Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Northwestern Missouri
© 2002, © 2006 by Paul Freeman. Revised 10/27/06.
Brookfield Memorial / Pershing Memorial Airport (added 6/7/06) - Heart of America Airport / Heart Airport (revised 7/17/05)
Old Richards Airport / Ong Airport (revised 7/10/04) - Grandview Airport / Richards Gebaur AFB (revised 10/27/06)
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Brookfield Memorial Airport / General Pershing Memorial Airport,
Brookfield, MO
39.76 North / 93.11 West (Northeast of Kansas City, MO)
Brookfield Memorial Airport, as depicted on the August 1967 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
The original airport for the town of Brookfield was located on the southwest side of the town.
Brookfield Memorial Airport was evidently established at some point between 1966-67,
as it was not yet depicted at all on the February 1966 Kansas City Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of Brookfield Memorial Airport which has been located
was on the August 1967 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Brookfield as having a 2,600' paved runway.
The 1980 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Brookfield Memorial as having a single 2,600' paved Runway 17/35
and a 2,200' unpaved Runway 7/25.
A Non-Directional Beacon navaid was depicted just northwest of the runway intersection.
The airport was still listed as Brookfield Memorial in the 1982 AOPA Airports USA Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
At some point between 1982-86, the field was evidently renamed as “Pershing Memorial”,
as that is how it was depicted in the 1986 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The paved Runway 17/35 had been slightly lengthened to 3,000',
and the field continued to have a 2,200' crosswind unpaved Runway 7/25.
A Non-Directional Beacon navaid was depicted just northwest of the runway intersection.
The 1997 USGS aerial photo of Pershing Memorial Airport showed the airport
to have a single paved Runway 17/35, as well as a grass crosswind runway
(note the single-engine aircraft on the grass runway).
A ramp & a cluster of hangars was located on the northwest corner of the field.
The last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of General Pershing Memorial Airport
was on the June 2004 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the field as having a 3,000' north/south paved runway, and an NDB beacon.
A circa 1990-2005 aerial view looking south at the Pershing Memorial Airport.
General Pershing Memorial Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 2004-2006,
as it was depicted as an abandoned airfield on the 2006 Sectional Chart.
General Pershing Memorial Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Husk Road & Huron Drive.
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Old Richards Airport / Ong Airport, Raytown, MO
38.99 North / 94.47 West (Southeast of St. Louis, MO)
Old Richards Airport, as depicted on the January 1941 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This former general aviation airport evidently dated back to before 1933,
and was reportedly "the first Kansas City air terminal."
The earliest reference to Old Richards Airport which has been located
was in the Department of Commerce's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Old Richards as a commercial airport, having a 2,640' x 1,700' rectangular sod field.
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Old Richards as having a single 2,600' north/south sod runway.
A hangar was said to have "Old Richards" painted on the roof.
An aerial view looking east at the Old Richards Airport
from the Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airports Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The field was described as having a total of 4 sod landing strips, with the longest being the 2,600' northeast/southwest strip.
A hangar was said to have "Old Richards" painted on the roof.
An advertisement for the Ong Aircraft Corporation
from The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airports Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The field was reportedly renamed Ong Airport in 1943.
Ong Airport was described in the April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 2,600' unpaved runway.
An advertisement for the Ong Airport from the Haire Publishing Company's 1945 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The directory described Ong Airport as being owned & operated by the Ong Aircraft Corporation.
The field was said to have a total of 4 sod runways,
with the longest being a 2,800' northeast/southwest strip.
An aerial view of Ong Airport from the 1947 MO Airport Directory (courtesy of Stephen Mahaley).
The field was described as being owned by William Ong.
It was said to have 3 turf strips, with the longest being the 2,600' northwest/southeast strip.
The field was said to offer hangars, repairs, fuel, and tie-downs.
Ong Airport was still depicted on the September 1948 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Steve Vaughn recalled, "My dad [Larry Vaughn] was the operations manager for the airport
until his death in a plane crash at the airport in October 1950.
Mr. Ong also had a crop dusting business out of the airport.
Ong Air Corporation announced in June that the land would be transformed into housing.
The airport closed in late 1950.”
Ong Airport was evidently closed at some point between 1950-53,
to make room for more houses (such a common fate for general aviation airports).
Mike Hartman recalled, "I grew up in the subdivision that was just being built on the property.
The old hanger, a few military style buildings & the Ong Aircraft buildings were still there in 1953.
My Dad purchased our house in 1953 on 72nd Terrace from Bill Ong & Grace McAdams Harris.
As a child I and other kids played around the old hangar that contained old biplanes.
Wow! What a blast for a bunch of kids.
The old buildings were soon torn down in around 1956 for more new houses."
In 1979, the Raytown Historical Society commemorated the site of "Richards Flying Field".
As seen in the 1997 USGS aerial photo, the site of the former airport has been covered by a residential development,
and not a trace of the former airport appears to remain.
The site of Ong Airport is located southeast of the intersection of East Gregory Boulevard & Blue Ridge Boulevard.
The names of the airport live on,
as one of the streets in the residential neighborhood at the site is "Richards Drive",
and "Ong Lake" is located on the southeast corner of the property.
