Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Kansas: Wichita area
© 2002, © 2006 by Paul Freeman. Revised 3/8/06.
Rawdon Field / Copeland Field / Beech North Airport (revised 7/14/05) - (Original) Salina Airport (revised 3/8/06)
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Rawdon Field / Copeland Field / Beech North Airport (K31), Wichita, KS
37.7 North / 97.21 West (East of Downtown Wichita, KS)
Rawdon Airport, as depicted on the August 1941 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This airfield was originally named Rawdon Airport.
It was the home Rawdon Brothers & Rawdon-Burnham Company,
an aircraft manufacturing firm.
Herb Rawdon was the designer, Dutch Rawdon was the pilot,
and Gene Rawdon was the business manager.
The date of construction of Rawdon Airport is unknown.
According to the Kansas Aviation Museum, the Rawdon Brothers Flying Service was organized in 1940
as a partnership for the purpose of running a flight school, operating a commercial airport, and performing related flying services.
The earliest depiction of Rawdon Field which has been located
was on the August 1941 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Rawdon as a commercial airport.
The 1945 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Rawdon as a commercial airport.
According to the Kansas Aviation Museum, Rawdon Brothers Aircraft Inc.
was incorporated while in facilities on Rawdon Field on July 1, 1947,
with the partners of Rawdon Brothers Flying Service serving as principal stockholders.
The Corporation continued with the flying school & airport activities.
It also established a small factory for the production of aircraft parts & assemblies.
The Company also designed & produced a prototype airplane for the training market.
The Rawdon T-1 was a two-place tail wheel airplane with a tandem cockpit, metal airframe, fabric wings, and a 125 HP engine.
The aircraft secured CAA approval in September 1947, but was not immediately placed into production.
The GI flight training program for which the airplane was designed
had peaked the year earlier & was rapidly being terminated.
During 1948, production of most all two-place trainer airplanes by most all manufacturers was terminated
and a large inventory of unsold airplanes existed.
When the GI training program was terminated the need for two-place airplanes had abruptly stopped.
In addition, the market was flooded with a large number of unneeded used airplanes,
which had been used by flight schools for the GI program.
The large inventory of unsold airplanes created severe financial hardships for most of the manufacturers.
Bob Heath reported, "I own a J-3C-65 Cub that was once owned by the Rawdon Brothers
and operated out of Rawdon Field in January-November 1948."
In 1948 the company started the manufacturing of aircraft parts,
then in 1949 began producing parts for crop spraying equipment for installation on war surplus Stearman airplanes.
When the Korean Conflict began, the federal government was again interested in purchasing aircraft.
Rawdon was extensively involved in producing aircraft sub-assemblies,
including wing panel assemblies, tail surface assemblies, pilot seats,
cabin doors, windshields, and other furnishings for the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog.
The company produced a number of conversions for the PT-17, BT-13, BT-15,
and even the Beech Model 35 Bonanza which were authorized under the Type Certificate of the airframe manufacturer.
The Company also worked as a sub-contractor for Continental Can as a primary contractor for the Air Force.
During this time Rawdon accumulated valuable experience in production techniques.
The design for the Company airplane was continuously revised,
awaiting the time when conditions were appropriate to introduce it to the market.
A few airplanes were produced & sold to friends of the company.
Crop spraying equipment was designed and added to the airplanes.
A metal wing was designed to replace the fabric covered wing.
Engines of 135, 150, and 180 HP were also certified.
Production continued at Rawdon for a number of years with a few hundred airplanes produced.
The airplane was sold as a general trainer, aerobatic trainer, and crop duster.
Some airplanes were sold to foreign countries for use as trainers for military pilots.
The 1949 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Rawdon as having three sod runways, with the longest being the 2,550' northwest/southeast strip.
Four buildings (hangars?) were situated on the southwest corner of the field.
The airport was said to offer repairs & fuel, and the manager was listed as Gene Rawdon.
Jim Wickham recalled, “My father personally knew the Rawdons as he worked at Boeing Stearman from about 1938-50.
Rawdon Field did not have a paved field the summer 1959, the last time that my dad landed there in the Bluebird.
Also at that time there a couple of the Rawdon tandem 2-seat low wings were in their hangar.”
According to Fort Zackary, “U.L. 'Rip' Gooch had the Fixed Base Operation there in the 1960s.”
The runway at Rawdon was evidently paved at some point between 1959-71,
as the 1971 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Vince Granato)
described the field as having a single 2,500' paved runway.
At some point between 1971-82, the field was renamed Copeland Airport,
as that is how it was listed in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury).
