Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Northern Delaware
© 2003, © 2007 by Paul Freeman. Revised 12/23/07.
Bellanca Field / Piasecki Field (revised 12/23/07) - DuPont Airport (revised 12/23/07)
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Bellanca Field / Piasecki Field, Wilmington, DE
39.66 North / 75.59 West (Southeast of Wilmington Airport, DE)
A 1928 photo of an unidentified monoplane in front of a “Bellanca Aircraft Corporation” hangar
at Bellanca Field (courtesy of Bill Long).
How many residents of the state of Delaware realize
that over 3,000 aircraft were built at a little airfield in their state?
That fact about the former Bellanca Field comes from the book "Delaware Aviation History" by George Frebert.
According to an article in the 10/10/03 issue of the Delaware NewsJournal,
Henry & Francis du Pont brought in airplane designer Giuseppe Bellanca from New York
and bought the 360-acre Spring Garden Farm southeast of Wilmington
in order to construct an aircraft factory & airport.
Bellanca Field was dedicated in 1928,
at an event attended by 30,000 spectators,
who watched a performance by stunt fliers & parachute jumpers.
Joe Monigle recalled flying in a Bellanca Skyrocket in 1928 with his father, who was taking flying lessons.
The original Air Service Inc. hangar was built in on the north side of Bellanca Field in 1928 by Henry & Francis du Pont.
It was not part of the Bellanca factory, but was used for general aviation aircraft.
A 1928 aerial view looking northeast at a regional air race held at Bellanca Field,
with numerous Army Air Corps planes in front of the original Air Service hangar.
An undated photo of the Bellanca J "Pathfinder" (NX3789),
which was the first plane built in the new Delaware plant.
The "Pathfinder" was commissioned for a 1929 transatlantic flight to Spain.
The 1929 "Rand McNally Standard Map of MD/DE With Air Trails" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Bellanca Field as consisting of a 3,500' x 3,000' field.
The 1930 "Rand McNally Standard Map of NJ With Air Trails" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Bellanca Field as being Airfield #65 along the Atlanta-NY Airway.
An aerial photo looking north at Bellanca Field from the 1930 book "Philadelphia Aeronautical Center of the East"
(courtesy of the George H. Stuebing Collection of the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association).
The field was described as consisting of a 200 acre field, measuring 5,000' x 2,500'.
A single hangar was depicted on the north side of the field,
and the Bellanca factory buildings were depicted on the southeast side of the field.
The first airplane to fly nonstop across the Pacific, the Bellanca "Miss Veedol", was built at Bellanca Field.
The plane, piloted by Clyde Panghorn & Hugh Herndon, flew in 1931 from Tokyo to Wenatchee, Wash.
Bellanca Field, as depicted on the May 1932 J-18 Washington D. C. Airway Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
An undated photo (courtesy of Bill Long) of an amphibian plane, a Bellanca biplane,
and 2 Army fighters in front of the hangar marked "Bellanca Aircraft Corporation".
Bellanca Field, as depicted on the 1934 U.S. Navy Aviation Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1934 Department of Commerce Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy)
described "Bellanca Field (Wilmington Airport)" as being a 3,800' x 2,000' sod field,
with a hangar with "Bellanca-Wilmington" painted on the roof.
Bellanca Field's original Air Service hangar along the north side of the field
burned down in 1934 but was rebuilt in 1935.
Bellanca Field, as depicted on the 1935 Washington Sectional Chart.
Robert Stockman recalled, “Bellanca Field... my uncle took me to an air show there in the 1930s.”
An undated aerial view looking north at Bellanca Field,
showing the Air Services hangar along the north side,
as well as the Bellanca factory along the southeast side.
Aerial view looking north at Bellanca Field,
from the Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The directory described Bellanca Field as consisting of an irregular sod landing area.
The aerial photo in the directory depicted the factory buildings & hangars at the southern edge of the field.
A 1937 aerial view of Bellanca Field, showing the Air Service hangar on the north side of the field,
and the Bellanca factory & hangars on the southeast side of the field.
The airfield appeared to consist of a single unpaved southwest/northeast runway.
