The Future Takes Wing: San Diego International Airport: 75 Years of Flight 9780974529400

Citation preview

es AN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPO

75 YEARS OF FLIGH

SAN DIEGO COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY Operato r of

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

ISBN 0-9745294-0-0 90000>

9 780974 529400

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''The opening of Lindbergh Field helped attract new businesses, particularly in the aerospace industry, which were to play an important part in the economic development of San Diego. The Chamber of Commerce officially adopted the slogan "San Diego - The Air Capital of the West" to promote both the new facility and San Diego's importance in the aviation world.''

Seventy-five years ago, early aviation supporters saw their efforts rise from the mud when construction began on a long anticipated municipal airport. A cast of public and private agencies, military officers. elected officials, philanthropists. and engineers worked tirelessly to build upon the muddy ground that gave birth to San Diego International Airport on its Dedication Day, August 16, 1928. Celebrating 75 years of innovation, ingenuity and invention. San Diego International Airport looks to the future without forgetting the past.

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This book tells the story of San Diego's airport, from its earliest beginnings to the modern, thriving aviation transportation center it has become.

Cover photo: San Diego International Airport circa 1930s.

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The Future Takes Wing San Diego International Airport 75 Years of Flight SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS "The Future Takes Wing" is a commemoration of the spirit of innovation, ingenuity and invention that personified San Diego's early aviation pioneers, and that has driven the evolution of San Diego International Airport from a dusty runway to the modern, thriving air transportation center it is today The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority could not have realized its dream of creating a written history of the airport's first 75 years without the tireless assistance of numerous individuals and organizations. The Authority would like to express special appreciation to: The San Diego Aerospace Museum for its attention to detail and fact, as well as its immeasurable contribution to the visual history of aviation in San Diego; The San Diego Historical Society, for providing a pictorial history of the San Diego region throughout the decades; The many people who have contributed their personal recollections and to those who have held on to the dream of a commemorative book and made it happen. The Authority also wishes to express special appreciation to the San Diego Unified Port District for its 40 years of service operating San Diego International Airport. "The Future Takes Wing" is dedicated to San Diego's aviation pioneers who inspire us to carry on the heritage of innovation, ingenuity and invention.

CONTENTS

PREFACE: DREAMS OF FLIGHT ................................................... VII NORTH ISLAND: BIRTHPLACE OF MILITARY AVIATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 2

COMMERCIAL AVIATION TAKES FLIGHT IN SAN DIEGO ...............................5

3

LUCKY LINDY: THE SPIRIT OF Sr. LOUIS CONNECTION .............................15

4

AIR CAPITAL OF THE WEST: THE BUILDING OF SAN DIEGO'S AIRPORT ............... 27

5

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ............................................39

6

THE WAR YEARS: SAN DIEGO'S "ROSIES" ......................................• 4 7

7

BOOM TIMES: SAN DIEGO SETTLES INTO POST WAR LIFE ........................... 5 5

8

TURBULENCE AND CHANGE: THE 6OS USHER IN THE JET AGE .............. .......... 63

9

SAN DIEGO SWINGS INTO THE SEVENTIES: 1970S AND 198OS .....................73 BUILDING THE ONE-RUNWAY MARVEL: 199OS THROUGH 2002 ..................... 81 CLEAR SKIES, VISIBILITY UNLIMITED: 2003 .................................... 89 ENDNOTES ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 97

INTRODUCTION

E

ver since Charles A. Lindbergh took off from San Diego to launch

the first solo nonstop trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris in 1927,

San Diego and the world have marveled at the possibilities of air transportation. San Diego International Airport is proudly associated with this piece of

aviation history. Today, San Diego International Airport contributes $4.5 billion

annually to our regional economy, $1.8 billion in personal income and 4 percent of the region's total economic output. Every job at San Diego International Airport contributes to 15 other jobs in the region.

The commemoration of San Diego International Airport's 75th anniversary

provides a wonderful opportunity to look back at San Diego's rich aviation history. It also highlights the important role air transportation plays in our region's economy and overall quality of life.

As we look forward to the next 75 years, growing demand and

improvements in aviation technology will continue to shape air travel. But one

thing is for certain-the San Diego region will be at the forefront of aviation innovation as we continue our role as a major air transportation center.

On behalf of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, I invite you

to sit back and enjoy this commemorative look at 75 years of San Diego International Airport.

Thella F. Bowens President/CEO

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority

Because Lindbergh sat behind the enormous 270-gallon main fuel tank, he had no forward vision. Lindbergh and the Ryan team found a solution by installing an ingenious, retractable periscope­ like device designed by former submariner Charlie Randolph, which provided a forward view when extended from the cockpit. 2

PREFACE: DREAMS OF FLIGHT

The sky-limitless, eternal, seemingly inaccessible-holds us

transfixed. For millennia the sky stood inviolate, out of our reach. Birds, bats

and insects were the most visible explorers of a realm humans traveled only in

their dreams.

