Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
California - Southern Palmdale area
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 5/8/08.
El Mirage Aux AAF #3 / El Mirage Airport (revised 5/8/08)
Grey Butte Aux AAF #4 (revised 5/8/08) - Quartz Hill Airport (revised 5/8/08)
Sky Castle Airport (revised 9/10/05) - War Eagle Field / Lancaster Airpark (revised 12/3/06)
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Sky Castle Airport, Del Sur, CA
34.7 North / 118.39 West (West of Palmdale, CA)
A undated photo from a 1948 magazine article, showing six planes parked in front of Shea's Castle (courtesy of Jon Karkow).
Much of the following information was contributed by Jon Karkow.
What seems like a mysterious mirage in Los Angeles' backyard,
on the beautiful rolling hills near Del Sur, is a stone replica of a medieval Irish castle.
It is one of Southern California's most overlooked landmarks,
home to such characters as a cowboy star, the builder of Hancock Park & a playboy radio-TV heir.
Secluded on a tranquil hilltop, in the vast openness of the smog free high desert,
Antelope Valley's most curious architectural secret is a single-turreted granite palace fortified in mystery, and fantasy,
its story often known only through a web of rumors.
The surrounding land is still untouched as it was when a Los Angeles real estate baron
decided to build this storybook fortress in 1924.
It would become known as Shea's Castle, after its builder, Richard Peter Shea.
In the early 1920s, New York-born Shea was drawn to California & Lancaster
by the area's isolation & hopes that the clear, dry air would improve the health of his wife, Ellen.
Flush with cash after subdividing Hancock Park & other wealthy Los Angeles enclaves
that sold $56 million worth of property within three years,
Shea reportedly spent $500,000 on his eight-bedroom, seven-bath, seven-fireplace, two-kitchen castle.
It was a boost to the local economy.
Shea hired more than 100 laborers to quarry thousands of tons of granite from boulders on the property
to form the castle's 3- to 5-foot-thick walls.
A stable in a similar motif was built just a short distance away from the castle.
Not long after the work of two years was done, the couple moved in.
But the 1929 stock market crash sent Shea's finances plummeting,
forcing the couple to abandon the castle & move back to LA.
Shea borrowed heavily against his castle, and it was taken over by the bank.
The bank was the castle's second owner.
A succession of at least 15 owners & renters over five decades followed.
Each left some mark on the castle.
In the 1940s, the property was purchased by a nonprofit flying club & named “The Sky Castle”.
A 3,000' dirt runway, a stone dam, and the lake were built
to accommodate the flying enthusiasts who flew in for a few hours or the weekend.
Flying Magazine featured a March 1948 article about the property.
The flying club was said to have nearly 300 members,
and its business manager was George Carter.
As many as 50 planes were said to be common on the field for Sunday morning breakfasts.
The airfield was described as a 3,200' “sod” runway.
The most celebrated tenant of the property was Roy Rogers, the singing cowboy star of movies & TV,
who leased the site for a time & trained his famed horse, Trigger.
Its most notorious owner was millionaire playboy Tommy Stewart Lee.
In 1948, when his father's estate finally emerged from years of litigation,
Lee went on a spending spree, buying more cars, airplanes - and the castle.
With Lee in residence, the castle soon became a favored hangout for fast-driving, hard-living friends.
They landed their planes on the private airstrip that Lee upgraded.
He converted the stable into a garage for his race cars,
and a midget-car racetrack soon wove its way through the rolling hills behind the castle.
But within a few months of his buying the place,
Lee's relatives & business partners had him declared mentally incompetent.
The Sky Castle airfield was not depicted at all on the February 1949 LA Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy),
nor on earlier charts.
In 1950, castle owner Tommy Lee jumped to his death from a fire escape at the top of a 12-story building.
The only aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of the Sky Castle airfield
was on the September 1954 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described “Sky Castle Field” as having 3 runways, with the longest being a 3,650' "Natural oiled” runway.
The Sky Castle airfield was evidently abandoned at some point between 1954-58,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the March 1958 LA Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy),
nor on later charts.
In later years, through a succession of owners, the castle became a backdrop for movies,
such as the 1967 "Blood of Dracula's Castle".
A 1974 aerial view showed Sky Castle to have a single paved northeast/southwest runway.
Sky Castle Airport, as depicted on the 1974 USGS topo map.
