Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:ia
Eastern Iowa
© 2003, © 2006 by Paul Freeman. Revised 11/18/06.
(Original) Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport / Hunter Field (revised 11/18/06) - (Original) Davenport Airport / Angoair Airport (added 1/14/06)
John Deere Airfield (revised 6/27/04)
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(Original) Davenport Airport / Angoair Airport, Bettendorf, IA
41.55 North / 90.51 West (East of Des Moines, IA)
The original Davenport Airport, as depicted on the December 1948 Des Moines Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to local pilot John Jesse,
Bob Parmerele opened this field in 1948 & operated it for the next 15 years.
It was evidently known as “Davenport Airport” originally,
as that is how it was labeled on the December 1948 Des Moines Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Davenport as having an 1,800' unpaved runway.
A 1951 aerial photo (courtesy of the Natural Resource Conservation Service, via Ron Plante)
depicted the field as having two unpaved runways, with a long white-roofed hangar on the south end.
The field was evidently renamed “Angoair Airport” at some point between 1948-53,
as that is how it was labeled on the 1953 USGS topo map (courtesy of Ron Plante).
It depicted Angoair Airport as having two unpaved runways, with 3 small buildings on the southeast side of the field.
John Jesse learned to fly at Angoair in 1953, and recalled that about 20 planes were based there.
He thought the two sod runways were the 2,400' Runway 15/31 & 1,800' Runway 18/36.
John added that there were two hangars at the south end of Runway 18/36.
According to local pilot John Jesse, Angoair Airport was closed in 1963,
when suburban encroachment led to its demise.
The outline of the former runways at Angoair Airpot,
superimposed by Ron Plante over the 1994 USGS aerial photo.
No trace remains of the runways, as mostly residential development has covered the once-open fields.
Avalon Drive overlays the alignment of the former Runway 18/36,
while Runway 15/31 has been replaced by Spruce Hills Drive & residential streets.
Two January 2006 photos by Ron Plante of the front & back of the hangar which still stands at the site of Angoair Airport.
Ron Plante reported in 2006 that “The former hangar was most recently used as a veterinary clinic, but is now empty.
From the front, its past use is hidden by renovation work, but from the back there's no doubt it was once a hangar.”
The site of Angoair Airport is located west of the intersection of Spruce Hills Drive & 18th Street.
Thanks to Ron Plante for pointing out this airfield.
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(Original) Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport / Hunter Field, Cedar Rapids, IA
41.93 North / 91.66 West (East of Des Moines, IA)
An undated aerial view of the original Cedar Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport,
from The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The first Cedar Rapids Airport was located 3 miles south of the center of the town,
on the west side of the main north/south highway.
According to the Linn County Historical Society,
when military pilot Dan Hunter came home to Cedar Rapids from the First World War,
he was determined to launch a career as a civilian pilot.
However, Cedar Rapids lacked an airport.
Hunter acquired a surplus warplane and spent the early 1920s as a stunt flyer,
operating Hunter’s Flying Circus from a pasture
In 1924, he moved his one-man aviation service to farmland just north of Highway 30.
Hunter rented the property from the Chamber of Commerce (& later the City of Cedar Rapids)
and ran the airport under the name of Cedar Rapids Airways.
The airport had a dirt runway that was relatively short & lined by trees,
so its early use was limited by weather conditions & the availability of daylight.
Despite the field’s drawbacks, Boeing Air Transport, which later merged into United Airlines,
signed up to route its new air mail service through Cedar Rapids, with the first flight arriving on July 10, 1928.
Passengers could ride in cramped quarters (with the mail) to Chicago for the princely sum of $21,
provided they brought their own lunch, thermos, and cotton for their ears.
The earliest depiction which has been located of the original Cedar Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport
was in The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Cedar Rapids as a commercial airport, consisting of a 110-acre triangular sod field,
measuring 2,640' x 2,200' x 2,800'.
The photo depicted the field simply as an open grass field,
with a hangar in the southeast corner (which was said to have “Cedar Rapids Airport” painted on the roof).
The operator was listed as Cedar Rapids Airways Inc.,
and the manager was listed as D.F. Hunter.
An undated (circa 1930s?) aerial view looking northeast at Hunter Field,
from a historical display inside the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport (2006 photo by Paul Freeman).
The field was depicted as having 4 unpaved runways,
with a cluster of buildings in the southeast corner.
Dan Hunter, local businessmen, and the city gradually made improvements to the field,
with service sometimes being cut off for a time as upgrades were made to accommodate newer, larger planes.
The earliest chart depiction which has been located of the original Cedar Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport
was on the June 1937 Des Moines Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Cedar Rapids as a commercial/municipal field.
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Cedar Rapids Municipal as consisting of a 140-acre irregularly-shaped sod field,
having 4 crushed-rock runways, with the longest being a 2,000' northeast/southwest strip.
