[2] Runway 9/27 was paved about 1956 and Bonanza Air Lines appeared soon after; until 1969 it and successor Air West flew DC-3s and Fairchild F-27s to LAX, Las Vegas, Palm Springs and beyond.

Golden West Airlines served Riverside in the 1970s with nonstop and direct de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to LAX.

Riverside Municipal Airport has been home to Civil Air Patrol Squadron 5 since 2005.

In 2013, FedEx Express, a cargo airline, donated a Boeing 727-200F to California Baptist University for its new aviation science program.

The aircraft is on permanent display at the airport and provides a working laboratory for aviation science students.