The Castle was also used as a setting for TV episodes,
including "Bat Masterson", "Air Wolf", "Rat Patrol" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".
In 1985, Sherman Oaks-based Genz Development bought the estate.
Plans were drawn up to restore the silted-up lake, install a golf course & other amenities
and divide the rest into 120 large lots for luxury homes.
The plans were halted in the early 1990s due to a change in the local economy.
The estate, which now encompasses 506 acres,
sits hidden in fairy-tale fashion along a section of the California Aqueduct
about 15 miles west of Lancaster/Palmdale, invisible from the nearest thoroughfare, Munz Ranch Road.
Undoubtedly the Castle & the beautiful landscape
have put indelible memories in the hearts of everyone who has visited or owned the property.
The 2002 USGS aerial photo depicted the runway at Sky Castle.
A 2005 aerial photo by Jon Karkow looking northeast at the Sky Castle runway,
with the Castle itself visible at the lower-right.
Jon Karkow reported in 2005, "The property is being sold for subdivision into a housing development – typical story.
I have never seen an airplane use the runway, though it appears in good condition."
The site of Sky Castle is located northwest of the intersection of Munz Ranch Road & Fairmont Road.
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Quartz Hill Airport, Quartz Hill, CA
34.65 North / 118.2 West (West of Palmdale, CA)
Quartz Hill Airport , as depicted on the February 1949 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This small general aviation airport reportedly opened in 1946.
However, it was not yet depicted at all on the February 1947 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of Quartz Hill Airport which has been located
was on the February 1949 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the field as having a 2,700' unpaved runway.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Quartz Hill Airport as having two gravel runways:
2,640' Runway 4/22 & 2,190' Runway 13/31.
It listed the operator as Antelope Valley Aeronautical.
The 1962 movie "The Skydivers" was apparently filmed at Quartz Hill Airport (according to Henry Krasker).
Brian Baker recalled a flight in 1963 or 1964, "At Quartz Hill, I recall landing on the dirt runways,
and remember taking off, that the runway did indeed have a noticeable dip in the center,
and I just barely cleared the trees at the end of the runway.
That's a loaded 65 hp. Luscombe on a hot summer day.
I also recall seeing an old Aeronca L in a hangar there,
and as I'm an avid aircraft photographer, I had him roll it out for me to photograph it.
I think he offered to trade me straight across for the Luscombe,
but since my Dad was an Aeronca dealer in Detroit before the war,
he told me that it was the worst airplane Aeronca ever built, so I declined."
Quartz Hill Airport , as depicted on the August 1964 LA Local Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton).
The Aerodromes table on the 1964 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
described Quartz Hill Airport as having two gravel runways, with the longest being 2,640'.
A 1971 aerial view looking southwest at Quartz Hill Airport (courtesy of Dick Landgraff).
USGS topo map 1974.
The last photo that has been located of the Quartz Hills Airport was a 1974 aerial view.
It showed a total of 20 single-engine aircraft parked near a Quonset hut on the west side of the field.
Quartz Hill was still listed as a public-use airport in the 1977 Pilot's Guide to CA Airports (according to Chris Kennedy),
along with the note, "Caution: All runways slope downhill to mid-field."
Charles Roskam recalled, “While I was training for my commercial license in the late 1970s
I flew out of Quartz Hill Airport a number of times.
It was a privately-owned airport. A man named 'Doc' owned it. His is an interesting story.
He was a record producer in LA but got into the usual Hollywood lifestyle, fast women, drugs, etc.
He lost his family & much of his wealth because of his type of living.
He became a Christian, moved to Quartz Hill, bought the airport, and lived in a trailer on the field with his new wife.
He was a very intelligent guy & very personable.”
Jim Fitzgerald recalled, “I used to fly a Cessna 170 out of 'Quartz Hill International'
as we Lockheed Flight Testers used to refer to it.
More than once I would taxi into position and have to hold till the horse crowd cleared the runway.
I miss that place.”
By 1982, the status of Quart Hill had changed to a private field,
as the remarks in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury) said, "Private. Closed to public."
It described the field as having two dirt runways:
2,550' Runway 5/23 & 2,300' Runway 9/27.
It listed the operator as Antelope Valley Aeronautical.
According to Jon Karkow, "The area around the airport was - and still is - popular for riding horses.
It was common to have to buzz the strip to get the riders to move off of the runways!