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Heart of America Airport / Heart Airport (MO06), Kansas City, MO
39.08 North / 94.51 West (Southeast of Kansas City Downtown Airport, MO)
"Hearts of America" Airport, as depicted on the September 1946 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The date of construction of this former small general aviation airport is unknown.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was on the September 1946 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted "Heart of America" as a commercial airport.
A view looking north at "Heart of America" Airport from the 1947 MO Airport Directory, courtesy of Stephen Mahaley.
The field was described as having 3 "turf & chat strips",
with the longest being a 2,250' northeast/southwest runway.
The manager was listed as C.H. McMillan.
Heart Airport was listed in the 1971 Flight Guide (according to Chris Kennedy)
as having a single 1,800' paved Runway 4/22,
but the other 2 runways had apparently been abandoned.
Heart Airport was depicted as a private field on the St. Louis local insert
of the July 1973 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Interestingly, Heart was not depicted on the main portion of the chart - was the chart too crowded?
Heart was described as having an 1,800' runway.
The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)
described Heart Airport as having a 2,760' asphalt Runway 3/21.
The operator was listed as Heart Flying Service.
According to Piedmont pilot Justin Lawlor,
Heart Airport was destroyed by the 1993 flooding.
The owners keep trying to resurrect it,
but being located with the Class B airspace of Kansas City International,
within the city limits of a major city,
and within a mile of a sports stadium probably preclude this prospect.
In addition to the single runway, the airfield had a parallel taxiway, a ramp area & one hangar.
In the 1997 USGS aerial photo, the airport was still completely intact, without any redevelopment,
although it appeared the former ramp area was being used for storage.
Unfortunately, a circa 2000-2005 USGS aerial photo showed that the runway
of the former Heart Airport had been completely removed at some point after 1997,
with not even a trace remaining of the runway.
However, the former hangar remained intact, at the southwest corner.
Heart Airport is located on the east bank of the Blue River,
northwest of the intersection of I-70 & I-435.
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Grandview Airport / Richards Gebaur AFB / Richards Gebaur Airport (GVW), Grandview, MO
38.84 North / 94.56 West (South of Kansas City, MO)
"Kansas City Grandview" Airport,
as depicted on the September 1946 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Grandview Airport was built in 1941 on land owned by the City of Kansas City, MO.
The earliest dated depiction which has been located of the Grandview Airport
was on the on the September 1946 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted “Kansas City Grandview” as a commercial/municipal field.
"Kansas City Grandview" Airport was depicted on the 1949 Kansas City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
and was described as having a 5,500' hard-surface runway.
In 1955, the city deeded the property free of charge to the federal government, which established Grandview AFB.
The base was used by the Air Defense Command starting in 1956.
It was renamed Richards Gebaur AFB in 1957.
In 1970, the use of Richards Gebaur shifted from the Air Defense Command to AFCS.
A 1973 aerial view looking north at Richards-Gebaur AFB.
An undated photo of the Richards Gebaur AFB tower.
With reductions in Air Force activity at the base, 1,362 acres were declared as surplus property in 1976.
In 1977, the use of Richards Gebaur shifted from the AFCS to the Air Force's Military Airlift Command.
In 1980 the active-duty Air Force use of Richards-Gebaur AFB came to an end,
with the Air Force Reserve becoming the facility's primary military user.
The field was renamed Richards-Gebaur Airport,
and presumably was opened to civilian flight operations at that point.
A 1981airport diagram (courtesy of Eric James) depicted Richards-Gebaur Airport
as having a single 9,000' paved Runway 18/36, along with 2 other former runways.
The notes included “Tactical C-130 aircraft training flights & parachute activity.”
In 1985, the United States conveyed this land back to Kansas City.
This conveyance required the city to use the property as a public use airport,
and it established the Richards-Gebaur Airport.
Between 1986-94, the city had accepted $12 million
in federal Airport Improvement Program funds for airport development,
and each grant required the city to give written assurances
that the airport would be available to the public for aeronautical use.
The Reserve installation at Richards-Gebaur was closed by the Air Force in 1994.
A 1997 USGS aerial photo of the Richards-Gebaur Airport, while the field was still open.
A close-up from the 1997 USGS aerial photo, showing a grand total of only 6 light single-engine aircraft on the entire field.
For several years, the Richards-Gebaur Airport had consistently lost money.
In 1997, in an effort to pursue an opportunity to redevelop the land into an intermodal rail-truck freight distribution center,
Kansas City submitted an application to the FAA requesting permission to close the airport
and seeking to be released from its federal obligations & assurances to maintain the property
for public aeronautical use under the Surplus Property Act & the Airport Improvement Program.
The local government closed the airport in 1999
in violation of federal laws concerning use of federal airport grant funds.
The decision to close the airport was bitterly contested by the Friends of Richards-Gebaur Airport
& the city of Grandview, MO.
At the time of its closure, the airfield consisted of 2 large runways (the longest, 1/19, is 8,700' long),
numerous taxiways, ramps & hangars.
According to Rick Morgan, "The field portion of the former Richards-Gebaur AFB
was sold to Kansas City Southern Industries,
who converted it into the Kansas City International Freight Gateway,
an intermodal & automobile trans-shipment facility.
