Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Texas - Northwestern Fort Worth area

Texas - Northwestern Fort Worth area

Eagle Mountain Lake MCAS (revised 5/17/08) - Oliver Farms Airfield (revised 5/17/08)

Rhome MCOLF (revised 5/28/06) - Saginaw Airport (revised 5/17/08) - Taliaferro Field / Hicks Field (revised 8/14/06)

Taliaferro Field Bombing Target (revised 8/29/06)

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Saginaw Airport (F04), Saginaw, TX

32.86 North / 97.38 West (Northwest of Fort Worth, TX)

Saginaw Airport, as depicted on the March 1947 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

Saginaw Airport is one the large number of general aviation airports

which have been swallowed up by "development" in the Dallas - Fort Worth metro area.

According to an article entitled "A Home for Slow Airplanes" by Walt Shiel,

Saginaw Airport was built by John MacNeil shortly after WW2.

It originally had only a grass runway & an aluminum maintenance hangar.

The earliest depiction of Saginaw Airport which has been located

was on the March 1947 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

The 1948 USAF Urban Area Chart depicted "Saginaw Airfield"

simply as a rectangular outline, without any depiction of runways.

Saginaw had gained a paved runway at some point prior to 1962,

as the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Saginaw Airport

as having a 2,650' hardtop Runway 18/36 & a 2,400' turf Runway 13/31.

The operator was listed as a J. D. McNeill Jr.

Ganey Bradfield recalled, “Saginaw Airport was run by a man named McNeill.

He was pretty grouchy & rather 'by the book'.

His wife did most of the day to day operation stuff.”

The 1963 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse)

depicted Saginaw Airport as having a row of T-hangars along the west side, three rows of t-hangars east of Runway 18/36,

and the office & main hangar adjacent to the ramp.

Saginaw Airport, as depicted on the 1964 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ross Richardson).

The 1967 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Brad Stanford) listed the operator at Saginaw as McNeill Flying Service.

The earliest photo that has been located of Saginaw Airport was a 1970 aerial view.

It depicted the field as having 1 paved runway & 1 grass runway.

Several hangars were visible on the south end of the field,

as well as 5 light aircraft.

An undated aerial view looking southwest at Saginaw Airport.

For more information: http://www.cessnawarbirds.com/articles/

According to an article entitled "A Home for Slow Airplanes" by Walt Shiel,

John MacNeil sold Saginaw Airport & its 150 acres when they retired in the early 1980s.

The new owner sold off a 40 acre parcel to a grocery store chain,

shrinking the size of the airport.

However, the new owner stopped making payments on the remainder of the property to MacNeil,

causing MacNeil to repossess the airport.

The airport had been allowed to deteriorate by the second owner,

necessitating much cleanup work.

By 1985, the manager was listed as Scotty Boggs in the 1985 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse).

Brian Goad recalled, “I used to fly an L-4 & a Stinson 108-1 out of Saginaw

in the late 1980s & early 1990s when TMark Aviation was operating it.

On occasions, Mark used to let me fly his yellow Cub he had beautifully restored;

it was a special treat for me to do so.

His restored Cub looked & felt as though it had just rolled off Piper’s assembly line;

I should have bought it when he offered to sell it to me.”

Brian also flew an L-4 from Saginaw.

“After Oliver Farms closed, the L-4 was brought over to Saginaw.

My dad owned the L-4, but since he was so busy flying the BT-15,

he asked me to maintain it & fly it to shows… I couldn’t have asked for a better deal.

For several years, the L-4 occupied the second stall from the west on the south side of the middle three T-hangars.”

Brian recalled, “The best times of my life were spent at our Saginaw play days

and even on raining days sitting in the big hangar drinking beer & telling stories.

Usually, everyone with the little birds would come out after work on Friday evenings,

go dog fight for a bit, disengage mock battle to enjoy the countryside for a little while,

then come back joining up to do a little formation flying.

It wouldn’t take long & the parking lot would be dotted with spectators

(including the Saginaw Fire Department & their fire truck)

all asking if there was an air show going on.

We must have looked pretty impressive in the Cubs, Champs, and L-birds.

After the flying was done, well of course it was beer time, more stories,

and endless joking and laughing, or even help add a stitch or two to one of Mark’s projects.

Saginaw Airport was the place to be on a Friday evening or Sunday.