A Mojave resident told me that one day his buzzing caused a horse to spook & throw its rider.
There was hell to pay after he had landed."
Karkow continued, "When I arrived in this area in 1986 there were at least a dozen airplanes there.
It closed that year due to the press of housing developments.
It was bounded by 40th Street West, 45th Street West, Avenue M, and Avenue L-8."
The 1994 USGS aerial photo showed that housing developments had been built
over the western & northeastern portions of the former airport property.
The southeastern half of the former southeast/northwest runway
was still recognizable in a circa 2001 aerial photo.
A 2003 photo by Jon Karkow looking northeast at the site of Quartz Hill Airport from the southwest corner of the property.
"The intersection of the runways was right in the center of the photo.
The hangars would have been on the far left of the shot where there are now houses.
There is a new housing development on the north side of the property.
None of the street names have an airport theme."
A 2003 photo by Jon Karkow looking north at the remains of the concrete run-up pad at the southwest corner of the airfield property.
"The airport had dirt runways. On the southeast & southwest ends of the airport
there were concrete run-up pads with asphalt transitions.
These were the only remaining traces of the airport that I could find."
A 2004 photo by Don Hyneman taken from the top of the Avenue M hill looking to the northeast over what was the site of Quartz Hill Airport.
A circa 2005 aerial photo of what appears to be the only remaining trace of the former Quartz Hill Airport
a concrete run-up pad at the southwest corner of the airfield property.
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War Eagle Field / Lancaster Airpark, Lancaster, CA
34.7 North / 118.23 West (Northwest of Palmdale, CA)
A January 1942 aerial view looking south at War Eagle Field
(courtesy of Jeremy Davies, whose father attended training at the Polaris Flight Academy with the RAF).
War Eagle Field in Lancaster is not to be confused
with another airfield by the same name in Dos Palos, 175 miles to the northwest.
War Eagle Field was the site of a contract flying school, Polaris Flight Academy,
which was one of four schools operated by the Cal-Aero Flight Academy,
headquartered at Glendale's Grand Central Air Terminal.
The civilian schools were contracted by the US & foreign militaries to provide flight training for military cadets.
War Eagle Field opened in 1941.
It initially provided training to British & Canadian cadets.
In 1942, following the United States' entry into the war, it also began the training of USAAF cadets.
The War Eagle Flight Academy became at the time the only civilian school in the US to handle basic training of Army pilots.
Upon accepting the new role, construction commenced to double the size of the base.
The airfield at War Eagle Field was centered around two large hangars at the northwest end of the site.
A 2,400' long ramp just south of the hangars was oriented northeast/southwest,
and the two 2,400' runways extended to the east & south away from the ramp.
An undated view of the tower at War Eagle Field (courtesy of Dan MacPherson).
A 1942 view of the control tower through the wings of a Stearman trainer (courtesy of Dan MacPherson).
Every four & one-half weeks a new group of US pilots would arrive at Lancaster to commence their basic training.
After completing their course here, they were sent to Army Advance Training posts
where upon completion of their advance course they received their wings & commission.
The Vultee BT-13 was the predominant trainer aircraft used at War Eagle Field.
Al Shaver recalled, “During 1941 & 1942 I was an instructor at War Eagle Field teaching RAF cadets.”
A WW2-era view of a hangar at War Eagle Field's Polaris Flight Academy.
The logo of the Polaris Flight Academy, from an original poster (courtesy of Dan MacPherson).
Vultee trainers on the flightline at War Eagle Field during WW2.
LT George Wood Mears, in front of a Vultee BT-13 at War Eagle Field during WW2.
A 1942 photo of War Eagle's Administration Building (courtesy of Dan MacPherson).
In 1944, the name of the Polaris Flight Academy was changed to Mira Loma Flight Academy.
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described "War Eagle, Army" as having a 3,100' runway.
Two smaller auxiliary landing fields were associated with War Eagle Field during WW2:
Liberty Field (located 8 miles northeast of War Eagle Field),
and Victory Field (located 6 miles northwest of War Eagle Field).
In an article in AOPA Pilot Magazine, Duane Cole described meeting famous test pilot Tony LeVier at War Eagle Field:
“I never had the opportunity to meet him until 1942, at War Eagle Field, where I was instructing military cadets.
By that time I knew he had gone to work for the Lockheed Aircraft Company,
and I'd heard of his mastery over the P-38, which started life with a tarnished reputation.
