Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
California: Northwestern Orange County
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 6/7/08.
Cypress School of Aeronautics (revised 7/12/04) - Disneyland Heliport (added 2/24/08)
East Long Beach / Sunset Beach / Meadowlark Airport (revised 6/7/08)
NOLF 11005 / Haster Farm NOLF / Haster Farm Airport (revised 3/27/08) – NOLF 08303 / Horse Farm NOLF / Haster Farm Airport (revised 3/27/08)
Huntington Beach Airport (revised 2/13/06)
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Disneyland Heliport, Anaheim, CA
33.81 North / 117.92 West (Northeast of Long Beach, CA)
Two 1956 photos of a Sikorsky S-55 of Los Angeles Airways being loaded with passenger luggage at the Disneyland Heliport.
Disneyland was once connected to Los Angeles International Airport
via 15-minute helicopter flights provided on a scheduled route by Los Angeles Airways.
The first location of the Disneyland Heliport was located near the intersection of the 5 Freeway & Harbor Boulevard.
Guests would travel to & from the Disneyland Hotel by tram.
Disneyland Heliport service was initially provided by Los Angeles Airways
using piston-engine Sikorsky S-55 helicopters.
Los Angeles Airways had at least 2 S-55s, which were painted green & yellow
(and could seat up to 12 passengers, but probably carried much less in airline service).
A 1956 photo of the “backstage” heliport entrance behind the Tomorrowland Skyway Station.
Note the sign reading “Helicopter Passenger Check In” on the shack,
and the luggage cart with the Los Angeles Airways logo.
A 1956 aerial view looking north at Disneyland,
with the presumed location of the Disneyland Heliport somewhere on the parking lot at bottom-right.
A undated (circa 1950s?) photos of a Sikorsky S-55 of Los Angeles Airways at the Disneyland Heliport.
In 1960, the Disneyland Heliport was moved to its new location north of Disneyland Hotel.
On March 1, 1962, Los Angeles Airways became the 1st civil operator of the turbine-powered Sikorsky S-61L,
which had been purchased for $650,000 apiece.
These presumably replaced the much smaller S-55 helicopters on the Disneyland run.
The S-61L could seat up to 28 passengers, and cruised at 140 mph.
Kelly recalled, “When I was in 2nd grade I had a girlfriend.
On her birthday her parents drove us to LAX, and we all flew to Disneyland on the LA Airways S-61 helicopter.
It was totally cool, we landed on the helipad at the old Disneyland Hotel.
We flew back to LAX that night & the city lights were amazing. I have never forgotten it.”
An August 1963 photo of a Sikorsky S-61L of Los Angeles Airways taking off from the Disneyland Heliport.
Note the Disneyland Matterhorn just visible in the background on the right.
N300Y was the prototype Sikorsky S-61L,
and also was later lost in a 1968 fatal accident.
Unfortunately, the Congressional subsidy for helicopter airlines expired in 1965,
it quickly became evident that helicopter airlines were not financially viable.
A 1966 aerial view looking southeast at Disneyland's Tomorrowland,
with the presumed location of the Disneyland Heliport somewhere on the parking lot just beyond the monorail track.
The Disneyland Heliport service suffered its 1st fatal accident on May 22, 1968,
when S-16L N303Y was cruising at 2,000' near Paramount,
after departing the Disneyland heliport, en-route to LAX.
At about 5:50 PM, Flight 841 suddenly broadcast a distress message: "L.A., we're crashing, help us!"
There were no survivors among the 20 passengers & 3 crew.
The aircraft was destroyed by the impact & subsequent fire.
The crash was caused by a mechanical failure in the blade rotor system,
which then allowed one blade to strike the side of the fuselage.
The other 4 blades were then thrown out of balance
and all five rotor blades broke & then the rear fuselage & tail separated from the rest of the airframe.
Only 3 months later, on August 14, 1968, Los Angeles Airways S-61L N300Y
was operating Flight 417 from Los Angeles International Airport to the Disneyland Heliport.