I have many fond memories of the Saginaw days; they were the best.”

Brian continued, “It was a small world for me there at the airport.

Mark Heffley’s younger cousin Todd Heffley had a Champ based there.

I was friends with Todd’s older sister when he was just a little kid.

I recall Todd threw acorns at me & squirted me with the water hose back then.

Now that 'little kid' was flying off my wing.

The small world continued when another Cub owner named Tim showed up; his wife was in my high school class.

Then there was John Gronemeyer with his L-5.

I had met John through the Confederate Air Force.

So with Mark, Todd, Tim, John, a few others, and I, we kept Saginaw Airport very active & a fun place to be.”

Brian described the grass strip at Saginaw as “the smoothest I had ever touched down on.

It was so smooth you never knew when you crossed over the asphalt.

However, some pilots made it a contest to touch down on the grass

before crossing the dirt taxi strip that lead to the hangars on the west side.

But if you didn’t get it just right, that little dirt hump would bounce you back up into the air

like a Harrier Jump Jet taking off a curved deck.

I never could do it right; needless to say, I always landed long in the grass and made ‘perfect’ landings every time.”

Brian continued, “I did have to use the grass cross runway once.

While I was out and about in the L-4, the wind had picked up out of the southeast,

and so strong that I managed to touch down and stop in about 30 to 40 feet.

Good thing I had an excellent instructor for tail-dragger,

otherwise I probably never would have been able to taxi back to the hangar, the wind was that bad.”

Brian continued, “Now, Saginaw did not have a lighted runway;

however, there were times some of us flying the little birds got caught out after dark.

Should this happen, us locals would execute the ‘Dairy Queen Approach’ to Saginaw.

The Dairy Queen to the north of the airport had a huge American flag brightly lit,

and that was our marker to turn due south & less than a mile you would be lined up over the runway

to make a north to south low pass checking for obstacles on the runway (i.e. cars, motorcycles, or coyotes).

Mark was always checking to see who hadn’t made it back in before dark

and he would leave the shop lights on which marked the south end of the runway.

This was important since holding a 2-D cell flashlight out the door never made for a good landing light on the L-4,

and especially since it took both hands to land the plane.”

Brian continued, “It was the opinion of most of the local pilots at Saginaw

that the student pilots flying in and out of Meacham Field had no clue that another airport (Saginaw)

was near their parallel runway approach centerlines.

The small planes coming into Meacham were always off line and/or too low,

and constantly invading our airspace.

We had to keep a close watch for those students and be ready to bale out west or simply dive for the runway;

I got plenty of practice ‘slipping’ the L-4 in.”

In 1990, Saginaw was leased by John MacNeil to Mark & Tara Heffley.

They operated TMark Aviation, which specialized in restoration of tail-draggers.

Paul Johnson recalled, “I rented hangar space from Mark & Tara from August 1992 until September 1996.

I rented the (very) little garage apartment behind Mr McNeill's house from January 1993 until August 1996.

Living with my airplane really impressed the young women I was dating back then...

until they got to know me... hah!

Some of THE happiest days of my 41 years of life were spent committing aviation at F04...

until April 1996 when Mark was diagnosed with brain tumors, which would not stop growing back when removed.

Mark graduated from this life in October 1996, at the age of 42.

Tara made a magnificent attempt to keep T-Mark Aviation aloft, but the deck was stacked against her.

The elderly Mr. McNeill's daughter Barbara had really talked up the idea of making F04 an airpark,

but no attempts to bring this to fruition were ever seen by any of us.

The general consensus among Saginoids & lurkateers

was that Barbara was simply biding her time until she could do as she pleased.”

Paul continued, “I first experienced F04 in July of 1992,

when, a-shopping for hangar space for my 'Baby 180' (fastback tailwheel 1962 C-150),

I drove my truck onto the runway following Cooper Heffley (Lenard Loopner's youngest child) on his dirtbike,

leading me to meet the airport manager (Mark), who was flying radio-controlled models with Lynn & their younguns.

They had parked 'Paw Paw Heffley's' immaculate early-model GTO out there on the east shoulder of the runway

and were enjoying refreshing sudsy beverages while entertaining & instructing their younguns

with radio-controlled antics of derring-do.

They offered me such a beverage & it occurred to me as I imbibed that I might have found My People.”

Paul continued, “The pre-start checks were amended by Lenard Loopner to include the admonition, 'RUN AWAY!'

