Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Western Kansas
© 2002, © 2005 by Paul Freeman. Revised 5/13/05.
Garden City Aux AAF #1 (revised 1/13/04)- Garden City Aux AAF #2 (added 9/29/03)
Garden City Aux AAF #3 (added 9/29/03) - (Original) Garden City Municipal Airport (revised 5/13/05)
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(Original) Garden City Municipal Airport, Garden City, KS
37.97 North / 100.82 West (West of Wichita, KS)
The original Garden City Airport,
as depicted on the 1929 Rand McNally Standard Indexed Map with Air Trails of KS (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The original Garden City Municipal Airport was located approximately 2 miles east of the center of the town.
The Garden City Airport was evidently constructed in 1928,
as described in an article by Murriel Keiser in the 4/23/28 issue of Aviation Magazine (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It said “With the errection of an airport, the installation of a Porterfield Flying School,
and the organization of an N.A.A. Chapter, Garden City has become a center of air travel in southwestern KS.
One winged cavalcade flew into the airport shortly after its completion this spring.
The airport is bordered by a 4' white lime ribbon which marks the edge of a 1,320' x 2,640' field.
Twenty acres of sod near the administration building affords ample space for small planes to takeoff & land.”
The earliest depiction of the original Garden City Airport which has been located
was on the 1929 Rand McNally Standard Indexed Map with Air Trails of KS (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Garden City as a municipal field, operated by C.B. Eggen.
The field was described as measuring 2,640' x 1,320'.
An aerial view of the original Garden City Municipal Airport,
from The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airports Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The directory described Garden City Municipal Airport as consisting of a 160-acre square sod field,
having two 2,600' cinder runways, oriented north/south & east/west.
The field was said to provide fuel, repairs, and storage.
The operator was listed as the Garden City Flying Service.
The The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Garden City Municipal Airport as having a 2,600' square sod landing area.
According to Drew Van Horne, "Continental Air Lines inaugurated service into the Original Garden City Municipal Airport
late in 1938 utilizing Lockheed 10-E equipment on a Denver to Wichita routing via Colorado Springs,
Pueblo (original airport) and Garden City with 1 flight a day in each direction."
The Garden City Airport was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 4,300' unpaved runway,
which the remarks said was "unsafe for heavy aircraft."
Garden City Airport, as depicted on the 1945 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
After the much larger Garden City Army Airfield (to the southeast) had been declared excess by the military in 1947,
it became the new Municipal Airport for the town of Garden City.
The old airport apparently continued in operation for a few more years though,
as both the old airport, labeled "Garden City (Mun)", and the "New Garden City" Airport
were depicted on the March 1949 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
"Garden City Municipal Airport",
as depicted in the 1949 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1949 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Garden City Municipal Airport as having four sod runways,
with the longest being the 4,422' northwest/southeast strip.
A total of four buildings (hangars?) were situated at the southeast corner of the field.
The airport offered repairs & fuel, and the operator was listed as M. M. Higins.
The original Garden City Municipal Airport was still depicted as an active airfield
on the October 1950 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to Drew Van Horne, "The latest reference I could find for the Original [Garden City] Airport
was in my 1956 Aviation Week Airport & Business Flying Directory."
It described the Garden City Airport at 37-57/100-49 as having three unpaved runways,
with the longest being a 4,422' north-northwest/south-southeast strip.
"My next edition in 1961 does not list the airport,
so the airport was presumably closed down sometime between 1956-61."
As seen in the northwest corner of the 1991 USGS aerial photo,
the outline of at least two of the former runways
were still recognizable at the site of the original Garden City Municipal Airport.
None of the buildings on the eastern portion of the site seemed to date from the airport days, though,
as none of them seemed to match the layout of the buildings from the 1949 airport directory.
The site of the original Garden City Municipal Airport
is located northwest of the intersection of Route 50 & North Farmland Road.
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Garden City Aux Army Airfield #1 (30K), Ingalls, KS
37.91 North / 100.53 West (West of Wichita, KS)
Garden City Aux “#1” (along with Garden City AAF & its other auxiliary airfields),
as depicted on the February 1944 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the Garden City Aux #1 airfield while in use has not been located.
Garden City Auxiliary Field #1 was constructed in the 1943
as one of three auxiliary landing fields for the basic flying school located at Garden City AAF (12 miles west).
The site consisted of a total of 640 acres, on which the Army constructed concrete runways,
taxiways, parking area, a control tower & other buildings.
Garden City AAF Aux #1 was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 3,000' hard-surface runway,
which the remarks described as a "3,000' x 2,200' bituminous landing mat."
The earliest depiction of Garden City Auxiliary Field #1 which has been located
was on the February 1944 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
"Garden City AAF (Aux)" & all three of its auxiliary airfields were still depicted
as military airfields on the 1945 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
However, Garden City Aux #1 was declared excess in 1945,
and the site was conveyed to the City of Ingalls in 1948.
