PRESS RELEASE - 5 new Aviation Websites

PRESS RELEASE - FIVE new Aviation Websites from Delta Mike Airfield, Inc.  The way you view Aviation History is about to crank up to a whole new level!!!

Parks Airport Register, Part of Page 1 (Source: St. Louis University Library)

Check out these web-links to the five new aviation historical websites.

• Clover Field, Santa Monica, CA (www.cloverfield.org), 
• Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, CA (www.grandcentralairterminal.org), 
• Parks Airport, East St. Louis, IL (www.parksfield.org), 
• Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, CO (www.petersonfield.org) 
• Pitcairn Field, Willow Grove, PA (www.pitcairnfield.org).

http://www.parksfield.org/airplanes/NC113K/index.php

The images above are taken from the Parks Airport webpage.

What's up with all of this?....

You are about to be amazed by aviation history in a way you might never have imagined.  If you are a follower of this blog, you may have also heard about an excellent website called "DMAIRFIELD.ORG".    If you haven't, it is a must see for all those who enjoy reading and learning about aviation history. Truly an aviation treasure on the internet, the site is about an old, handwritten, leather-bound, airfield register.  The register's old pages evolved through the years in real-time by military, civilian, and commercial aviation operations of the day.  Noted aviation historian, Gary W. Hyatt, President - Delta Mike Airfield, Inc revived the old register into a living historical record.  Gary's unique website design is formed around an information database that Gary created from the register's handwritten entries.  Expanding from this database, Gary's not-for-profit company solicits and publishes historical photos, articles, short stories, trivia, news-clippings, and other aviation artifacts submitted from armchair historians like you and me.  The result is a compilation with interwoven links to information about the people, airplanes, and events that are related to the Davis Monthan Municipal Airfield in Tucson Arizona.

The success of the DMAirfield website has led Gary into new, but similar undertakings.  Check out this press release by Delta Mike Airfield, Inc. 

Great news to say the least!!  Way to go Gary! 

Again, here are the web-links to the five new websites.

• Clover Field, Santa Monica, CA (www.cloverfield.org), 
• Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, CA (www.grandcentralairterminal.org), 
• Parks Airport, East St. Louis, IL (www.parksfield.org), 
• Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, CO (www.petersonfield.org) 
• Pitcairn Field, Willow Grove, PA (www.pitcairnfield.org).

I am very happy for Gary to have achieved this milestone to bring all five of these registers to us.  It is undoubtedly the culmination of a monumental effort.  But the best part is that this is only the beginning.  From here, it will be interesting to watch these sites grow as the current DMAirfield site has grown.  

Personally, I plan to become a contributor mainly to the Parks Airport site, for which I have already collected a fair amount of historical information.  I am excited about this. I think the format of Gary's pages are ideal for armchair historians and enthusiasts like me who have limited time to compile their collections into a quality publication.  Gary and is great at taking the materials submitted and building them into a first class webpage.  In my opinion, Gary's database format of his website changes everything about the way we can search and use historical data.  It provides a medium of unlimited scale for aviation research to build upon itself by allowing the casual researcher an easy way to add and search for information. Researchers can now gain a broader understanding of history through the links among these regional airfields, events, pilots, and travelers.  So I encourage others to dig through their old clippings and collected airplane photos and send them in to Gary.

My kudos to Gary Hyatt:

Some time ago, Gary and I became friends through internet, email, and phone calls.  We have never met in person.  But through our correspondence I learned that Gary is passionate about aviation history and has a driven purpose to his work of educating people and sharing information about aviation history through his website. I have read  Gary's "airfield register" webpage concept was quite intriguing to me when I first saw it because I knew of another one that existed in the archives of Parks College, Saint Louis University.  The Parks Airport Register covers several years, starting in 1929 and well into the late 1930's from the gone (but not forgotten) airfield associated with Parks College in East St. Louis, Illinois.  I thought it would be great if a similar effort could be done to expose this register, so I mentioned this to Gary.  To my surprise, Gary was already on the trail of several other of these airport registers around the U.S. He told me of his plan to build several websites like the Davis Monthan site to greatly expand the historical information that could be drawn out of these unique documents. He was glad to learn of the Parks Register, which in its own right contains numerous records of interesting events and happenings of U.S. aviation.  We have kept in touch about this over the years.  To me, watching Gary build his databases and to bring these websites all into being at the same time is truly an amazing feat.  I personally believe that the aviation community owes a debt of gratitude to Gary for preserving this information for future generations.  Again.... Way to go, Gary!!