A good start, takeoff, landing (especially), low pass, high speed pass,

batch of fajitas or extremely 'coldbeer' was termed 'ECK-cellent!'

Barf-bags were proffered to nervous first-time passengers

during our highly professional pre-flight briefings with the gentle advice,

'If yer gonna spew, spew in this.'

Of course the crinkled nose & high-pitched inflection & lisp of Garth Algar made it all the more effective.

If a particular crosswind, fastener combination, elusively dropped essential part,

extra-hot batch of salsa, decidedly pitched game of pool in the lobby, or too-stiff drink

were too much for one of our crowd, we entreated our compatriots for assistance with,

'It sucking my will to live!' & if greatly challenged, 'Oh the HUMANITY!'”

Paul continued, “It was once determined that all the trees trying to grow up through the westside T-hangars should be cut down.

Mark, Todd, another corporate pilot named Mike Canaday & myself assayed to effect such clean-up.

It was quite a weekend of hard work & hair-raising crashes of the mighty chinaberry to earth.”

Paul continued, “Tara in the mid 1990s hadn't flown professionally for 10 years,

due to making babies & founding T-Mark,

and she STILL had more hours than Mark.

Mark took a lot of ribbing about that... but he just grinned... because he had... her!”

Paul continued, “Lynn Heffley, Mark's brother & Tim Carter's co-owner in a couple of aircraft,

lived in Mr Mcneill's house for the first several months that I was there.

Then a corporate pilot/furloughed USAIR pilot named Steve Wilkey was there for few months.

He co-owned a Pitts S-1S with Billy Brock, who with 500 hours total time,

made a flawless pasture-landing in it near Decatur when it threw a rod.

Then Todd & Cindy Heffley lived there with Gee Bee, their little orphan pup from the pound,

probably the last 2 years I was there, & for a while afterward.

A corporate pilot named Alex Knezky moved into the garage apartment in September 1996,

when I moved to my new place at Rhome Meadows.

I love that F04 & dem Hoeflexes, Saginoids & lurkateers.

Oh how my heart yearns for a return to such blissful days & fast friendships which weren't shallow.

Words cannot how profoundly my life has been impacted as a result of my season as a Saginoid.

There are F04-shaped voids in many hearts.”

Tim Carter recalled, "I hangared a Pitts S2B there for a while (in the main hangar).

About once a month during the summer we would have a 'Cub Sunday'.

Usually advertised at nearby airports and sometimes catered by a local restaurant.

They were well attended and many rides were given to visitors."

"I'll stake claim to the last student known to fly his initial solo at Saginaw.

I soloed my son, Patrick Carter there on 5/3/98.

There could have been some since then, but I don't know of them,

and will claim the title until someone steps forward with a later date.

Patrick soloed in a Henderson Little Bear which is a J-3 Cub replica.

There were few years afterward there that someone else could have [soloed],

but the airport was not very active then & there was no commercial operation there at all (other than gas sales).

The grass area on the sides of the runway were used for landing as well as the pavement.

It was probably the smoothest grass strip I ever landed on."

At some point between 1985-2000,

Saginaw's grass Runway 13/31 was abandoned,

as the 2,600' asphalt Runway 18/36 was listed as the only runway in the 2000 AOPA Airport Directory.

Aerial photo circa 2001.

Steve Thomas recalled, “My acquaintance with Saginaw goes back to July 2002.

I purchased a 1962 Piper Colt N5521Z located at Saginaw.

It took us 2 days of flying to get her to its new home at Hampton Roads Executive Airport in Portsmouth, VA.”

An 8/02 photo by Paul Freeman, looking north along Saginaw's Runway 36,

less than two months before the airport was closed.

An 8/02 photo by Paul Freeman of the T-hangars along the west side of Saginaw Airport.

An 8/02 photo by Paul Freeman of the office & main hangar at Saginaw Airport.

Paul Freeman visited Saginaw Airport in August 2002

(unaware that the field would be closed in a mere two months).

It was a sad sight - obvious that the field was on its last legs.

Although all of the T-hangars appeared to be occupied by light aircraft,

there were no transient aircraft, and the office was locked tight.

Furthermore, there was hardly any street sign to indicate to passers-by that an airport was operating.

How is the general aviation industry & community going to survive

if we don't do a satisfactory job of bringing in new customers?