San Diegans have been fascinated with exploring the skies since the

beginning. Humans have inhabited the region that would someday become

San Diego County for thousands of years. San Diego's Native American tribes,

descendants of these ancient peoples, referred to flight often in both their

stories and social lives. Tales of flying gods, shape shifters bent on doing harm, birds, and even birdsong competitions figured strongly in the culture of the earliest San Diegans.

The Coahuilla, Luisef\o and Dieguef\o tribes all tell a story about their first

shaman, a man named Takwish, who was shunned by his tribe. They say his spirit became a meteor, and he flies through the night sky searching for his

people. Takwish, whose name means "Eater," sometimes takes the form of a ball of fire, other times as a flaming man with leathery wings. Born near Poway, he is said to still roam the North County regions near Pala and Mount San Jacinto. In the Kumeyaay story of the world's beginnings, two brothers first

created ants, and then black birds. Born before light from the sun or moon, the

black birds were lost and flew aimlessly until the brothers formed the moon

from clay and set it into the firmament. Guided by the light of the "halya," these black birds returned to their roost.

When Montgomery completed his silent 600-foot journey on August 9, 1883 he had made the

world's first controlled flight in a heavier-than-air vehicle.3 Although photographs or other evidence did not document this feat, eyewitnesses swore to it.

VII

THE FIRST FLIGHT IN MONTGOMERY'S WORDS

The Coahuilla people tell of a time when they were giants. Despite their great size, an Evil Spirit persecuted them, throwing rocks and boulders at them from a mountain peak. After a particularly bad episode,

" ...I took this apparatus to the top of a hill facing a gentle wind.There was a little run and a jump and I found myself launched in the air. A peculiar sensation came over me. The first feeling in placing myself at the mercy of the wind was that of fear. Immediately after came a feeling of security when I realized the solid support given by the wing surface. And that support was of a very peculiar nature. There was a cushiony softness about it, yet it was firm. When I found the machine would follow any

the tribe called the "Sacred Eagle" to fly up the mountain with a dove's feather as a message of peace to the Evil Spirit. The Eagle returned still carrying the feather, and the tribe met safely with the Evi I Spirit. The Coahuilla tribe's story of the Sacred Eagle and the Eagle's mission resonates today as we harness the power of flight to send our messages, carry goods, and transport people from place to place.

JOHN J. MONTGOMERY, SAN DIEGO'S FIRST AVIATOR The idea of using flight as a tool was also famil­ iar more than one hundred years ago when San Diego's John J. Montgomery first began experimenting with manned flight. A native Californian, Montgomery was born in 1858 in Yuba City, California. Montgomery began experimenting with flight early on, observing birds and even catching them in order to study the mechanics of their wings. He meas­

movement in the seat for balancing,

ured the wings' curves and analyzed the physical

I felt I was self-buoyant .. _"4

forces that provided the bird with enough lift to break gravity's hold. By the time he completed his bachelor's degree in science at Santa Clara College in 1880, he had the mental preparation and sheer determination to make an impact on the fledgling science of aviation. Montgomery moved back to his family's farm near Fruitland in San Diego County and took over the barn. He transformed the space into an aeronautical

VIII

"All subsequen.t attempts 1n. aviation. must begin. with a Mon.tgomery machin.e." -ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

laboratory, building mockups and models of the craft he would later pilot into the San Diego sky. Montgomery had several starts and stops in his pursuit of controlled flight. Borrowing from his studies of birds, he first fashioned a couple of ornithopters, but these models failed to fly. He then shifted his design to fixed-wing gliders, retaining the shape of the wings from his study of bird wing curvatures, but dismissing the flapping concept. In a letter to his sister, he wrote: "My attention is still fixed on my flying machine, and I am getting along fast enough to suit myself. Since I last wrote you, I have performed hun­

In 1883, he and his brother James trekked out to the edge of an Otay Valley mesa with Montgomery's new "aeroplane" away from the public's critical eye. There, with Montgomery piloting, they launched the seagull-wing-shaped glider. San Diego's first aviator later lost his life in a glider crash on October 31, 1911, in the pursuit of advances in aviation science.6 Alexander Graham Bell later said, "All subsequent attempts in aviation must begin with a Montgomery machine."7 Montgomery's daring set the scene for the imagination and innova­ tion that would characterize San Diego's contribution to aviation history.

dreds of experiments and discovered some important facts and laws. I have had many failures and discour­ agements, but have become convinced more than ever of the correctness of my ideas and plans."5

Glenn Curtiss Flight School, North Island 1910

Curtiss' first design was the bi-plane he named June Bug On July 4, 7908, June Bug won a prize for the first officially recorded flight of one-kilometer in the United States.8 He