The aircraft & crew had completed 3 round trips to various destinations in the LA metro area beginning at 6:07 PDT
and departed the ramp at Los Angeles as Flight 417 at 10:26.
The VFR flight was cleared by Los Angeles Helicopter Control to take off & proceed eastbound at 10:28.
At 10:29 the flight reported to Hawthorne Tower that it was departing LA eastbound along Imperial Boulevard at 1,200'.
At 10:32 Helicopter Control advised, "LA 417, 7 miles east, radar service terminated."
The flight acknowledged, "417 thank you."
This was the last known radio contact with the flight.
The aircraft crashed in a recreational park located in a residential area in Compton,
with the loss of all 18 passengers & 3 crew.
Among the victims was passenger Christopher Belinn,
the 13-year-old grandson of Clarence Belinn, the founder & president of Los Angeles Airways.
The aircraft was destroyed by impact & fire.
The entire fuselage, both engines, main rotor head assembly, four main rotor blades,
and the pylon assembly were located in the main impact area.
The 5th main rotor blade (yellow) including the sleeve & part of spindle,
was located approximately 0.25 miles northwest of the main wreckage site.
Minor parts associated with this rotor blade where scattered over a 3-block area northwest of the park.
Examination of the yellow blade spindle (S/N AJ19) revealed a fatigue fracture
in the shank of the spindle adjacent to the shoulder in the inboard end of the shank.
The probable cause of the accident was the fatigue failure of the yellow main rotor blade spindle
causing separation of the blade which made the aircraft uncontrollable.
The fatigue crack originated in an area of substandard hardness & inadequate shot peening.
Statements were obtained from 91 witnesses.
A consensus of their observations indicates that the helicopter was proceeding along a normal flightpath
when a loud noise or unusual sound was heard.
A main rotor blade was either observed to separate or was seen separated in the vicinity of the main rotor disc.
As the helicopter fell in variously described gyrations, the tail cone either folded or separated.
Flight 417's Sikorsky S-61L, N300Y, was the prototype for the S-61L,
and had accumulated 11,864 total flying hours prior to the day of the accident.
The S-61s were grounded until the problem was fixed,
and helicopter service to Disneyland was discontinued following the 2 tragic accidents in 1968.
Los Angeles Airways never overcame the stigma of these crashes,
and finally sold out to Golden West Airlines in 1971.
A circa 2006 aerial photo showed that the site of the Disneyland Heliport has been redeveloped,
with not a trace of the former heliport still recognizable.
Thanks to Jeff Knapp for pointing out this airfield.
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Cypress School of Aeronautics, Anaheim, CA
33.83 North / 118.02 West (Northeast of Long Beach, CA)
"Cypress" Airfield, as depicted on the September 1948 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airport has not been located.
Not much is known about this former flying school airfield,
including its date of construction.
It was apparently built at some point between 1945-48,
as it was yet depicted on the August 1945 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of the Cypress School of Aeronautics airfield which has been located
was the September 1948 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
which described the field as having a 2,200' unpaved runway.
The 1949 USGS topo map (courtesy of Francis Blake) depicted the Cypress airfield
as consisting of a single 2,300' northeast/southwest runway.
The Cypress airfield was depicted on an early-1955 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Bob Cannon)
as having a 1,900' unpaved runway.
The Cypress School of Aeronautics airfield evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point during 1955,
as it was no longer depicted on the September 1955 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
or subsequent aeronautical charts.
A 1972 aerial view showed that several drive-in movie theater screens covered the north side of the former airport property,
and a school covered the southern portion.
The 1998 USGS topo map indicated that the site of the former Cypress School of Aeronautics
had been reused as the site of Orangeview Junior High School & a hospital.
The March 2004 USGS aerial photo showed that the site had been densely redeveloped,
and not a trace of the former flying school airfield appeared to remain.
