The pictures posted by Jim are really great! Finding a grass "field" out in the country can be a challenge especially if it's your first flight to that location. The circle and the star really stand out and that would certainly aid "newbie" cadets of WWII. The whole picture reminds me of a Deputy's badge.
Joe
:cool:
Thank you everyone!!
Jim, those photos are fantastic, you are a gem!
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Most of the WW2 OLFs (outlying landing fields) that the USN built in the Pensacola area were laid out like wagon wheels. Spencer Field a few miles from my home had six intersecting runways with a round perimeter taxi way. All concrete. Corry Field was asphalt. There are others. The grass has taken over now after 70 years, but you can still see the traces.
Back in 1960-1961 I flew out of a Miami area field called North Perry. I think that it is now called West Hollywood, KHWO. It had the standard Navy Wagon wheel layout in concrete back then. I punched the lat/longs into google and selected the satalite view. The wagon wheel is still visible under the present parallel RWs. Check it out. n26 00 04 w080 14 26.
The wagon wheel layout permitted the flight instructors to select a rw that was without a cross wind. Carrier pilots don't have to put up with cross winds.
If you are ever in the Houma. LA area (KHUM) take a look at the North ramp. You can plainly see three large concrete circles for the Blimp mooring. Remnents of the hangar may still be there.
With respect to the 1943 pic - probably just the easiest/quickest/cheapest way to build the perimeter fence/road - make a circle. That sucker's got 16 runways! 36L, 36R, 18L, 18R, 9R, 9L, 27L, 27R, 4R, 4L, 14R, 14L, 30L, 30R, 12L, 12R! Rather than straight-line fences along side each runway segment, it uses less fence to just circle it.
The other pic of the "circular airport of the future" looks positively scary. It's challenge enough to takeoff/land in a crosswind when the wind angle is constant. I don't think I'd like to try it in a turn - and a banked turn at that.
I thought the same thing the first time I saw this picture. Unfortunately, I don't remember/know where I got any of those pictures.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe LaMantia
Jim
Smartt field was the first place where I ever landed on pavement. My flight instructor was an army air corp flight instrucftor who lived on top of a hill North of Grafton, IL Smartt field was a Navy training base. There were three pairs of paralell runways with approximately 120 degree spacing. I am not sure and my math doesn't come up with the 120 degrees but I believe that the runways were two each 18/36, 9/27,13/31,4/22. with a circle taxi way that joined the ends of all the runways. Navy pilots didn't normally have to do much crosswind operations but had to fly heavy and fast airplanes off of short runways/carriers. It was 1963 when I first landed there in a Cessna 170 B the field was built during 1941. There may be some in this forum from the St. Louis area that may know the name Jonh Surgeon the instructor who took me to Smartt or Reese Oldfather from St. Louis who was the owner of Corporate flight school located on the South West side of Lambert. I hope this information is useful to the group.Quote:
Originally Posted by vaflier
Hi Bob this is a very good description of a WWII navy training field. In a post that I entered a few minutes ago I mentioned that the first pavement I ever landed on was Smartt Field.
Smartt field was the first place where I ever landed on pavement. My flight instructor was an army air corp flight instrucftor who lived on top of a hill North of Grafton, IL Smartt field was a Navy training base. There were three pairs of paralell runways with approximately 120 degree spacing. I am not sure and my math doesn't come up with the 120 degrees but I believe that the runways were two each 18/36, 9/27,13/31,4/22. with a circle taxi way that joined the ends of all the runways. Navy pilots didn't normally have to do much crosswind operations but had to fly heavy and fast airplanes off of short runways/carriers. It was 1963 when I first landed there in a Cessna 170 B the field was built during 1941. There may be some in this forum from the St. Louis area that may know the name Jonh Surgeon the instructor who took me to Smartt or Reese Oldfather from St. Louis who was the owner of Corporate flight school located on the South West side of Lambert. I hope this information is useful to the group.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Dingley
The flood of 93 put a lot of real estate under water, I was a CAP unit commander during that time and flew some photo missions. I have some pictures of Smartt and SUS under water. They flew out everything that would fly and those that could not got dragged up on a mound on the South side of the field so that even at the peak of the flood you could still see some of them.