafficking cartels which eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture...
and the illegally armed groups in the Colombian armed conflict
Colombian Armed Conflict
The Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
.
Apiay has served as base for operations such as Plan Patriota
Plan Patriota
Plan Patriota is military plan developed by the Government of Colombia with the financial support of the Government of the United States in an effort to uproot the guerrilla groups in Colombia, more specifically the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the National Liberation Army...
which included operations such as Operation JM
Operation JM
Operation JM was a military operation by the Military of Colombia Joint Task Force OMEGA intended to capture or kill the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla , as part of the Plan Patriota. The operations began in April 2004 and after some 30 operations concluded without...
.
History
The current Combat Air Command No. 2 (Comando Aéreo de Combate No. 2) was established in 1933, in the jungle, with the name San José del Guaviare Air Base (Base Aérea San José del Guaviare). In December 1947 it moved to the village of Apiay, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from VillavicencioVillavicencio
Villavicencio is a city and municipality in Colombia, capital of the Department of Meta, with 361,058 inhabitants. The city is located at 4°08S, 73°40W, 75 km southeast of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá by the Guatiquía river...
, to become the Apiay National Airfield (Aeródromo Nacional de Apiay), an auxiliary to Madrid Air Base. In 1956 it was equipped with AT-6 Texan and T-34 Mentor
T-34 Mentor
The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston-engined. These were eventually succeeded by the upgraded T-34C...
aircraft, to provide training to pilots recently graduated from the Military Aviation School (Escuela Militar de Aviación). In 1959 the unit was elevated to a main base with the assignment of B-26 aircraft moved from the Palanquero Air Base
Captain Germán Olano Moreno Air Base
Captain Germán Olano Moreno Air Base is a Colombian military base assigned to the Colombian Air Force Combat Air Command No. 1 . The base is located in Palanquero, near Puerto Salgar, in the Cundinamarca department of Colombia...
, changing its name to Comando Aéreo de Bombardeo. In 1961 it received the name Luis F. Gómez Niño Air Base as a tribute to Captain Luis F. Gómez Niño (1907-1934), a Colombian military aviator.
In 1972, the base receives its first jet aircraft, T-33 and T-37, brought from the Combat Air Command No.1, and changes its name to the present day name of Combat Air Command No.2.
Today, the air base has responsibility for over 600.000 km2.ref> Reseña Histórica: Comando Aéreo de Combate No 2
Facilities
The air base resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 1227 feet (374 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 10/28 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 8204 by 164 ft (2,500.6 by 50 ).
Accidents and incidents
- On 8 September 1969, Douglas C-47 FAC-685 of SATENASATENASATENA is an Colombian military airline based in Fontibón, Bogotá, Colombia. It operates regional, domestic and international routes...
crashed near Apiay Air Force Base killing all 32 people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Monterrey Airport to Apiay.