"Ingalls Municipal Airport", as depicted in the 1949 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1949 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Ingalls Municipal Airport as having a bituminous landing mat in an "M" shape, measuring 3,000' x 2,200'.
A total of four buildings (hangars?) were situated at the southeast corner of the field.
The airport was not attended and the operator was listed as the Mayor of Ingalls.
"Ingalls" was depicted on the October 1963 Sangre De Christo Mountains World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton)
as having a 3,000' hard-surface runway.
The 1965 Jeppesen Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Ingalls Airport as having a 3,000' paved Runway 17/35,
along with multiple closed runways.
The manager was listed as George Johnson.
As seen in the 1995 USGS aerial photo, the airfield has a very unusual configuration:
it consists of a large concrete pad in the shape of an "M."
This is composed of two concrete runways (each 3,000' x 275'),
joined by a concrete parking area in the center.
None of the original structures remain, except for the runway.
The airfield is now known as Ingalls Municipal Airport,
and is presently being (barely) used as a landing strip for a crop dusting operation.
There are a total of only three single-engine aircraft being listed as based on the field,
although there are no aircraft in evidence in the above picture.
See also:
http://pirs.mvr.usace.army.mil/fuds/e-h/grdnaux2/oe/asr/findings/toc.htm
http://www.hnd.usace.army.mil/OEW/factshts/factshts/gc021000.htm
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Garden City Aux Army Airfield #2, Garden City, KS
38 North / 100.63 West (West of Wichita, KS)
Garden City Aux “#2” (along with Garden City AAF & its other auxiliary airfields),
as depicted on the February 1944 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the Garden City Aux #2 airfield while in use has not been located.
According to a 1995 Army Corps of Engineers Report,
the Army purchased 356 acres at this site in 1943,
to be used as one of three auxiliary airfields to support the basic flying school
at the Garden City Army Air Field (located to the southwest).
"The field consisted of nothing more than bituminous surface landing area & fencing."
Garden City AAF Aux #2 was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 3,000' x 2,200' bituminous landing mat.
The earliest depiction of Garden City Auxiliary Field #2 which has been located
was on the February 1944 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Garden City Aux #2 was still depicted as an active airfield on the 1945 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to the 1995 Army report, the auxiliary field was declared excess in 1945,
and the site was conveyed by quitclaim deed to private individuals in 1948.
Garden City Aux #2 was apparently never reused as a civil airfield,
as it was not depicted at all on the October 1963 Sangre De Christo Mountains World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Donald Felton)
or on USGS topo maps from 1975, 1978, or 1991.
According to the 1995 Army report, "The site has since been converted to cultivated fields
with only minor evidence of broken-up concrete on the site."
As seen in the 1991 USGS aerial photo,
Garden City Aux #2 had a very unusual configuration (which it shares with the other two Garden City Auxiliary Airfields):
it consisted of two 3,000' north/south runways, joined by a parking area in the center, forming an 'M' shape.
From the aerial photo, it appeared as if the asphalt runway surface still existed,
and the shape of the airfield was quite distinctive among the surrounding rectangular farming fields.
Garden City Aux #2 is located southwest of the intersection of East Gray County Line Road & Route 27.
Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.
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Garden City Aux Army Airfield #3, Garden City, KS
38 North / 100.77 West (West of Wichita, KS)
Garden City Aux “#3” (along with Garden City AAF & its other auxiliary airfields),
as depicted on the February 1944 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the Garden City Aux #3 airfield while in use has not been located.
According to a 1995 Army Corps of Engineers Report,
the Army purchased & obtained easements for a total of 297 acres at this site in 1943,
to be used as one of three auxiliary airfields to support the basic flying school
at the Garden City Army Air Field (located to the southeast).
"The Army constructed asphalt roads, concrete runways, wood frame buildings, and fencing."
Garden City AAF Aux #3 was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 3,000' x 2,200' bituminous landing mat.
The earliest depiction of Garden City Auxiliary Field #3 which has been located
was on the February 1944 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Garden City Aux #3 was still depicted as an active airfield on the 1945 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
According to the 1995 Army report, the auxiliary field was declared surplus in 1945,
and the site was conveyed by quitclaim deed to private individuals in 1947.
Garden City Aux #3 was apparently never reused as a civil airfield,
as it was not depicted at all on the March 1949 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was labeled "feedlot" on the 1978 & 1991 USGS topo maps.
According to the 1995 Army report, "The site is presently being used for cropland & a feed lot.
None of the original structures or site improvements remain.
There are only remnants of the runway to mark the facility location."
As seen in the 1991 USGS aerial photo,
the site of Garden City Aux #3 has been reused as a cattle feedlot.
Unlike the other two Garden City Auxiliary Airfields,
the once-distinctive runway layout is no longer recognizable.
Garden City Aux #3 is located northwest of the intersection of East Mary Street & North 16 Mile Road.
Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.
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