Recent street maps indicate that the property adjacent to the
west side of the former airport is the location of Cypress College.
It is not known if Cypress College had any connection to the Cypress School of Aeronautics,
other than the name & location.
The site of the Cypress School of Aeronautics is located southwest
of the intersection of South Knott Avenue & Lincoln Avenue.
Thanks to Francis Blake for pointing out this airfield.
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East Long Beach Airport / Sunset Beach Airport / Meadowlark Airport (L16),
Huntington Beach, CA
33.72 North / 118.03 West (Southeast of Los Angeles, CA)
An early aerial view looking northeast at Meadowlark Airport, date unknown.
This former very popular general aviation airfield
eventually had the unfortunate coincidence of being located on land which eventually became too valuable.
According to an article by Patrick Mott in the Los Angeles Times (courtesy of Bob Cannon),
"It's been the seat-of-the-pants flier's favorite hangout in Orange County since 1945,
a home for the gypsy in the private pilot's soul,
a gravelly oasis where you can cruise for burgers in your Cessna."
It was not yet depicted on the August 1945 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This airfield has apparently been known by (at least) three different names.
According to Chris Kennedy, it was depicted a "East Long Beach" on the 1948 San Diego Sectional Chart,
and described as having a 2,400' unpaved runway.
According to K.O. Eckland, the 1950 Sectional Chart described East Long Beach as having three 2,400' dirt runways.
"East Long Beach" Airport, as depicted on the September 1955 San Diego USAF Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Aerodromes table described the field as having two "oil mix" runways, the longest being 2,050'.
The airfield was next renamed Sunset Beach Airport.
Bob Cannon recalled, "I have a 1956 LA Local [Aeronautical Chart]. L16 is [listed as] Sunset Beach."
Sunset Beach Airport was described in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory
as having a single 1,900' road mix Runway 1/19,
and the operator was listed as Abe Paster.
"Sunset Beach" Airport, as depicted on the March 1963 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Bob Cannon).
The airport had been renamed "Meadowlark"
by the time of the August 1963 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Bob Cannon).
By 1964, the field had been paved, as the August 1964 LA Local Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton)
described Meadowlark as having a 1,900' hard-surface runway.
A circa 1960s aerial view of Meadowlark Airport (courtesy of Rex Ricks).
Meadowlark was depicted in a 1968 airport directory (courtesy of Glenn Beltz)
as having a single 1,700' paved Runway 1/19,
which was renowned among California pilots for being an extremely short runway.
The earliest dated photo which has been located of Meadowlark Airport was a 1972 aerial view.
It depicted the field as having a single paved northeast/southwest runway,
along with a former crosswind runway.
The field was home to dozens of light aircraft.
Aerial view of Meadowlark, © 1978 by Chris Bell, used by permission.
A 1978 aerial view looking northeast at Meadowlark by Bob Cannon,
showing how close the houses were surrounding the field by that point.
Rex Ricks recalled, “I grew up right next to the field & one of my favorite childhood pastimes
was launching golf balls with a baseball bat in the section where the former east runway had been;
it was a big patch of weeds in the 1970s.
So there was no possibility of hitting any windows.
Today a kid in Orange County would be very hard pressed to find a similar amount of open space that I enjoyed at Meadowlark.”
A beautiful picture (circa 1978-79) by Bob Cannon, of his PT-17 pulling up over Meadowlark Airport,
showing "the Meadowlark driveway, flight school and covered pool, restaurant,
and the ever-present Quonset Hut that got plugged so many times by wayward aircraft."
A circa 1978-79 picture by Bob Cannon of his PT-17 flying inverted off the coast near Meadowlark Airport.
Bob recalled, “I got in the good graces of a camera representative for Nikon who set up the remote cameras for me.
It was sort of special back then.
We also made a movie with air shots by mounting a camera on the fuselage in the small inspection hatch near the tail.