An undated aerial view of the Bellanca Factory at Bellanca Field .
Bellanca Field was still depicted on the 1942 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
However, it apparently was temporarily closed at some point between 1942-44,
as it was not depicted on the 1944 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
It may have been temporarily closed due to wartime security restrictions,
as was the case at many other small civilian airfields during WW2.
Bellanca Field still was not depicted on the 1945 AAF Aeronautical Approach Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
After WW2, Bellanca Field evidently reopened at some point between 1945-46,
as it was depicted once again as a commercial airport on the 1946 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
An undated (circa 1940s?) photo of the Air Service hangar at Bellanca Field.
Bellanca Field evidently gained a paved runway at some point between 1937-49,
as the 1949 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe)
described Bellanca Field as having a 2,500' hard-surface runway.
August Bellanca, the designer's son, worked at the Bellanca factory in the late 1940s & early 1950s.
The 1951 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe)
described the field as having 3 runways, with the longest a 2,500' hard-surface runway.
A 1954 aerial view of Bellanca Field, showing the Air Service hangar on the north side of the field,
and the Bellanca factory & hangars on the southeast side of the field.
The largest hangar on the field, to the southwest of the factory, had been added at some point between 1937-54.
The airfield consisted of a single paved northeast/southwest runway,
along with 2 unpaved runways on the west side.
Bellanca ceased manufacturing aircraft at Bellanca Field in 1954.
Bellanca Field (bottom-right), as shown in relation to Wilmington Airport (top-left),
as depicted on a 1956 Approach Plate (courtesy of Tom Beamer).
Bellanca Field was depicted as having a single 2,600' paved northeast/southwest runway,
and 2 other shorter unpaved crosswind runways.
A taxiway led to the factory buildings on the south side of the airfield.
According to Bill Long, the 1956 Washington Sectional Chart described Bellanca Field as having 3 runways,
with the longest being 2,500'.
What was labeled "Piasecki" Field, on the 1957 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
By 1957, the story of Bellanca Field gets a little curious.
The 1957 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) depicted it under a different name - "Piasecki".
Presumably the Bellanca company may have been out of business by 1957,
and the field could have been used by the Piasecki helicopter company,
whose primary facilities were located just up the river in suburban Philadelphia.
The field was still depicted as "Piasecki" on the 1960 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
Bellanca Field's old Air Service hangar was still in use until 1960.
Bellanca Field apparently was closed later in 1960.
By the following year, Bellanca Field was no longer depicted at all
on the 1961 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
In the 1961 aerial view of Bellanca Field, the majority of the airfield appeared unchanged from the 1954 aerial photo,
although it appears as if some of the factory buildings on the southeast side of the field may have been removed.
There was also the appearance of multiple unidentified light-colored features along both sides of the runway.
William Mitchem recalled, "As a son of a former pilot, my father took me to the Bellanca airfield a lot.
In the 1960's after it closed we would go there - my father taught my mother to drive on the runways,
he taught me to drive on the runway."
Robert Stockman recalled, “Bellanca Field... In the 1960's it was a ruin.”
In the 1968 aerial view of Bellanca Field, the airfield was further deteriorated,
but the majority of the length of the paved runway still remained intact,
as well as the hangars on the north & south sides of the runway.
Tom Beamer recalled, "I haven't flown into ILG [Wilmington] in some time,
but in the 1970s, possibly the 1980s, the Bellanca factory was still intact on short final from an ILS to [Runway] 1."
A 1992 aerial view of the site of Bellanca Field showed that the runway pavement had been removed at some point between 1968-92,
with a street (Centerpoint Boulevard) & several industrial buildings in its place.
However the former hangars on the north & south sides of the runway still remained standing.
A 1997 aerial view of the site of Bellanca Field showed the site essentially unchanged from that depicted in 1992,
with the former hangars on the north & south sides of the runway still intact.
Robert Stockman recalled, “Bellanca Field... may have become the site
of an Amazon.com distribution center in the 1998-2000 era.”