I drove up & down the length of the runway, poked around the hangars,

and the only person I saw on the field was a nice "old-timer",

who told me that plans had already been drawn up by the local government

to subdivide the airport property into plots for new houses.

Steve Thomas recalled, “I just so happened to be in the area again in late September 2002

and made a point to stop by once more this time by car.

A sad sight as no one was around & some of the hangars were already empty.

During this visit, was unaware the place was in its final days.”

According to Michael Reddick, Saginaw Airport was closed in November 2002.

The final takeoffs were staged on the day of the closing.

Barbara Beerling, daughter of airport owner J.D. McNeill,

placed the yellow X's on the runway after the last flight out.

Saginaw was still listed in the 2003 Airport Facility Directory,

although with the remark, "Airport closed permanently."

In its last year of operation, FAA statistics listed 40 aircraft as being based on the field,

and estimated the average number of takeoffs & landings as 39 per week.

In Michael Reddick's words, "Over 50 years of aviation history & tradition

will be plowed up for the construction of more homes & apartments that some people call progress!"

A November 2004 photo by Mark Morgan, looking northeast at the abandoned hangars at Saginaw Airport… "Just rotting into the ground."

A sad sight - a November 2004 photo by Mark Morgan, looking northwest at the abandoned hangars at Saginaw Airport.

Compare to the picture from the same perspective from only 2 years ago, when all of those hangars were filled with small planes.

A June 2005 aerial view by Brian Goad, looking northwest at the former Saginaw Airport,

taken from an O-2A on final approach into Meacham Field.

The 3 T-hangars north of the main hangar had already been removed,

with houses built just to the east.

An April 2005 photo by Brian Goad – a sad view looking north along the former Saginaw runway.

The asphalt runway surface has been removed, along with three T-hangars.

“The shop, larger hangar, and office still remain.

Note the encroaching new homes to the northeast.”

An April 2005 photo by Brian Goad, looking northwest from the south end of the former runway.

The open T-hangars on west side are gone, and a single stall hangar remains.

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Oliver Farm Airport (04TX), Saginaw, TX

32.87 North / 97.4 West (Northwest of Fort Worth, TX)

Oliver Farm Airport (as well as the nearby Saginaw Airport),

as depicted on the 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield).

Oliver Farm Airport was one of 4 airfields which were once located

in a space of only 4 miles from east to west just to the northwest of Fort Worth.

The date of construction of Oliver Farm Airport has not been determined.

The earliest depiction of Oliver Farm Airport which has been located

was on 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield).

It depicted the field as having a single north/south runway.

Inexplicably, Oliver Farm Airport was not depicted at all on the 1965 DFW Sectional Chart.

The earliest photo which has been located of the Oliver Farms Airfield was a 1970 aerial view.

It depicted the field as having a single unpaved north/south runway,

with 4 hangars on the northwest side of the field.

The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of the Oliver Farms Airfield was on the 1978 DFW Sectional Chart.

It depicted “Oliver” as a private airfield having a 2,200' unpaved runway,

and indicated that the field conducted glider operations.

Oliver Farm Airport was described in the 1982 AOPA Airports USA Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)

as having a single 2,200' turf Runway 17/35.

The field was said to offer fuel, minor repairs, hangars, tiedowns, flight instruction, and plane rental.

Paradoxically, in spite of the above services, the field was described as “Private, use at own risk.”

The operator was listed as Oliver Farm Airport.

The 1982 USGS topo map depicted Oliver Farm Airport as consisting of a single 2,300' unpaved runway,

with a cluster of hangars along the northwest side.

The field was labeled merely as “Landing Strip”.

Brian Goad recalled, “Dad originally had a PT-23 at Oliver Farms from about early 1985

until March 6, 1987 when he lost a jug over Arlington & had to make an emergency landing in the UTA soccer field.

The PT-23 was damaged beyond repair, but dad came out with only a few cuts & stitches.

Then about mid 1988 dad got the L-4 and kept it at Oak Grove for a short time.

The L-4 ended up at the farm for a short time,

and in late 1989 we moved it over to Saginaw.”

A circa 1988 photo of Brian Goad flying his father's L-4

at Oliver Farm Airport's “Last First Annual Bash”, a few months before its closing.

Brian Goad recalled, “Oliver Farms was simply a cow pasture with open T-hangars.