Those were great. He also took a very nice picture of my two Stearmans flying formation
over the windsock when my wedding was being held."
Unfortunately, a late 1970's accident involving another banner tow pilot near Capistrano Airport
precipitated negative feelings toward Meadowlark Airport.
Bob Cannon recalled, "That accident precipitated the beginning of all of my problems with the city of Huntington Beach.
The city council was staffed mainly by developers, and they wanted the airport for development."
Aerial view of the ramp at Meadowlark, date unknown.
USGS topo map 1981 (courtesy of Dann Shively).
In the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury),
the operators at Huntington Beach were listed as Williams Aviation Company, Art World,
Coastal Aviation, Sky Ad, and Aircraft Services.
Alan Horowitch recalled, “Meadowlark was a little gem of an airfield
that I flew to several times in the early 1980s when I first got my license.
Small, fun, friendly, and surrounded by conniving Southern California real estate developers.
So everyone knew back then that it was on borrowed time.”
Meadowlark had a large paved ramp area, which accommodated 300 based light aircraft by 1986.
The Meadowlark Café was a popular pilot eatery.
A photo of two planes in front of the Meadowlark office,
from the 8/4/89 issue of the Los Angeles Times (courtesy of Bob Cannon).
The 1989 Pilot's Guide to CA Airports (courtesy of Scott Saylor)
depicted Meadowlark as having a single 2,330' paved Runway 1/19,
with a parallel taxiway & large paved ramp on the east side, and a small paved ramp on the west side.
Hangars were located along the south side of the field.
The operators were listed as Sunset Aviation, Art Wold, Cotter Aviation, and Sky-Ads.
When land in Huntington Beach became too valuable even for the owners of the airport (Art & Lily Niero),
it eventually succumbed to the pressures of development.
According to Linda Liem (who along with Chris Austin owned Sunset Aviation), Meadowlark closed in 1989.
Construction to redevelop the airport property started later the same year.
In the 1994 USGS aerial view, portions of the northern half of the former runway & its parallel taxiway still remained intact,
although the majority of the airport property had been cleared for redevelopment.
The March 2004 USGS aerial photo shows that not a trace remains of the former Meadowlark Airport.
Thanks to Scott Saylor for pointing out this airfield.
Details of Meadowlark Airport are lovingly recounted at www.l16.com,
http://www.cavenderproperties.com/Meadowlark.htm,
and http://cavenderproperties.com/newsprints.htm.
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Huntington Beach Airport, Huntington Beach, CA
33.65 North / 117.97 West (Southeast of Los Angeles, CA)
A June 1947 aerial photo of the Huntington Beach Airport from the Fairchild archive collection at Whittier College.
The date of construction of this short-lived general aviation airport is unknown.
Huntington Beach Airport had the misfortune to be located on what eventually became very expensive real estate.
Huntington Beach Airport was apparently built at some point between 1945-47,
as it does not appear on the August 1945 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of Huntington Beach Airport which has been located
was a June 1947 aerial photo Huntington Beach Airport from the Fairchild archive collection at Whittier College,
which showed the field as consisting of a single northeast/southwest unpaved runway.
The earliest chart depiction which has been located of the Huntington Beach Airport
was on the 1948 San Diego Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
It described the field as having a 1,900' unpaved runway.
The 1949 USGS topo map (courtesy of Francis Blake)
depicted Huntington Beach Airport as having a single northeast/southwest runway.
Huntington Beach Airport was apparently closed at some point between 1948-55.
It was still depicted on the September 1955 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
and described as having a single 1,850' bare runway, but the remarks said "Closed".
By the time of the September 1959 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
the former Huntington Beach Airport was no longer depicted at all.
A 1972 aerial photo showed that the site of the former airport had been covered with fuel tanks for the Edison powerplant.
The Huntington Beach Channel also had been cut through the center of the former airfield area.
Not a trace of the former airport appeared to remain.
As seen in the circa 2000 aerial photo,
not a trace of the former airport appeared to remain.