The new, unconventional twin-engine fighter had received bad press from several fatal crashes,
including the one that took the life of movie star Joe E. Brown's son.
To overcome its bad publicity, Tony had brought a P-38 to War Eagle Field
to demonstrate its capabilities to the cadets at a graduation ceremony,
and to assure them that there was nothing dangerous about the airplane when flown by well-trained pilots.
Having never seen him fly, I was completely amazed by his low-level spins;
single-engine rolls, both left & right, on first one engine then the other;
loops; Cuban eights; and all the other maneuvers the cadets had learned in their basic training.
Landing after his superb exhibition, Tony was surrounded by admirers & old friends.”
Duane continued, “Tony visited War Eagle Field on several occasions after that,
but none of them was more sensational than the visit he made in 1944.
I was in the office of Hank Reynolds, civilian director of the field, discussing my new job as the school's test pilot,
when suddenly, going faster than anything we had ever seen, an airplane made a low-level pass down the runway.
By the time we had burst through the door, the airplane had climbed to about 3,000 feet.
From there the pilot peeled off & buzzed the field in the other direction.
It was Tony in the new Lockheed XP-80 jet, the first time anyone on the field had ever seen it.
When I got home that evening, my wife, Judy, and her mother, who was visiting from Illinois,
began excitedly telling me about the super-fast airplane that had passed over our house.
We lived on Quartz Hill, only three or four miles from the field.
Judy's mother called it a 'zip'. When I asked her why, she said, 'We saw it coming & then zip, it was gone.'”
The Mira Loma Flight Academy at War Eagle Field was closed in 1945 with the end of World War II,
but the airfield itself at War Eagle Field apparently remained in operation for a few more years.
War Eagle Field was still depicted as an active auxiliary airfield
on the February 1947 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
At some point between 1947-49, War Eagle Field was evidently renamed Lancaster Airpark,
as that is how it was labeled on the February 1949 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 3,300' hard surface runway.
A circa early 1950s aerial view looking southeast at War Eagle Field (courtesy of Jim Walker).
Note that the facility had already began to be converted for use as a prison (or was already in use as such),
as there were about a half dozen guard towers around the perimeter, with one in the center.
However, it was apparently still in use as an airfield, as there is a C-47 on the ramp at the right,
And one single-engine trainer in between the two large hangars.
Also note that the 1st two letters of the airfield name on the roof of the hangars had been painted out,
changing it from "War Eagle Field" to "Reagle Field" - ???
The 1951 USGS topo map depicted the hangars & buildings of “War Eagle Airfield”,
but did not depict any runways or other airfield area.
The 1953 Flight Chart (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell)
once again labeled the field as "War Eagle", but it was described as "Emergency only".
It was described as having a 3,300' runway.
The buildings at War Eagle apparently sat idle until 1954,
when the LA County Sheriff's Department & Department of Hospitals
opened the Mira Loma Custody Facility at the site, for inmates with tuberculosis.
The September 1954 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
continued to depict War Eagle Field as available for "Emergency only".
The "Institution" was already depicted,
but apparently the airfield continued to coexist (at least for a short period of time) with the custody facility.
The airfield at War Eagle Field was evidently closed by 1964,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the 1964 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
A 1974 aerial view did not show any signs of aviation use of the property.
Some of the original layout of the airfield at War Eagle Field
was still apparent as depicted on a 1978 map (courtesy of Dan MacPherson).
The tuberculosis facility at the former War Eagle Field closed in 1979.
In 1983, the facility re-opened due to jail overcrowding & expanded in 1986 to include female inmates.
The Mira Loma Custody Facility closed in 1993 due to County budget cuts.
Ironically, this former WW2-era airfield gained another active aviation use at some point prior to 1994,
even after being converted largely to a prison -
a single helipad (fenced-in) was depicted on the northeast corner in the 1994 USGS aerial photo.
The Mira Loma Custody Facility was re-opened in 1997,
to house INS detainees awaiting deportation hearings.
A 1997 aerial view by Dan MacPherson looking north at the WW2-era buildings at Mira Loma.
Two circa 1997 photos by Dan MacPherson of the former control tower of War Eagle Field,
now behind the fence of the Mira Loma Detention Center.
A circa 1997 photo by Dan MacPherson of the former Base Administration Building.
A circa 1997 photo by Dan MacPherson of the apparent remains of runway lighting, hidden in some brush near the airport.