Indeed, a 2002 aerial view of the site of Bellanca Field
showed that the former Bellanca hangar on the south side of the field had been replaced with a much larger building,
but the former Air Service hangar on the north side of the field remained intact.
In 2003, a grass-roots group named The Friends of Bellanca Airfield was formed.
It was seeking to preserve the old Air Service hangar - the sole remaining building at the former airfield -
and have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Trustees of New Castle Common, a group that oversees property for the common good of city residents,
owned the property where the former airplane hangar sat.
The trustees planned to raze the building unless someone stepped forward with the financial backing to restore it.
In 2003, about 100 people gathered at a ceremony to recognize Bellanca Field's contributions to aviation history.
Highlighting the event, which included flyovers by vintage airplanes,
was the unveiling of a historical marker near the old site at Route 273 & Centerpoint Boulevard.
It noted that approximately 3,000 aircraft were built at Bellanca Field between 1928-54.
"If you let history go by, you can only regret it,"
retired Delaware National Guard adjutant general Frank Ianni told the crowd.
He spearheaded the effort to have a plaque placed there.
Among the dignitaries who attended the ceremony was August Bellanca, of Annapolis, MD, the designer's son.
State Department of Transportation Secretary Nathan Hayward gave Friends of Bellanca hope
when he announced at the ceremony that the department would match up to $300,000
from its Transportation Enhancement Grant for contributions collected for the building's restoration.
"This is a wonderful piece of Delaware's transportation history, which is why we think it's important," he said.
Friends of Bellanca has suggested that the building could be converted into an aviation or even transportation museum,
given the history of the old airfield & other early New Castle operations.
"It would be a pity if it didn't survive," Friends member Joe Monigle said of the building.
A 2005 aerial photo of the site of Bellanca Field.
Glenn Petrucci visited the site of Bellanca Field in 2006, and reported, “While I was there looking around,
a guy from Amazon stopped by thinking I was with the property developers.
Apparently, Amazon is considering expanding to the area where the old hangar now is,
so the site may be completely gone sometime soon.”
A circa 2006 aerial view looking north at the former Air Service hangar which remains on the north side of the former Bellanca Field.
The site of Bellanca Field is located at the intersection of Johnson Way & Centerpoint Boulevard,
only 1 mile southeast of Wilmington Airport.
Thanks to Bill Long for pointing out Bellanca Field.
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DuPont Airport, Wilmington, DE
39.76 North / 75.6 West (Southwest of Philadelphia, PA)
Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis", pictured at DuPont Airport in 1927 (courtesy of Bill Long).
According to the DuPont Daily News, the DuPont Airport was established in 1924 by Henry du Pont.
Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" visited DuPont Airport in 1927.
The 1929 "Rand McNally Standard Map of MD/DE With Air Trails" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Du Pont Field as being 1,900' x 1,200' in size.
Du Pont Airport,
as depicted on the 1930 "Rand McNally Standard Map of New Jersey With Air Trails" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Du Pont Airport, as depicted on the May 1932 J-18 Washington D. C. Airway Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to Clare Downes, “I believe in the early 1930s my Grandparents family [the Cannon family]
sold property & a farm house to one of the DuPont's to upgrade the facility.”
Du Pont Airport, as depicted on the 1934 U.S. Navy Aviation Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1934 Department of Commerce Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy)
described Du Pont as a private field, with 2 sod runways forming a "T",
with the longest being a 2,600' northeast/southwest strip.
The 1935 Washington Sectional Chart depicted DuPont as a commercial airport.
Aerial view looking east at DuPont Airport,
from the Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The directory described DuPont Airport as having a T-shaped grass landing area, measuring 3,300' x 1,900'.
A hangar (with "DuPont, Wilmingotn" painted on the roof) was on the eastern side of the field.
In a 1968 aerial view of Du Pont Airport,
the predominant characteristic of the field was its northeast/southwest grass runway, in the center of which was visible a circular airport marker.
Several hangars were visible along the east side of the runway.
Robert Stockman recalled, “In 1940 my family relocated to an apartment complex about a mile from duPont Field.
It became a hang-out for me as soon as I got my first bike in 1941.”
A pre-1942 postcard of Atlantic Aviation Service, DuPont Airport.