The site of Huntington Beach Airport is located east of the intersection of Newland Street & Edison Avenue.
Thanks to Francis Blake for pointing out this airfield.
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Naval Outlying Landing Field 08303 / Horse Farm Naval Outlying Landing Field /
Horse Farm Airport,
Stanton, CA
33.79 North / 118 West (East of Los Alamitos AAF, CA)
A circa 1943 chart of NAS Los Alamitos & several of its outlying fields (courtesy of John Voss),
including NOLF Horse Farm (08303).
Note that the chart also depicted NOLF 13207 (Mile Square), NOLF Haster Farm (11005),
NOLF Seal Beach (21104), as well as two “proposed” fields which were never built.
The date of construction of this WW2-era Navy satellite airfield is unknown.
Horse Farm was originally one of 5 NOLFs which were closely located between Los Alamitos & El Toro:
the others were Haster Farm NOLF, Mile Square NOLF, Seal Beach NOLF, and Palisades NOLF.
Mile Square was built in 1942, so Horse Farm was probably built around the same time.
The earliest depiction of the Horse Farm airfield which has been located
was a circa 1943 chart of NAS Los Alamitos & several of its outlying fields (courtesy of John Voss).
It depicted NOLF Horse Farm (08303),
as well as NOLF 13207 (Mile Square), NOLF Haster Farm (11005),
NOLF Seal Beach (21104), and 2 “proposed” fields which were never built.
"(Navy) Horse Farm", as depicted on the August 1945 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
An August 14, 1945 U.S. Government aerial photo looking north at Horse Farm OLF (National Archives photo, courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
The airfield was depicted as consisting of a hexagonal landing area, measuring 1,400' across.
The Navy apparently abandoned the Horse Farm airfield immediately after the end of WW2,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the February 1946 San Diego Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
However, the Horse Farm airfield was apparently reactivated
in some capacity by the Navy at some point within the next 2 years,
as "Horse Farm (Navy) was depicted once again on the September 1948 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 1,700' hard surface runway.
As depicted on the 1950 USGS topo map (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell),
the airfield at Horse Farm consisted of a hexagonal landing area, measuring 1,400' across.
It was still apparently owned by the military in 1950,
but it is not known if it was still an active airfield.
"Horse Farm (Navy)" was depicted on the March 1951 San Diego USAF Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy),
but the Aerodromes table described the field as "Closed".
At some point between 1951-55,
Horse Farm was apparently reused as a private airfield,
as that is how it was described in the "Aerodromes" table
on an early-1955 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
The airfield was described as consisting of a single 1,700' runway,
along with the remarks "Very poor runway."
The Horse Farm airfield evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point during 1955,
as it was no longer depicted on the September 1955 San Diego Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
or subsequent aeronautical charts.
In 1956, the property at Horse Farm was reused
as the location for the Nike Ajax surface-to-air missile battery LA-32, Garden Grove,
and the airfield was presumably closed.
The Nike Integrated Fire Control Site was built at the northwest corner of the site (southeast of Patterson & Knott),
and the Launch Site was built at the southeast corner of the site (northwest of Chapman & Western).
Battery LA-32 was upgraded to the more powerful Nike Hercules missile in 1963.
The Horse Farm property in 1964, from the Anaheim Library (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell).
The Nike Fire Control Site is visible at the northwest corner,
and the Nike Launch Site is at the southeast corner.
The light colored triangular patch running between the two Nike sites was not a former runway,
but presumably was a swath which was cleared to provide a clear field of view for the Nike radars - ?
A 1972 aerial view showed that the site of the Horse Farm airfield was still open farmland,
with the Nike installations at the northwest & southeast ends.
The Horse Farm Nike missile battery was deactivated in 1974.
The 485th MASH of the CA Army National Guard later reused part of the Horse Farm property,
at 11751 Western Avenue.