The remainder of the base is still used by governmental & light industry applications."
A circa 2000-2005 USGS aerial photo looking south at the former Richards-Gebaur AFB,
showing the massive airfield going to waste.
A 2002 photo by Tim Tyler of the entrance sign of the former Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport.
A 2002 photo by Tim Tyler of the abandoned control tower at Richards-Gebaur.
A 2002 photo by Tim Tyler of Richards-Gebaur AFB's massive former SAGE blockhouse (a former air defense control center).
A 2002 photo by Tim Tyler of abandoned former Weapons Storage Area bunkers at Richards-Gebaur.
A 2005 photo by Scott Murdock of Richard Gebaur's “type 4 Air Defense Direction Center (which preceded the SAGE DC).
This somewhat-hardened, gas proof building seems to be abandoned, and the dense brush really obfuscated my photographic intentions.”
Two 2005 photos by Scott Murdock of the front & back
of Richard Gebaur's former fighter-interceptor alert hangars at the north end of the field.
“This was one of the first-generation ADC hangars, built by Butler, and has the modified (bulged) rear doors.
The hangar seems to be in very good condition, except for a cinder block infill under the control booth.”
A series of 2005 photos by Scott Murdock of the wide variety of former Air Force hangars which remain intact at Richard Gebaur.
What a shame to see all of this substantial infrastructure not reused for any other form of aviation.
Mike Mays reported in 2005, “This past July I returned to Richards-Gebaur AFB after 30 years.
I must say that it was disheartening to see the place - with all its potential, to be so under-utilized.
What community couldn’t use a good hospital?
Yet, the Richards-Gebaur AFB Hospital, like so many other nice buildings, was leveled.
The JAG’s & Base Commander’s building was gone, the big HQ building was gone,
the Security Police building (including small jail) was a grass lot.
Just doesn’t seem to make sense.
And the flight-line has basically gone to pot.”
Ian Beyer reported in 2005, “I do a fair amount of work at Richards-Gebaur these days -
The US Marine Corps is a pretty heavy user of the place (has been since the late 1990s),
but BRAC recently recommended moving MOBCOM (formerly known as MCRSC) to New Orleans.
Due to Hurricane Katrina, there is a fairly substantial number of transient personnel
at the Marine facilities for an indefinite period of time.
The Marines have invested a fair amount of money rehabbing several of the buildings,
as well as building some new ones.
Even if BRAC goes ahead & moves MOBCOM out of the place,
it's still home to the 9th Marine Corps District & the 24th Marine Regiment (in Building 710, the old Air Force HQ Building).
I've also heard the several other Marine administrative functions
currently housed in leased space at the Bannister Federal Complex
would be relocating to space at Richards-Gebaur vacated by MOBCOM.
The bulk of the Kansas City piece of MOBCOM operates in a building (#100)
across from the SAGE blockhouse that appears to have been constructed in the late 1990s.
In 2004, the Marines also completed a new 4-story barracks building to replace Building 252.
There's a heavy equipment auctioneer that uses space on the east-west closed runway,
and I believe they store some additional equipment in the hangars.
I've seen the hangar doors open as recently as a few weeks ago.
Still a shame they decommissioned Runway 18/36 & used it as a big parking lot.
Even if they were to decide it made a good runway again,
aircraft ops would be severely hindered by a new high-voltage transmission line
at the south end that was completed last spring.”
An article entitled “Old airport land sale is expected” by Rick Alm appeared on the 11/17/05 issue of the Kansas City Star:
“City officials today are expected to announce the sale of most of the Richards-Gebaur Airport land
to a Chicago area industrial developer, CenterPoint Properties Trust.
The agreement with CenterPoint would be a big step forward
for the long-anticipated redevelopment of the former Air Force base as a regional cargo transit hub.
City officials said the details of the sale would be released today.
City Council member Chuck Eddy said Wednesday that the sale would be for market value.
In a presentation to city officials & others set for today,
CenterPoint officials are expected to outline their plan for a public-private partnership
that would redevelop more than 900 acres of the nearly 1,400-acre airport site,
creating an estimated 3,000 jobs when completed.”
The article continued, “When the project was announced in late 2003,
Mayor Kay Barnes said early planning called for development of 13 million square feet
of industrial & commercial buildings for use by a variety of industries.
At the time city officials estimated the project could create 4,000 jobs with capital investment totaling $520 million.
The Kansas City Port Authority in 2003 designated CenterPoint & Kansas City-based Hunt Midwest Enterprises
as co-master developers of the airport tract, which it manages for the city.
Hunt later backed out as a master developer, but Lee Derrough, president & chief executive officer,
said Wednesday that the company was actively negotiating with the Port Authority for development rights beneath the airport.
Derrough said he hoped to announce a deal before the end of the year
to mine & develop several million underground square feet as warehouse & industrial space.”
A 2006 photo by Duncan McPhail of the runway light control panel inside the abandoned Richards-Gebaur control tower.
Note the legend on the crosswind runway for the “Future Runway 6/24”.
See also: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/richards-gebaur.htm
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