It depicted 2 fairly substantial hangars, along with a brick office building with a control tower on top.
DuPont was depicted as a commercial airport on the 1942 Washington Sectional Chart.
The DuPont Airport, as depicted on the 1945 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
According to the book "Delaware Aviation History" by George Frebert,
DuPont Airfield had the honor at one time of hosting one of aviation's biggest heros, Charles Lindbergh.
The airfield became the home of All-American Aviation (a predecessor of USAirways),
which provided airmail service to communities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Delaware.
All-American Aviation also was known for its development of arresting gear,
retrieval systems & launch systems, later used by the armed forces.
Robert Stockman recalled, “We moved to a house about a mile away in 1946 or 1947.
Then I really spent time there helping wash & wax Cubs & Wacos & being rewarded with the occasional ride.
In 1949 I was driving down Lancaster Pike parallel to the runway
when a surplus P-38 landed long & plowed through the chainlink fence & flipped into a landfill behind a nursery.
My car became stuck in the nursery field, a lot of recent rain, but I was still among the first to reach the pilot.
He was OK but stunned. When the nursery owner saw what I did to his plants, he was stunned too.
When I called my father to help pull the car out his reaction left me stunned & grounded for a week.”
The 1949 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe)
described DuPont as having a 2,900' unpaved runway.
Robert Stockman recalled, “I took flying lessons there in 1950-51.”
The 1951 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe)
described DuPont as having 2 runways, with the longest a 2,900' unpaved strip.
According to Lorraine Smith, DuPont Airport "had a flight school run by Atlantic Aviation Service.
It was located one mile northwest of Wilmington.
The field had complete night lighting equipment & radio facilities.
Overhaul & repair service for aircraft were maintained day & night.
At one time I believe Allegheny Airlines operated out of there.
It was right next to a community called Westover Hills which was located right at the end of the runway.
I have some pictures that I took when I flew out of there in the early '50's.
It was a beautiful grass "L" shaped field surrounded by a high chain link fence."
In a 1954 aerial view of Du Pont Airport,
the southeast/northwest grass runway was much more evident than as was depicted in the 1937 photo.
Several buildings had also been added along the north side of that runway.
The 1957 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe)
described DuPont as having 2 runways, with the longest a 2,900' unpaved strip.
The last flight from the DuPont Airport took place in 1958,
according to the DuPont Daily News.
The precise date of the field's closure has not been determined.
Even though it may already have been closed for 2 years,
the Du Pont Airport was still included in the 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The field was depicted as having a single 2,800' unpaved Runway 13/31,
along with 3 buildings on the north side of the field.
The Du Pont Airport was no longer depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield)
on the 1960 Washington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe).
In a 1961 aerial view of Du Pont Airport,
the field appeared unchanged as compared to the 1954 photo.
The last depiction which has been located of the Du Pont Airport before it was redeveloped was a 1968 aerial photo.
The 2 grass runways were still intact, as well as the hangars & other airport buildings in the center of the photo.
Jim Fairweather recalled, “I can remember as a child in the late 1960s, passing the DuPont Airport.
All American Engineering was painted on the front of the hangars.
There were either S-55 or S-58 Sikorskys on the ramp at times.”
According to Mike Denest, "In the early 1970s, the Delaware radio controlled model club
sponsored glider contests on the site prior to it being developed into an office park.
It was a great place to fly, with plenty of room & thermals galore."
At an unknown date, the former airport property was redeveloped by the DuPont company into the Barley Mill corporate park,
with multiple office buildings being built over the site.
In 2003, the Delaware Public Archives & the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame
were to unveil & dedicate a state historical marker at the former location of the DuPont Airfield.
A flyover was planned by some dozen aircraft during the dedication ceremony
following the route taken by Charles Lindbergh when he flew to the airfield.
A 2005 aerial photo of the site of Du Pont Airport, showing not a trace remaining of the former airport.
The site of DuPont Airport is located east of the intersection of Centre Road & Lancaster Pike.
Thanks to Tom Miller for pointing out the correct location of the airport site.
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