It was described as having a single 2,550' asphalt Runway 17/35,
and listed the operators as Copeland Aviation Inc. & Flight Specialists Inc.
In addition to the single runway, the 1982 USGS topo map depicted a taxiway,
a small ramp area & a set of small hangars at the south end of the runway.
At some point between 1982-85, the airfield was renamed “Beech North Airport”, after having been purchased by Beechcraft,
as that is how it was depicted on the June 1985 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
It depicted Beech North Airport as having a single 2,500' paved runway.
The 1986 AOPA Airports USA Directory (courtesy of David Brooks)
described Beech North Airport as having a single 2,550' asphalt Runway 17/35.
The 1994 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of David Brooks)
depicted Beech North Airport as having a single 2,539' asphalt Runway 17/35,
along with a ramp at the southwest end with several hangars.
The diagram also depicted the proximity of the Beech Factory & its runway, just across Central Avenue to the southwest.
The field was described as consisting of a total of 62 acres,
and the remarks said, “Fuel & assistance available at Beech Factory Airport.”
Beech North Airport was apparently closed at some point between 1994-96,
as the 1996 USGS aerial picture showed that the runway had been covered by construction,
making way for an expansion of the runway of the Beech Factory Airfield, which sits adjacent to the south.
The majority of the length of the former runway was still visible, marked with closed-runway "X" symbols,
although the center portion of the runway had been bisected by construction.
Today, not a trace remains of the former Copeland Field.
A circa 1996-2005 aerial photo shows that the former airport has been covered by a new runway of Raytheon (Beech) Airfield,
which extends across Central Avenue.
John Davis reported in 2005, “This airfield is now totally incorporated in the Raytheon (Beech) Airfield;
which is why it does not appear - even on sectionals.
One, or two, of the buildings still stand - in use by Raytheon.”
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(Original) Salina Airport, Salina, KS
38.82 North / 97.57 West (Northwest of Wichita, KS)
The Salina Airport, as depicted on the 1933 Salina Sectional Chart (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell).
This abandoned airfield is located east of the city of Salina.
It was previously the municipal airport for the town of Salina.
The date of construction of the field is unknown, but it was apparently built prior to 1933,
as it is depicted as a civil airport on the 1933 Salina Sectional Chart (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell).
Airline service was provided at Salina Airport by Continental Airlines & Central Airlines.
The Airport Directory Company's 1938 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described the Salina Municipal Airport as having a total of four sod & clay runways,
with the longest being a 2,600' northwest/southeast strip.
The 1949 KS Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Salina Municipal Airport as having a single 4,800' concrete north/south runway,
along with two shorter sod runways along the northwestern corner of the field.
A paved taxiway along the western side of the concrete runway
led to 5 buildings (hangars?) on the northern edge of the field.
The airport was said to offer repairs & fuel, and the manager was listed as C. I. Aspergen.
When the much-larger former Schilling AFB (located southwest of the city) closed in 1965-66,
civil operations moved to the larger field, and the original airport was closed.
The original airport was depicted as an abandoned airfield
on the 1971 Wichita Sectional Chart (courtesy of Vince Granato).
Mike Hamblin lived in Salina from 1967-68. He recalled, “The original Salina Airport... in the late 1960s
was used as an auxiliary helicopter base by the U.S. Army out of Ft. Riley (the 1st Air Cavalry).
I remember my cousin telling me about it during an airshow at Schilling & later I went there to see for myself.
I observed about 7-8 UH-1s parked on the ramp.”
As it existed in the 1991 USGS aerial photo, the airfield consisted of a single 6,300' concrete runway,
a parallel taxiway and a ramp area.
It did not appear as if any hangars or other airfield buildings remained standing.
As can be seen in the above picture,
it was being progressively converted into baseball diamonds.
Senior Airport Planner Brad Weisenburger recalled,
"I went to college in Salina & worked at the golf course that is next to the ball fields.
The parallel taxiway is now Markley Road,
it connects Crawford Street on the north to Magnolia Street on the south.
The former commercial passenger terminal building is the golf course clubhouse.
One former hangar remains it is used for equipment for the golf course.
The former apron area is parking for the golf course."
A 2006 photo by Jon Karkow, looking northwest at the former hangars which remain at the site of the original Salina Airport.
A 2006 photo by Jon Karkow, looking northwest at the former terminal building at the site of the original Salina Airport.
A 2006 photo by Jon Karkow, looking south from the north end of the former runway at the site of the original Salina Airport.
Thanks to John Vickers for contributing information about this field.
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