They are triangular concrete bases with a fixture (electrical) that looks like it held a light bulb.
A circa 1997 photo by Dan MacPherson of the remains of the wind tetrahedron mount.
Not visible in the photo is the huge circle of rocks around this thing, still painted white after 60 years.
A circa 2001 aerial photo of the site. The WW2-era airfield buildings are in the northwest corner.
As of 2002, the former War Eagle Field was known as the Mira Loma Detention Center.
Two still intact hangars are still in use, as well as other WW2-era buildings.
On the roof of one of the hangars, the name "War Eagle" is still faintly perceptible.
Tim Tyler visited the site of War Eagle Field in 2003,
and he reported that it is "Now a series of detention facilities -
Challenger Memorial Youth Center on north side center,
with LA County Animal Care & Control shelter in front of it.
LA County’s Mira Loma Detention Center is on the northwest side,
and California State Prison LA County is on the entire south side.
Several old hangars & warehouse type buildings are now on the northwest section of the field,
some used by the Mira Loma Detention Center,
and some other potential War Eagle Field-era buildings are occupied by the 'High Desert Hospital'.
which is a former 170 bed hospital, now just an outpatient clinic, for ‘indigent’ people,
the North County Center for Vulnerable Families,
and Antelope Valley Service Planning Area 1 Public Health Administrative Office for LA County Health Services."
A circa 2005 aerial photo looking north at the helipad on the northeast corner of the Mira Loma facility,
with a single small hangar, and a single MD-500 helicopter on the pad.
The site of War Eagle Field is located southeast of the intersection of West Avenue I & 60th Street West.
The property is labeled "High Desert Hospital" on recent road maps.
See also: http://www.av.qnet.com/~carcomm/wreck19.htm
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El Mirage Auxiliary Army Airfield #3 / El Mirage Airport (99CL), CA
34.62 North / 117.61 West (East of Palmdale, CA)
El Mirage #3, as depicted on the 1945 Mojave AAF Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This airfield operated from 1942 until the end of WW2 as a satellite field for Victorville AAF (later renamed George AFB),
which participated in the 30,000 Pilot Training Program & later became a bombardier school.
It was depicted as "Mirage #3" on the 1944 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described "Mirage Aux. #3, Army" as having a 3,700' hard-surface runway,
and the remarks included, "Auxiliary to Victorville AAF."
After WW2, the field was reused as a civil airfield.
Sailplane pilot Bill Berle reported that "I believe Gus Briegleb bought it as war surplus
and started training in gliders in the 1950's."
El Mirage was depicted as a civil airport on the 1960 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was described as having a 3,700' hard-surface runway.
The earliest photo that has been located of El Mirage Airport was a 1968 aerial view.
It depicted the field in its original (WW2) configuration, with 3 paved runways.
A closeup from the 1968 aerial view, showing gliders & other general aviation aircraft parked on the southwest side of El Mirage Airport.
In Bill Berle's words, "Although many of the abandoned airfields have interesting histories,
El Mirage is a standout by any measure.
It was one of the greatest soaring sites in the USA,
home to many regional & national competitions.
A particular local weather phenomenon (the El Mirage "shear line"),
added to the already great high desert soaring conditions,
made it a launching point for many speed & distance records.
Gus Briegleb.... reportedly bought, disassembled, and reassembled on his property the old Pancho Barnes hangar.
El Mirage was another "home away from home" for many Edwards AFB test pilots interested in soaring,
including the ornery but brilliant chief of NACA Paul Bikle."
Berle reported that it remained active on one level or another as a sailplane training facility until late 1984 or early 1985,
when it was leased to General Atomics as their unmanned air vehicle flight test center.
Aerial view 2000.
Recent aerial of El Mirage, looking west.
As can be seen in the above aerial photos,
General Atomics repaved the east/west runway with asphalt,
and built a new complex of hangars with an asphalt ramp south of the middle of the east/west runway.
For unknown reasons, General Atomics shifted their flight test operations in 2001 to Grey Butte.
Berle reported that El Mirage has returned to the control of the Briegleb family,
and they are trying to develop it as an airpark or some other civil use.
El Mirage Airport was listed in 2002 as for sale.
El Mirage was still listed (as of 2002) as an active private airfield.
A General Atomics Altair unmanned aerial vehicle,
pictured at El Mirage in a 2003 NASA photo.