I remember the first time I took my ex-wife there for her first flight in the L-4.

We turned off the road, opened the gate, drove south on the grass strip (cow pasture),

and Brenda could see the planes in the hangars,

but turned & asked 'Where is the runway?' I said 'We’re on it.' Her eyes got a little wide.

I told her to watch her step when she gets out, because I didn’t want any cow #### in the plane.

I drive a little further and she sees the L-4 and says 'Oh, now that’s a cute little plane.'

I replied, 'Yep, and you’re gonna fly in it today.'

And with even wider eyes, her response was 'OH!'

She freaked out when I didn’t close the window or door for the flight, but ended up loving it.”

Brian continued, “I remember the 'Last First Annual Bash' we had out at the farm.

Many planes flew in, we had a big cook out, spot landing contest, and played silly aviation games.

One in particular was where teams of two people would take a bed sheet out on the strip,

and the guys in the L-birds & Cubs would fly over & drop eggs

while the teams tried to catch the eggs in the sheets without breaking them.

We had cheaters in the planes, they didn’t just drop the eggs, they threw them at times.

My best friend brought his radio controlled L-4 (modeled after our L-4) and actually flew it in formation with the real L-4.

A real crowd pleaser.”

Brian continued, “After looking at dad’s log book, I just remembered that Oliver Farms was also called Summers.

I remember the change, but don’t know why.”

The date of closing of Oliver Farm Airport has not been determined.

It was no longer depicted on the 1998 Sectional Chart.

As seen in the 2001 USGS aerial photo,

Oliver Farms Airport remains completely intact.

A circa 2002-2005 aerial view looking north at the former hangars of Oliver Farms,

with the former runway area to the east.

Oliver Farm Airport is located southwest of the intersection of North Old Decatur Road & WJ Boaz Road.

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Taliaferro Field / Hicks Field, North Richland Hills, TX

32.91 North / 97.4 West (North of Fort Worth, TX)

An undated (WW1 era) aerial view looking north at Hicks Field,

showing an amazing lineup of no less than 19 hangars.

Photo is from the Benbrook TX Public Library (via Corky Baird).

This property was originally part of the Hicks Ranch, owned by Charles Hicks.

The Canadian Royal Flying Corps selected this site in 1916

as one of three fields in the Fort Worth area where it trained pilots for WW1

(the other two fields were Benbrook Field & Baron Field).

Many Americans who enlisted in the Canadian military before the US entered the war were assigned to this field.

The Canadians originally named this site Taliaferro Field,

after Walter Taliaferro, a U.S. Army aviator who had been killed in an accident.

Work on constructing the airfield had to be done fast.

Cattle were moved out, and construction crews worked feverishly at the site.

When the trainees first arrived in November 1917, the field was only partially complete.

But training was started anyway, despite unfinished facilities, lack of water or sewer and unassembled aircraft.

The first winter was difficult.

Many men lived in tents in this snowy winter.

A worldwide flu epidemic hit Hicks Field hard.

One cadet reported seeing a trainload of casket laden flat cars leaving Fort Worth.

Despite these hardships, the skies overhead were filled with the rich, vibrant sound of throbbing airplane engines - within a month.

Colonel David Roscoe, an early Hicks Field commander,

recalled that "...a plane landed here every 34 seconds from dawn until dark,

and during the course of a day the average number of hours flown by instructors & cadets was 1,300."

With that amount of flying activity, accidents were common.

Although there were serious crashes, many of them resulted in little injury to the pilot or gunner.

After the US entered WW1, the field was taken over by the US Army for flight training & renamed Hicks Field.

An undated photo of a SPAD XIII biplane at Hicks Field.

Photo is from the Benbrook TX Public Library (via Corky Baird).

An undated photo of a Curtiss JN-4Can biplane at Hicks Field.

Photo is from the Benbrook TX Public Library (via Corky Baird).

The biplane of choice was the JN-4 "Jenny".

It had two open cockpits; the student manned the front, and instructor commanded from the rear.

With the Curtiss OX-5 engine, it could reach a top speed of 64 MPH.

Later Jennys were powered by the 180 HP "Hisso" engine, which increased it's speed to 78 MPH.

There were two versions of the Jennys flown at Hicks.

The Canadian version was called the JN-4C Jenny "Canuck".

The American version was the JN-4D.