A 1937-39 USDA aerial photo of Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport (from the IA Geographic Map Server, via Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the field as having 4 runways, with a small cluster of buildings on the southeast side of the field.
In 1939, Jim Wathan, a former student of Dan Hunter, went to work for Hunter as a flight instructor.
The Airport Directory Company's 1939 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Cedar Rapids Municipal as consisting of a 140-acre irregularly-shaped sod field,
having 4 crushed-rock runways, with the longest being a 2,250' northwest/southeast strip.
In the late 1930s, as the specter of war grew, the government stepped up its efforts to train civilian pilots,
and Cedar Rapids Municipal was used for this purpose.
When war broke out, the field served as a base for a War Training Service pilot program at Coe College
that was one of the largest in the Midwest.
At one time, there were as many as 70 instructors & 300 students in the program.
In 1944, Wathan & Hunter went into business together, forming a partnership that lasted until 1952.
At some point between 1937-44, the airport was evidently renamed Hunter Field,
as that is how it was labeled on the March 1944 Des Moines Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
After the war, former soldiers, taking advantage of the G. I. Bill,
flocked in droves to flight training at Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport.
Due to limitations when conducting flight operations in bad weather at the relatively small Hunter Field,
a larger Cedar Rapids Airport was established in 1947 a few miles to the southwest.
But Hunter Field continued to operate as a general aviation airport for at least another decade.
The 1948 Iowa Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Hunter Field as having 4 gravel & turf runways,
with the longest being the 2,640' Runway 4/22.
Buildings were depicted on the south & southeast sides of the field.
The field was said to offer repairs, hangars, tiedowns, flight instruction, and charter.
The operator was listed as Hunter Flying Service Inc.,
and the manager was listed as Jim Wathan.
An undated aerial photo looking north at Hunter Field,
from the 1952 Iowa Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted several light planes along the south side of the field.
It described the field as having 4 gravel runways,
with the longest being the 2,700' northeast/southwest strip.
The operator was listed as Hunter Flying Service Inc.,
and the manager was listed as Jim Wathan.
The last depiction which has been located of the original Cedar Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport
was on the June 1955 Des Moines Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Hunter Field as having a 2,700' unpaved runway.
The last directory listing which has been located of Hunter Field
was in the 1957-58 Aviation Week Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
Dan Hunter retired in 1958 & sold his land for industrial development.
Hunter Field no longer depicted on the June 1959 Des Moines Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
No trace of the former Hunter Field was recognizable in the 1990 USGS aerial photo -
the site had been covered over by commercial buildings.
As of 2003, the site of Hunter Field was occupied by Midland Forge & the Gazette Printing Plant
(according to the Linn County Historical Society).
The alignment of the 4 runways from Hunter Field were superimposed by Chris Kennedy over a 2006 aerial view of the site of the airport.
The site of Hunter Field is located northwest of the intersection of Highway 30 & Bowling Street SW.
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John Deere Dubuque Tractor Works Airfield, Sageville, IA
42.57 North / 90.71 West (Northeast of Des Moines, IA)
The John Deere Airfield, as depicted on the November 1976 Chicago Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This private airfield was apparently built for the use of the John Deere Dubuque Works
which is just to the east of the airfield.
The Deere Landing Strip was apparently built at some point between 1971-76,
as it was not depicted on the May 1971 Chicago Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
It may have been built later than 1974,
as it was not depicted at all on the 1974 USGS topo map
(but that does not necessarily prove it was not extant by that point).
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was in the 1976 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described the " John Deere Dubuque Tractor Works" Airfield
as a private airfield having a single 4,000' concrete runway 14/32.
The earliest depiction of the Deere airfield which has been located
was on the November 1976 Chicago Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The May 1977 Chicago Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Deere as a private airfield having a single 4,000' paved runway.
"Deere Landing Strip", as depicted on the 1984 USGS topo map.
As of the 1994 USGS aerial photo, the Deere airfield consisted of a single 4,200' paved runway,
with an unusual complement of 4 turn-around loops.
The runway was not marked with closed runway symbols,
so the airfield may still have been in use as of 1994.
A single building sat to the east of the runway,
but it was not apparent if this was a hangar.
A 2002 aerial photo of the Deere airfield, from the Iowa Geographic Map Server (via Chris Kennedy).
The Deere Landing Strip was apparently closed at some point between 1994-2002,
as the airfield was clearly marked with several closed runway "X" symbols in the above 2002 aerial photo.
A new paved area had also been added adjacent to the northwest side of the runway,
with a fairly large building within it.
The airfield was not depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield) on 2003 aeronautical charts,
and no airfield at the site was listed in the 2003 Airport Facility Directory.
The site of the Deere Landing Strip is located north of the intersection of Route 52 & Route 386.
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