Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Southwestern Louisiana
© 2002, © 2004 by Paul Freeman. Revised 4/18/04
Louisiana Flyers Airport / East Lake Charles Airport (4R5), Lake Charles, LA
30.22 North / 93.14 West (West of New Orleans, LA)
Louisiana Flyers Airport, as depicted on the September 1964 Beaumont Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
This little grass airfield was built in a very unusual location:
a mere 700' east of the main runway of the former Chenault AFB.
The date of construction of the airport has not been determined.
The earliest reference to the airfield which has been located
came from Lawrence Dugas, who recalled, “I learned to fly on the grass strip in Lake Charles in 1957.
I was stationed at Chennault AFB until 1960.
There was a flying club there for the men in the Air Force.
Louisiana Flyers operated there & Ray Lambert had a maintenance shop there
and did work for McFillian who was the Piper dealer & operated a Fixed Base Operator at South Lake Charles.
I worked as a mechanic helper with Ray for about three years.”
This airfield was not yet listed among active airfields in the 1963 AOPA Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of this airfield which has been located
was on the September 1964 Beaumont Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Aerodromes table on the chart described the Louisiana Flyers Airport as having a single 3,240' turf runway.
The adjacent Chenault AFB was apparently already closed at that point,
but it is not known why a separate airfield would have been established only 700' away from Chenault's runway.
It was apparently renamed "East Lake Charles" Airport at some point in the next 3 years,
as that is how it was listed in the 1967 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described the field as having a single 3,000' sod Runway 15/33,
and said that it was operated by Louisiana Flyers Inc. & Lambert Aircraft Service.
The field was said to offer charter, tiedowns, fuel, and repairs.
East Lake Charles Airport, as depicted in the 1979 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The runway at East Lake Charles has apparently been lengthened somewhat at some point within the next 12 years,
as the 1979 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) depicted the field as having a single 3,850' Runway 15/33.
A parallel taxiway on the east side led to a ramp at the northeast corner of the field,
with a total of nine small buildings (hangars?).
East Lake Charles was still listed as an active airport in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury).
The 1996 USGS topo map still depicted East Lake Charles Airport,
adjacent to the runway of the reopened Chenault Field,
but that does not necessarily indicate it was still open at that point.
As seen in the 1998 USGS aerial photo,
the grass runway of East Lake Charles Airport still remained intact,
as well as the group of small hangars at the northeast corner of the field.
But there was no indication that the field was still open at that point.
The East Lake Charles Airport evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1982-2000,
as it was no longer listed among active airfields in the 2000 AOPA Airport Directory.
The site of East Lake Charles Airport is located east of Chenault Field's main runway,
and west of the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks.
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