3.7
Silverbell Army Heliport
What is today Silverbell Army Heliport (SBAH) was originally part of the Marana Army
Airfield that was built as a training base during World War II. When the war ended, the
base was closed, and the land was transferred to Pinal County. The county subsequently
leased it to various tenants, including the Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency.
Today, Pinal Airpark occupies a portion of the former Marana Army Airfield, including the
runway, but is not part of SBAH or associated with the DoD. Silverbell Army Heliport was
established at the former airfield in 1986 and is now home to the Western Army Aviation
Training Site (WAATS).
Silverbell Army
Heliport Fast Facts
Although the installation sits on a former World War II military site, it has fairly new
facilities, with the oldest buildings constructed in 1987. Silverbell Army Heliport is
compact and mostly built‐out, so it has little room for future growth.
The installation’s relatively remote location away from heavily populated urban areas, its
proximity to the Barry M. Goldwater Range and open desert, and the dry regional climate
provide ideal conditions for regional aviation training. Weather conditions in the region
allow for an average of 360 flying days a year.
Installation Land Use
Land uses at SBAH are primarily related to aviation, administration, and education. It
centers around a helicopter airfield with parking space for 58 rotary wing aircraft
(helicopters) and two aircraft arming pads. Fifty of these spaces are reserved for WAATS
aircraft, and the remaining eight are used by Singapore’s Peace Vanguard. There are four
helicopter landing pads with taxiways leading to the parking spaces. Adjacent to the
airfield is the WAATS hangar, an Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF), the Singapore
Peace Vanguard facility, and a fire station. Other facilities on the installation include a
90,000‐gallon fuel farm, a simulator building with two UH‐72 Lakota simulators and one
UH‐60 Black Hawk simulator, an Aviation Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT)
Background Report
160 acres,
owned by
the AZARNG
Nearest Town:
Installation Setting
Silverbell Army Heliport is in southern Pinal County, just north of the Pinal‐Pima County
border and immediately adjacent to Pinal Airpark. It encompasses 160 acres less than
three miles west of Interstate 10, the main north‐south corridor between Phoenix and
Tucson. The installation is approximately 85 miles southeast of Phoenix, roughly 30 miles
northwest of Tucson, and less than three miles northwest of the Town of Marana border
and within its municipal planning area. Marana is often considered the northern edge of
the Tucson Metropolitan Area, which is among the fastest growing urban areas in the
U.S. The town itself is one of the fastest growing communities in Arizona. Despite the
proximity to these urban areas, the land surrounding SBAH is primarily undeveloped or
used for agriculture.
Size:
Town of Marana,
3.0 miles to the
southeast
Primary AZARNG
aviation training
facility:
Western ARNG
training site for
UH-60 Black
Hawk and UH-72
Lakota
helicopters
3,6000 square
mile Tactical
Flight Training
Area
Training Areas:
Low-level flight
Night flight
Simulated flight
Academic
Enlisted
Foreign military
Operations
Maintenance
3-25