However, it appears as if El Mirage is indeed still used by General Atomics (as of 2003),
as the above NASA photo depicted a General Atomics Altair unmanned aerial vehicle at El Mirage in 2003.
The airfield originally consisted of four runways.
Three runways are still maintained: 4/22, 7/25 & 17/35 (the longest is 3,700').
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of the hangars & buildings at the El Mirage airfield.
Tim Tyler visited El Mirage in 2003.
His report: "The access road off of El Mirage Road is called El Mirage Airport Road,
but the airfield area is now private property & called 'El Mirage Flight Test Facility',
with an 'Aeronautical Systems' sign up on the fence next to the gate,
which has a staffed guard shack just inside it.
The facility was about a third of a mile in to the north from the gate, on the edge of the dry lake.
I saw a large hangar, smaller hangar, and then around a dozen office trailers on site.
Top part of a mesh SATCOM or RADAR dish seen on the far side of the smaller hangar,
and a small, olive-drab or dark gray Nike LOPAR type radar unit on a trailer.
Off in the distance on a ridgeline on the far north side of the dry lake
I could see a small white structure that seemed to have one or two radomes visible.
It may or may not have anything to do with the aircraft RDT&E site."
A 2003 aerial view of the Aviation Warehouse boneyard at El Mirage, © 2003 by Andy Martin (used by permission).
According to Tim Tyler, "Just prior to Aeronautical Systems El Mirage Flight Test Facility gate
is Aviation Warehouse, Inc. & Thomson’s Aviation Manuals.
It’s basically an aircraft junkyard, with all sorts of civil airliner & private aircraft fuselages,
plus some parts of fighter aircraft in compounds on both sides of the road.
Mark Thomson, the owner, has a tidy business selling or leasing out fuselages
to movie producers who will use them for interior or exterior scenes,
especially if the script calls for the aircraft to be damaged or destroyed.
They provided the fuselage for the recent movie ‘SWAT’,
and some of the C-123 stuff used in ‘Con Air’, for example.
Fuselages are trucked up to Hollywood for filming.
He also has a large collection of aircraft manuals available for sale."
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of the remains of several Boeing airliners (707, 727, 747) at Aviation Warehouse.
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of the forward fuselage of a Navy/USMC F-4 Phantom
(specific model undetermined) at Aviation Warehouse.
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of the fuselage of a Sikorsky S-61
(painted in "Aeroflot" colors, presumably for TV/movie work) at Aviation Warehouse.
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of the fuselage of a Sikorsky S-61
(painted in "RAF Rescue" colors, presumably for TV/movie work) at Aviation Warehouse.
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of the cockpit of a vintage DC-3 airliner at Aviation Warehouse.
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of a vintage British Hunting Percival Pembroke at Aviation Warehouse.
Aviation Warehouse specializes in providing aviation-related props for films.
This company has an estimated 100+ fuselage sections of aircraft, both civil & military.
The majority of the sections are from light aircraft but there are some other interesting examples, including:
Jetstar, B737, Sikorsky S64, DC-8, DC-3, UH-1, DC-130, F-4C, A-4A, CH-3E, Mi-24 Hind, P-2H, CH-21, and DC-6/7.
A 2003 photo by Tim Tyler of foundations which remain southwest of El Mirage.
Tim Tyler added, "Southwest of the area, off El Mirage Road are several very old concrete foundations around a now empty field.
It may be the remains of barracks or other support structures for the former Auxiliary Airfield,
but they’re set back about 1.5 miles northeast of where I assume the field was."
Sailplane pilot Bill Berle wrote a beautiful poem about El Mirage Airfield:
"REQUIEM FOR AN AIRFIELD
Bill Berle 8-11-84
Gone is the panic - the struggle in which it was born
Gone are the machines & the men
and though it lives on in a peaceful time
it slowly fights a losing battle for life
Without a sound
Stand on the fading, dying runways - walk among the dead metal bones
and you become very sad
A thousand ghosts are making plans to fight
a war only remembered
The creaking wood of buildings has somehow remained
against the forces bent on erasing their existence
Their doors & rafters cry for help
to the trees & the ears of those who do not listen - the end is near
Yet this place has only yesterday breathed of life
of the sights & sounds that made it special
A new era brought new machines, but the same breed of souls
and ironically it once again did as it was born to do
making pilots out of men
It sparkled with the love & reverence it deserved
and they came here, to challenge the sky
and ride the razor edge of sanity
in machines that whispered back at the ghosts
But now again it lies dying
not of age & wind, but loneliness
The world incessantly gnaws at its border
and the souls who care cannot look without tears
But I have been here, to this magic place
before it is ended
I have felt the emotion of its spirit, and mine has become stronger
It has given me a gift, and let me learn
and it can therefore never die . . . but
if only El Mirage could talk"
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Grey Butte Auxiliary Army Airfield #4 / Grey Butte Airport , Southwest of El Mirage, CA
34.56 North / 117.67 West (East of Palmdale, CA)
Grey Butte Airfield, as depicted on the 1964 LA Sectional Chart.