According to Marc Henegar, “This was also where one of the SoCal TRACON terminal radar antennas was located.
It was not on LGB or SNA as one might assume, it was in the middle of an industrial area -
and the old location of the Horse Farm Naval OLF probably explains why it was located there.”
The site of the Horse Farm airfield eventually was consumed by urban sprawl.
The outline of the Horse Farm airfield, as annotated by Chris Kennedy over a 2006 aerial photo of the site.
Not a trace remains of the former airfield.
However, note the same trapezoidal shape around the buildings at the northwest corner,
which is identical to the way it appeared in the 1964 photo.
The site of the Horse Farm airfield is bounded by Chapman Avenue on the south, Patterson Drive on the north,
Knott Avenue on the west, and Western Avenue on the east.
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Naval Outlying Landing Field 11005 / Haster Farm Naval Outlying Landing Field /
Haster Farm Airport,
Westminster, CA
33.76 North / 117.97 West (Southeast of Los Alamitos AAF, CA)
A July 21, 1943 U.S. Government aerial photo looking north at Haster Farm OLF (National Archives photo, courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
The date of construction of this WW2-era Navy satellite airfield is unknown.
Haster Farm was originally one of 5 NOLFs which were closely located between Los Alamitos & El Toro:
the others were Horse Farm NOLF, Mile Square NOLF, Seal Beach NOLF, and Palisades NOLF.
Mile Square was built in 1942, so Haster Farm was probably built around the same time.
The earliest depiction of the Haster Farm airfield which has been located
was on a July 21, 1943 U.S. Government aerial photo (National Archives photo, courtesy of Brian Rehwinkel).
It depicted the field as consisting of a hexagonal landing area.
A circa 1943 chart of NAS Los Alamitos & several of its outlying fields (courtesy of John Voss),
including NOLF Haster Farm (11005).
Note that the chart also depicted NOLF 13207 (Mile Square), NOLF Horse Farm (08303),
NOLF Seal Beach (21104), as well as two “proposed” fields which were never built.
The August 1945 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted "(Navy) Haster Farm" as an auxiliary airfield.
The Navy apparently abandoned the Haster Farm airfield immediately after the end of WW2,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the February 1946 San Diego Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
However, the Haster Farm airfield was apparently reactivated
in some capacity by the Navy at some point within the next 2 years,
as "Haster Farm (Navy) was depicted once again on the September 1948 San Diego Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
"Haster Field Naval Reservation" was still depicted on the 1950 USGS topo map (courtesy of John Voss),
so apparently the property was still owned by the military at that point,
but it may not have still been an active airfield.
The map depicted the airfield as a hexagonal landing mat.
Haster Farm was apparently reused as a civil airfield,
as that is how it was depicted on the September 1955 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Aerodromes table described the airfield as consisting of a 1,400' "All way" asphalt landing area,
along with the remarks "Very poor. Heavy overgrowth of weeds."
Bob Cannon recalled, "I have a 1956 LA Local [Aeronautical Chart].
Haster Farm is listed as 'Very poor. Heavy overgrowth of weeds'.
I show in my log book that on 6/30/56 I landed at Haster Farm with the notation, 'into weeds'."
The Haster airfield was evidently closed at some point between 1956-59,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the September 1959 San Diego Sectional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
or subsequent aeronautical charts.
As depicted on a 1959 street map (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell),
the Haster Farm airfield was bounded by Trask Avenue on the north, Westminster Avenue on the south,
Brookhurst Avenue on the east, and Cannery Street on the west.
According to John Voss,
Haster Farm NOLF eventually became the location of Haster High School
(later renamed Bolsa Grande High School) and Garden Grove Park.
The 22 Freeway now bisects the northern portion of the site.
A 1972 aerial view showed the high school on the site,
with not a trace of the former airfield.
The outline of the Haster Farm airfield, as annotated by Chris Kennedy over a 2006 aerial photo of the site.
Not a trace remains of the former airfield.
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