In dire need of flyable aircraft, the U.S. agreed to purchase 180 Jennys from the Canadians once their training was done.

Training was taught by the Canadians.

The two auxiliary fields were in charge of primary flight training,

including aerial maneuvers such as tailspins, loops, falling leafs, Immelmann turns and barrel rolls.

During this time, Hicks took on a new role as the primary training base for the new art of aerial gunnery.

Pilots came from all over the U.S. to learn this new art, including 300 ensigns from the U.S. Navy.

Gunnery was taught in a 6 week course, on the ground in special gunnery ranges & in the air - in the reliable Jenny.

One of the first gun cameras were developed at this time.

This allowed an evaluation of the cadets accuracy - without firing a live round.

Pilots were taught how to fire from the pilots cockpit as well as the gunners cockpit.

The gunners cockpit did not have a seat, but only a crossbar to sit on.

There was not a seat belt provided, and firing the swivel-based Lewis machine gun meant standing up!

Besides molding men into lean, mean fighting machines,

Hicks also molded some long lasting friendships between the Canadians & Americans.

Floyd Scott, a member stationed at Hicks told a Fort Worth newspaper,

"One of the most vivid memories of Hicks Field

was the remarkable friendship that existed between the RFC pilots & the American flyers."

Indeed, the townspeople of the surrounding communities opened their homes,

their hearts and numerous facilities to the young aviators.

One particular Canadian aviator, Captain Vernon Castle,

was well liked by the Hicks people as well as the townspeople of Fort Worth.

He was already world renown as the famed dance team of Vernon and Irene Castle.

He was larger than life.

He owned a Stutz Bearcat & was seen often roaring over the prairie at Hicks, accompanied by his pet monkey.

Regrettably, he was killed in a plane crash at the auxiliary field at Benbrook during training exercises.

A 1927 postcard (evidently taken during the WW1 era) of Taliaferro Field (courtesy of Steve Cruse).

With their training behind them, the aviators were to test their skills in battle.

The first to leave was the 17^th Aero Squadron, with 95 pilots & a full compliment of support officers & enlisted men.

They departed Hicks Depot on December 17, 1917.

In January, 1918 the 22^nd, 27^th and 28^th Aero Squadrons left Hicks.

A month later, the 139^th, 147^th and 148^th left to amass our fighting forces.

In April of 1918, the Canadians' job was done, and packed up to return to Canada.

They had accumulated over 67,000 flying hours, trained 1,960 pilots, 69 ground officers and 4,150 men in various ground skills.

To the whine of their own bagpipe land, a sound foreign in the land of cowboys and cattle,

they marched past many of their cheering Texas friends and took their departure at the T&P Railroad Station in downtown Fort Worth.

According to Cathie Jarvis, “An ancestor (Herbert Huck)

was killed in an air accident at Taliaferro Field on September 27, 1918.”

On November 11, 1918 came news of peace. World War I was over.

The men at Hicks rejoiced.

One cadet, Mr. Jack Jaynes, was both elated & frustrated.

He would not be able to prove his newfound training to Uncle Sam - his chance had vanished.

But all was not lost!

He & some fellow aviators felt that something spectacular was in order.

They decided to honor the occasion with a never-to-be-forgotten air show directly into the downtown area of Fort Worth.

They simulated street strafing down the avenues & between the buildings.

The width of their wings often caused them to turn or bank sharply to avoid hitting the buildings.

Everyone who witnessed this talent of flying skills would never forget it!

Jack Daley said of Hicks, "I seem to recall that it really didn't have a hard surfaced runway per se.

Mostly grass overall.

I believe this was to allow the trainees as much landing room as possible.

Much of the ramp was also grass with some rolled oiled rock base near the main group of hangars.

The tie downs were made from old coffee & oil cans, used as cement molds with the D-rings inserted in them.

I dug one up and the can was an "Archer Av Oil " container.

I once ran into an old timer that had trained at the field when it was a part of the Royal Flying Corps in WW1.”

In 1919, with news of the Armistice, Hicks Field was deactivated.

The hangar doors were closed on an unforgettable episode in the history of American military aviation,

and the chapter on WW I was closed.

But the chapter wasn't closed on Hicks Field.

Hicks Field remained dormant for a time, and the remaining structures tried to stand their ground against wind & sun.

Cattle roamed the areas where the taxiways & gunnery ranges once stood.