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This field started operations in 1942 as a satellite field for Victorville AAF,
which participated in the 30,000 Pilot Training Program & later became a bombardier school.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the 1944 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss),
which depicted it as "Grey Butte #4".
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described "Grey Butte Aux. #4, Army" as having a 3,700' hard-surface runway,
and the remarks included, "Auxiliary to Victorville AAF."
Grey Butte was used by Marine aircrews from Mojave MCAS during 1944-45 for carrier landing practice,
during which time several Marine planes crashed.
Grey Butte was abandoned by the military at some point between 1945-50.
After WW2, the field was reused for at least some period as a civil airfield.
Grey Butte was depicted as an active civil field on the 1950 LA Chart (according to Bob Cannon).
However, it was evidently closed at some point between 1950-60,
as it was depicted as "Abandoned airport" on the 1960 LA Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Grey Butte was apparently reopened (again) as a civil airport at some point between 1960-64,
as it was once again depicted as an active civil airfield on the 1964 LA Sectional Chart.
The Aerodromes table on the chart described the field as having three runways,
with the longest being a 3,740' bituminous strip.
Grey Butte was still depicted as an active airfield on the 1965 LA Local Area aeronautical chart (courtesy of John Voss).
At some point before 1968, the distinctive pattern of runways of the WW2-era Army airfield
were reused by McDonnell Douglas as an aircraft radar cross section testing range.
It is the oldest of the Mojave Desert RCS ranges.
The earliest photo that has been located of the Grey Butte airfield was a 1968 aerial photo.
It showed that radar cross-section testing gear had been erected on the runway intersection on the west side of the field,
and each end of the runways had been painted with a closed “X” symbol.
The Grey Butte airfield was labeled "Abandoned" on the September 1971 USAF Tactical Pilotage Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
A 1974 aerial view showed that the scope of the radar cross-section testing gear on the west side of the airfield
had increased somewhat compared to the 1968 photo.
The Grey Butte radar cross section testing range was used in 1975
to test a full-scale model of the Lockheed F-117 Stealth Fighter.
A circa late 1990s aerial view looking south at Grey Butte.
"No Trespassing - Unsafe For Landing" painted five times along the former runways -
they really want you to get the message!
The RCS range was shut down in the late 1990s.
Control of the site passed to General Atomics in mid 2001,
which also operates unmanned aerial vehicle flight testing operations from nearby El Mirage.
Tim Tyler visited Grey Butte in 2003, and reported that it is "Now another [General Atomics] Aeronautical Systems site.
I pulled right up to the gate & got out of the car to talk to the guard.
The guard explained the site was a McDonnell Douglas test facility,
but it was now used by General Atomics for RQ-1A (the new ‘B’ version Predator) research, design, testing & evaluation.
He also volunteered that General Atomics Aeronautical Systems operates the former El Mirage Dry Lake site,
though I failed to ask why General Atomics is using two similar sites, only about 10 miles apart.
He advised that there weren’t any structures left from the Army Auxiliary Airfield days,
but that there apparently were some 'pits' far back on the property that may have had something to do with bombs.
Predators fly out of the site on pretty much a daily basis -
one had just been up a few hours prior to my arrival,
and they often will fly over the El Mirage Dry Lake."
A circa 2005 aerial view looking west at the buildings at the west end of the Grey Butte airfield.
The gantry previously used for radar cross section testing is at the left.
The other buildings appear to be hangars, used for UAV flight operations.
A circa 2005 aerial view looking east at the remains of a radar cross section testing pylon mounting,
on the east end of the former east/west runway at Grey Butte.
Thanks to Walt Witherspoon for information about Grey Butte.
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