Christmas at the Old Fort (Fort Parker Flying Field)

Late Fall and Winter time can be some of the best flying days in Texas.  This past weekend our friend Jed Keck hosted us at Fort Parker Flying Field for the day in conjunction with the annual Christmas at the Old Fort celebration at historic Old Fort Parker.  Rachel and I flew the yellow '46 Taylorcraft in from Deer Pasture airfield after having to wait out low ceilings for most of the morning.  When we arrived, Leann was already there with the rest of the kids in the Suburban and also her Mom and Dad had flown in via their '39 Taylorcraft from Tick Hill Airfield.  It was a fun day with an 1800's style visit from Santa, a re-enactment of a Native American-Indian wedding ceremony, a cowboy shootout, black-smithing, glass-blowing, and other period craftsmanship.  This was my second trip to Fort Parker Flying Field.  It was certainly not the last.  In fact, we are now talking about holding a Texas Taylorcraft Fly-in there on March 31, 2012.  In addition, we are looking forward to attending the International Biplane Association's - Old Fort Biplane Music Fest (Fly-in) there on June 2, 2012.

Enjoy these photos taken by Jed Keck.

NEW - Order your 2012 Taylorcraft Lover's Calendar today!

The timeless journey - Blakesburg 2007

Last summer, God blessed our family with a wonderful trip to a place where time stands still. I have been able a few times in my life to make the journey from Texas to Antique Airfield in the Iowa heartland (near Blakesburg). Unless you've been there before, you just can't imagine it. The place has a mystique about it that is indescribable. It's the closest I know to flight as it was years ago in a simpler age, with fewer restrictions, and with the camaraderie and spirit of goodwill among men and women of aviation. This trip was especially nice for me. Partly because it had been 17 years since my last trip there. But mostly because I got to share it with Leann, Lon, Carolyn, Travis, Hannah, and Rachel.

Leann and I flew up in Lon's '39 Taylorcraft. The first day started off a bit rocky with weather concerns all the way up through Oklahoma. We made fuel stops in Decatur TX, McAlester Oklahoma as the weather declined all the way, dodging rain showers the best way you can at 85 mph. We finally gave up the push in Vinita Oklahoma. By the time we landed, there were small Thundershowers to the east, north, and west. McDonalds' golden arches awaited us there and gave us a great place to rest while the ground crew in the family Suburban caught up with us.

Our crew arrived and helped us secure the airplane for the night and it was off to the hotel.












The next day didn't look much good at first. A line of storms was pushing through but seemed almost stalled to the north. By 1 pm we made the decision to give it a try following the highways. As it turned out the farther north and east we went, the better it looked. And before long... the days of scorching hot Texas summer were gone and we were in the most beautiful cloudless sky one can imagine. This weather held for the entire remaining time of our trip, adding to the blessing it already was. Here are some photos... including the Missouri Church pond... an enormous back-hoe used for strip-mining coal in the wetlands of Eastern Kansas... the Missouri River... and pretty soon.... Blakesburg!














Three days are barely enough. Here are just a few of the sites, including some unforgetable moments like Lon's first open cockpit ride in a Biplane.















































Starting home, though somewhat sad, was another adventure in itself. More sites of the beautiful midwest USA and fun along the way like the "Three" thicket in northern Oklahoma. We even found a new use for Lon's old stopwatch holder on the instrument panel. Max altitude for the trip was 3,500 ft. MSL. It was cooler there, but the best scenery was at 2,000 ft. A couple of stops and then we stayed the night in Adair Oklahoma with friends Jim Markle and his family who sure put on the hospitality for us. The next day... Leann traded spots with Lon who flew the rest of the trip with me. Lon's a good pilot and it was a rest for me to sit in the right seat for a change. The closer we got toward home, the realities of life set in. I needed to make it to work the next day. The weather was not cooperating. Visibility deteriorated to a point it was no longer safe to continue past Decatur TX. Luckily we have a friend there who offered a cozy spot in his hangar for the plane. Our ground crew met us a few hours later and we drove through rain to make it home. Lon and I drove back up a couple weeks later to bring the little airplane home. It was nice to have the airplane safely tucked back in at Tick Hill.

Somehow, it seems that God gave us beautiful weather and blessed us all the way for this trip. I think anyone who attended Blakesburg in 2007 would agree. Since my first trip as a kid in 1975 that place has hardly changed at all. The kids have been asking to go back this year... but we may have to miss it for 2008... we'll see.



To leave you with a touch of the feeling of Blakesburg... click on the following link to see a wonderful photo montage put together by Brent Taylor of the Antique Airplane Association. And don't forget to visit the AAA website... http://www.antiqueairfield.com/

Tick Hill Airfield - XA47

Flying activities around Tick Hill have been very slow for the past few months. It seems those life priorities have been at us again, plus having the wing lift strut and fitting AD's on the Taylorcraft have put a damper on things. Everyone has been too busy to address it. But Tick Hill Airfield (XA-47) is alive and well. Started in the winter of 2003-2004, here are some development photos.

View Looking South toward Lake Belton - Airfield in center frame.Land at your own risk -