Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Northeastern New Mexico
© 2002, © 2012 by Paul Freeman. Revised 1/11/12.
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(Original) Taos Airport / Kachina Airport (revised 1/11/12) - Zia Field (revised 1/11/12)
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(Original) Taos Airport / Kachina Airport, Taos, NM
36.38 North / 105.59 West (Northeast of Albuquerque, NM)
Taos Airport, as depicted on the March 1949 Trinidad Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
The original airport for the town of Taos was located on the southwest side of the town.
The Taos Airport was evidently established at some point between 1945-49,
as it was not yet listed among active airfields in the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
The earliest depiction of the Taos Airport which has been located
was on the March 1949 Trinidad Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Taos as having a 2,900' unpaved runway.
The Taos Airport may have been closed at some point between 1949-57,
as it was not depicted at all on the November 1957 Trinidad Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
At some point between 1957-59, the airport was evidently reopened under the name of "Kachina"
as that is how it was listed in the 1959 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Kachina as having 2 unpaved runways: 3,871, Runway 7/25 & 2,812' Runway 5/23.
Several buildings were depicted around a ramp at the northeast corner of the field.
Kachina Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1959-64,
as the field was labeled simply as "Landing Strip" on the 1964 USGS topo map,
which typically indicates that the airfield was closed by that point.
A single runway at the former Kachina Airport were still depicted on the 1996 USGS topo map,
but it was labeled simply as "Landing Strip".
In the 1997 USGS aerial photo, the outline of Kachina's primary runway was still somewhat recognizable,
even though the majority of the property had been covered with new construction.
The site of Kachina Airport is located west of the intersection of Route 585 & Route 68.
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36.37 North / 105.64 West (Northeast of Albuquerque, NM)
Zia Field, as depicted on the March 1949 Trinidad Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This general aviation airport was evidently established at some point between 1945-49,
as it was not yet listed among active airfields in the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
The earliest reference to Zia Field which has been located
on the March 1949 Trinidad Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Zia as having a 4,700' unpaved runway.
Zia Field had 3 unpaved runways:
4,700' Runway 8/26, 4,600' Runway 5/23, and 3,800' Runway 17/35.
The November 1957 Trinidad Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks)
depicted Zia Field as having a 4,700' unpaved runways.
The 3 runways of Zia Field were still depicted on the 1964 USGS topo map,
but it was labeled simply as "Landing Field".
An unpaved ramp was also depicted, east of the runway intersection, but no buildings were depicted.
Zia Field was described in the "Unattended Airports" section of the 1967 Flight Guide (according to Chris Kennedy)
as having 3 unpaved runways: 4,600' Runway 5/23, 2,700' Runway 8/26, and 3,800' Runway 17/35.
The last chart depiction of Zia as an active airfield which has been located
was on the February 1968 Trinidad Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
Zia Field was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1968-79.
The 3 runways of Zia Field were still depicted on the 1979 USGS topo map,
but they were labeled simply as "Landing Strips", which typically indicates that the airfield was closed by that point.
The 3 runways of Zia Field were still depicted on the 1996 USGS topo map,
but it was labeled simply as "Landing Field".
An unpaved ramp was also depicted, east of the runway intersection,
but no buildings were depicted.
As can be seen in the 1997 USGS aerial photo, the site of Zia Field has been covered with residential streets & houses.
However, remarkably, the outline of all 3 former runways were still apparent,
around & through the streets which have otherwise covered the site.
It does not appear as if any airfield buildings have remained at the site.
Zia Field is located west of the intersection of Cuchilla Road & West Romero Road.
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