In 1923 Hicks Field became the site of the world's first helium plant,

built by the U.S. government, and ran by the Navy.

Some of the Navy's great dirigibles, the Shenandoah, Macon, Akron and the Los Angeles -

would arrive and top off their helium supplies there.

Non- inflammable helium was the gas that kept these 700-foot-long monsters aloft

and Hicks Field had the world's entire supply at that time.

But over a period of time, other countries began "prospecting" for helium,

and in 1929, the plant was closed due to a shortage of helium.

Hicks Field again lay dormant for many years.

The weather had taken it toll on the existing structures.

All that remained were two hangars, remaining as lonely sentinels from the days of previous glory.

But in 1940, Europe was again at war, and Uncle Sam felt that he must be prepared.

Responding to this call, Hicks Field was again opened as a training base in July of 1940.

A major construction & renovation job was required for Hicks,

and once completed, Texas Aviation Inc., and W.F. Long Flying School moved in.

As a private flying school, it received a contract to train new cadets on the new field that was constructed.

Thirty-eight new Fairchild PT-19's & PT-19A's were assigned to Hicks,

and the Army Air Corps again had pilots training there.

Hicks was one of the first primary flying schools in the Army Air Corps expansion program.

Lt. James Price was the first commanding officer.

The instructors were all contract civilian instructors, pilots with a long history of experience in light aircraft.

They would take the cadets through the rudiments of basic flying & guide them through their first solo flights.

When successfully completed, they would go to Basic Flight Training at Randolph AFB

and then Advanced Flight Training at Foster Field.

The original WW1-era hangars were evidently replaced at this time by larger twin-arch hangars,

and a 4-story control tower was constructed in front of one of the hangars.

This activity did not escape the eyes of the old aviators from WWI,

still residing in Fort Worth & surrounding towns.

They felt a certain responsibility to the new cadets at their own flying field.

The World War Flyers, as the 43 old timers came to be known,

sent a letter to the parents of each new cadet coming into Hicks Field.

The letter assured the relatives that they would do everything possible to make the lad welcome & happy in Fort Worth.

Each class was given a formal introduction to Fort Worth,

and introduced them to the prettiest girls at a dinner dance at the River Crest Country Club, one of the finest in the City.

This came to be a tradition on the first Saturday night of the month when cadets were permitted to leave their post.

This successful program greatly boosted morale.

A ten-week course of primary training continued at Hicks,

and a total of 2,403 cadets were processed, and about 70% made it to the next level of training at Randolph AFB.

Class 41-I from Hicks Field.

Photo is courtesy of Robert Burton, whose stepfather, Colonel William Calhoun,

graduated in class 41-I from Hicks Field & went on to become a decorated veteran of the mighty 8th AF during WW2.

Hicks Field was depicted as a commercial airfield on the 1942 Dallas Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).

Richard Taylor recalled, “There was no paved runway at Hicks Field in 1942 when I took Primary training there.

I was in the class of 43 D & soloed at one of the fields a short distance from Hicks Field.

From there most of us went to Goodfellow Field for basic training.”

From 1942-44, many operations were transferred from Hicks Field to the newly constructed (and much larger) Carswell Field.

By 1944 Hicks Field had deactivated its training schools.

By 1945 Hicks was owned by private interests & was being used as a civil field.

At that time it encompassed 426 acres.

The last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Hicks Field

was on the March 1947 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

It depicted Hicks as an auxiliary airfield.

The 1948 USAF Urban Area Chart depicted Hicks Airfield as an irregularly-shaped outline, with a road & several buildings on the west side.

For a few years after WWII the Defense Plant Corporation

used Hicks Field as a base for its sale of surplus Army aircraft.

A circa 1952-53 aerial view looking southwest at the Hicks Field hangars (courtesy of Ned Gilliand),

taken just before Bell Helicopter began their use of the facility.

Note the deteriorated carcasses of what appear to be several Cessna AT-17 Bobcats in the foreground.

A photo looking at the Hicks Field control tower & hangars,

from the January 1, 1954 issue of the Bell Aircraft Helicopter Division News (courtesy of Ned Gilliand).

The original caption read, “Powerful Navy HSL-1 helicopters roost at Bell's Hick Field facility

located 23 miles from Hurst Plant on TX Highway 287.

Flight test maintenance & inspections are carried on in 11,000 square-foot hangar by 114 Hicks Field employees.”

