Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields
March 8, 2003 4:46 AM Subscribe
A & LKA is comprehensive ... I mean, I've been going through this site for the last 30 minutes and its cross-referenced against NASA, .mil domains, aircraft industry navigation parts manufacturers, satellite photography, what appears to be a site for referencing jet fuel prices, and so much more. My god, it's an archetype of what the internet should be . . .
I'm assuming that the author of this site is putting together a resource for a Mad Max style apocalyptic future where he'll need to be able to quickly find out where the abandoned air fields are to get around in his turbo prop and avoid all the major urban centers (which are ravaged by fuel looting mad men).
Thanks for the link hama7...
posted by jdaura at 5:18 AM on March 8, 2003
I'm assuming that the author of this site is putting together a resource for a Mad Max style apocalyptic future where he'll need to be able to quickly find out where the abandoned air fields are to get around in his turbo prop and avoid all the major urban centers (which are ravaged by fuel looting mad men).
Thanks for the link hama7...
posted by jdaura at 5:18 AM on March 8, 2003
yeah. didja happen to notice where he got it from? ; . )
It's a minor fetish of mine, caused by premature ingestion of too many Balalrd novels as a preadolescent...cooool site, huh?
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:21 AM on March 8, 2003
It's a minor fetish of mine, caused by premature ingestion of too many Balalrd novels as a preadolescent...cooool site, huh?
posted by adamgreenfield at 5:21 AM on March 8, 2003
Fascinating and evocative. Thanks!
posted by Slithy_Tove at 5:23 AM on March 8, 2003
posted by Slithy_Tove at 5:23 AM on March 8, 2003
As a pilot in Washington state, I can tell you there are many 'little know' airfields all over the state. The act of actually finding them is handed down from instructor to student, and pilot to pilot.
But this site...is...well...amazing.
Thanks!
posted by grefo at 6:25 AM on March 8, 2003
But this site...is...well...amazing.
Thanks!
posted by grefo at 6:25 AM on March 8, 2003
I learned how to french kiss in the spectator parking lot of this one, and my father used to buzz our house with his little blue plane which he kept at this one. Memories! Wonderful link - thank you hama7, and thanks to the very quotable adamgreenfield for his minor fetish.
posted by iconomy at 6:43 AM on March 8, 2003
posted by iconomy at 6:43 AM on March 8, 2003
I was fascinated myself. Didn't explore the whole site, just read about the fields in my state. Very cool.
posted by Plunge at 7:17 AM on March 8, 2003
posted by Plunge at 7:17 AM on March 8, 2003
The link's Mefi'd. :(
posted by PrinceValium at 8:09 AM on March 8, 2003
posted by PrinceValium at 8:09 AM on March 8, 2003
The poor sap was slashdotted weeks ago and now this. Tripods gonna give him the boot for sure.
posted by Fupped Duck at 9:10 AM on March 8, 2003
posted by Fupped Duck at 9:10 AM on March 8, 2003
Sure enough, at this writing it's down for 24 hours due to exceeded bandwidth limits.
Heaven forbid that an advertising-supported hosting service should get a lot of page views or anything...
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:29 PM on March 8, 2003
Heaven forbid that an advertising-supported hosting service should get a lot of page views or anything...
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:29 PM on March 8, 2003
Eh, if there ever was a site that deserved to "graduate" from cheap-o generic free hosting to a domain name + server space, this is it.
Here's the google cache of the home page, anyway.
posted by jdaura at 3:41 PM on March 8, 2003
Here's the google cache of the home page, anyway.
posted by jdaura at 3:41 PM on March 8, 2003
Did anyone notice there is not a single abandoned airfield in Iowa?
Very strange.
posted by namespan at 9:35 PM on March 8, 2003
Very strange.
posted by namespan at 9:35 PM on March 8, 2003
He didn't include the single most interesting airfield in the United States: old North Field, on the island of Tinian.
In 1945 it was the largest airbase in the world. Four 8,800 ft runways were used by vast numbers of B-29s, which were used against the Japanese mainland. And, most importantly, it served as the first base for atomic weapons. Because the bombs were so large, they had to build pits in which to raise the bombs into the planes.
Today, it is a complete backwater. Two of the runways are completely choked with vegetation, one can be driven on still, and another which is used for occasional touch-and-gos from B-52s on Guam. Usually, however, the area is open to the public, and for fun, I drove down the runway at 100mph, wondering at the immensity of these strips. More solemn, however, are the pits, which today have been filled and planted with plumeria. Eerily silent, many miles from the only village on the island, you get chills realizing this may be one of the most important places in history...
posted by drstrangelove at 8:54 AM on March 9, 2003 [1 favorite]
In 1945 it was the largest airbase in the world. Four 8,800 ft runways were used by vast numbers of B-29s, which were used against the Japanese mainland. And, most importantly, it served as the first base for atomic weapons. Because the bombs were so large, they had to build pits in which to raise the bombs into the planes.
Today, it is a complete backwater. Two of the runways are completely choked with vegetation, one can be driven on still, and another which is used for occasional touch-and-gos from B-52s on Guam. Usually, however, the area is open to the public, and for fun, I drove down the runway at 100mph, wondering at the immensity of these strips. More solemn, however, are the pits, which today have been filled and planted with plumeria. Eerily silent, many miles from the only village on the island, you get chills realizing this may be one of the most important places in history...
posted by drstrangelove at 8:54 AM on March 9, 2003 [1 favorite]
Did anyone notice there is not a single abandoned airfield in Iowa?
The state of Iowa is a functional airfield.
posted by stbalbach at 10:34 AM on March 9, 2003
The state of Iowa is a functional airfield.
posted by stbalbach at 10:34 AM on March 9, 2003
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posted by hama7 at 4:46 AM on March 8, 2003