Ned Gilliand recalled, “The HSL-1 (Bell Model 61) was designed in the Bell Aircraft plant in Niagara Falls, NY in 1950-51.

The prototypes (XHSL-1's) were built there

and sent to Bell's new Fort Worth helicopter facility by rail in late 1951 or 1952.

The Navy, requesting a remote facility to work on this new anti-sub helicopter,

worked to get such a place, and Hicks was the result.

This outlying facility was ideal due to the noise of the large R-2800 engines in the XHSL helicopters,

and also it was close to Eagle Mountain Lake, where then-classified sonar dipping was developed for this ship.

The Hicks Field facility was used by Bell Helicopter in 1954 & perhaps early 1955

to do experimental flight test work on Bell’s Model 61 XHSL-1 tandem rotor helicopter for the US Navy.”

A 1954 photo looking west/northwest at a Bell XHSL-1 in front of the Hicks Field control tower & hangar (courtesy of Ned Gilliand).

It appears as if the hangar adjacent to the control tower may have been a WW1-era hangar,

older than the other twin-arch-roof hangars constructed at Hicks during the WW2 era.

A 1954 photo looking southwest from near the Hicks Field control tower toward two Bell XHSL-1s,

with a Bell 47 hovering the the background (courtesy of Ned Gilliand).

Ned Gilliand recalled, “Problems with the HSL-1 caused contract cancellation,

and all of the HSL's were scrapped, even ones still on the assembly line.

The production HSL-1's were manufactured at the Hurst Plant #1,

while most of the experimental operations remained at Hicks, and afterwards, briefly at the Globe plant.”

According to Ned Gilliand, “Around the time Bell left the facility [mid 1950s],

the control tower & adjacent wood hangar burned to the ground,

leaving only the metal & concrete hangars.”

After Bell left, the field was mostly used as a general aviation field by civilians.

Hicks had fallen into disuse by the 1960s,

when it was no longer depicted on the USGS topo map,

and only a few businesses remained in the area.

It was not depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield)

on the 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield)

or the 1964 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ross Richardson).

A 1970 aerial view showed that the Hicks Field property had begun to be used for industrial purposes,

with several buildings having been added amongst the remaining hangars.

Hicks Airfield was still depicted on the 1979 AAA DFW road map,

but it evidently was abandoned by this point.

In 1985 a modern general aviation airport named "Hicks Airport"

was built on a separate plot of land one mile to the north-northwest of the original Hicks Field.

By the early 1990s, the area of the original Hicks Field was being used for various industrial purposes.

Jack Daley said of Hicks, “My ex & several of her family members were employed

at the old Fleetform boat manufacturing company located

in one of the former flight office & squadron office buildings just to the left,

as you come into the field, and about opposite the hangar complex.”

By the late 1990s the site of the Hicks Field Sewer Corporation

(which had provided sewer services for industrial facilities at Hicks Field)

was the focus of an investigation for environmental cleanup by the Texas Superfund.

A 1994 photo by Scott Murdock of the WW2-era hangars at the original Hicks Field.

As seen in the 1995 USGS aerial photo of the site,

some of the WW2-era hangars still remain standing, just southeast of the road intersection at the center of the photo.

As seen in the 2001 USGS aerial photo,

the site of Hicks Field has not changed appreciably from that depicted in the 1995 photo.

A close-up from the 2001 USGS aerial photo,

showing the WW2-era hangars which remain standing at the site of Hicks Field.

Ned Gilliand reported of the former control tower & adjacent wood hangar (which had burned down in the 1950s),

“When I was out there in 2002, the slab was all that was left,

and it was pretty well damaged, probably from the heat of the fire.”

Scott Murdock reported in 2005, “I paid a return visit to Hicks Field on 15 May 2005.

The same three double-hangars I noticed in 1994 were still standing.”

A 2005 photo by Deene Ogden of one of the remaining hangars at the former Hicks Field.

Deene observed, “Two of the large hangars & the land surrounding them are for sale.”

A 2005 photo by Deene Ogden of the sign for the “G.A. Fence Company, Saginaw, TX”

on one of the remaining hangars at the former Hicks Field.

A circa 2002-2005 aerial view looking west at the former hangars at the site of Hicks Field.

The site of Hicks Field is located at the intersection of Hicks Field Road & East Hicks Field Road.