NORTH ISLAND: BIRTHPLACE OF MILITARY AVIATION

later added floats to the June Bug, renamed it the Loon and discovered it was too heavy to fly His next airplane-Dold Bug-appeared in early 1909. This was the forerunner of the Golden Flyer bi-plane, in which he set a speed record of 4765 mph over a 30kilometer course at the world's first major air meet in Rheims, France on August 22-29, 1909.9

GLENN HAMILTON CURTISS-AVIATION PIONEER Glenn Hamilton Curtiss pursued his passion for flight on the edge

of danger. Curtiss' love for speed and danger first showed itself when he began

to combine bicycles and gasoline engines, creating some of the first and fastest motorcycles. His fascination with speed led to the design, experimentation and

development of motorcycle engines in a quest for setting speed records. 10 Curtiss was an early member of the Aerial Experiment Association,

founded by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell to develop and test airplanes. He was one of only seven Americans who had flown in a powered aircraft by 1907. 11 He even received pilot license No. 1 in 1910 from the Aero Club of America.

(Because the licenses were assigned alphabetically, Orville and Wilbur Wright were awarded licenses No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.) 12

FLIGHT TRAINING BEGINS AT NORTH ISLAND Curtiss moved to San Diego in 1910, where he made the world's first

successful hydro-aeroplane (seaplane) flight in 1911. He took off and landed in

waters off Spanish Bight, a mile-long stretch of water that has since been filled in. Curtiss continued his experiments, and on February 17, 1911 demonstrated

the value and versatility of aircraft to the Navy by landing a plane in San Diego Bay and having it hoisted aboard the cruiser USS Pennsylvania. The Glenn H. Curtis Aviation camp on North Island in 1911 An aerial view of North Island taken in 1934 The US. Army aviation school on North Island in the early 7920s

1

Curtiss then wrote to the Secretary of the Navy

North Island. It was a voting precinct in which

offering free flight instruction for one naval officer.

Walters was both the election board and sole voter.

His idea was to assist "in developing the adaptability

Each year, the local press would announce that

of the aeroplane to military purposes." His first

"North Island Goes 100% Republican." Curtiss

student, Navy Lt. Theodore G. Ellison, was ordered to

expanded his offer to the Secretary of the Navy and

report to the Glenn H. Curtiss Aviation Camp at North

offered more free flight instruction to Army and Navy

Island on December 23, 1911.

officers. He went on to train aviation luminaries such

The Curtiss Aviation Camp at North Island was

as the colorful "Father of Air Power," Billy Mitchell.

a handful of abandoned buildings. At the time, North

Continuing to experiment with flying-boat

Island was inhabited largely by jackrabbits and

aircraft, Curtiss, in 1912, replaced the single pontoon

sagebrush. Only one person, Capt. Bob Walters,

of one of his seaplanes with a boat-shaped hull. This

resided there. But democracy found its way even to

twin-engine aircraft, called the America, was

SAN DIEGO AVIATION FIRSTS In 1912 Clarence H. Mackay, a philanthropist and aviation enthusiast, created a trophy recognizing the Air Force person, persons or organization with the "most meritorious flight of the year." In 1921 Lt. John A. Macready received the MacKay Trophy for his work testing aircraft engine designs at high altitudes. His world record-setting 40,800-foot altitude flight aided the study of high altitude physiology and aircraft mechanical engineering. In May 1922, Macready and Lt. Oakley G. Kelley received the Mackay Trophy for their 35-hour 7 8minute flight in the skies above North Island's Rockwell Field, a world endurance flight record at the time. The winning endurance flight included the first experiments with air-to-air refueling. 13 Macready and Kelly again received the Mackay Trophy in 1923 after making the first nonstop flight across the U. S. Taking off from Roosevelt Field, New York, on May 2, 1923 they flew west with only a magnetic compass and a few railroad maps. Their journey, through night, heavy weather and with only the most primitive of navigational instruments, lasted almost 27 hours. San Diego recorded another aviation first when the single-engine T-2 landed at Rockwell Field, just across the bay from the future San Diego International Airport, having flown a distance of 2,520 miles. With the 1923 Mackay Trophy, Macready became the only three-time recipient of the award in its history. His feat of three consecutive Mackay Trophies remains unequaled. 2

designed for an Atlantic crossing. 14 A descendent

of the America, the NC-4, piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Albert C. Read, made a transatlantic crossing to England

after a stop in the Azores and Lisbon, Portugal. Read

reached Plymouth, England on May 31, 1919, after a 3,925-mile flight.

The early years of the 20th century were a time

of growing popularity for aviation. Beginning with the first major air meet, held at Rheims, France in 1909,

pub Iic interest was at a fever pitch for displays of flying as well as the opportunity to ride in one of

those "flying machines."

ADVANCES IN U.S. AVIATION: WORLD WAR I AND BEYOND Aviation's popularity, both with the public at

large and within the military, continued to grow. The

role of airplanes in World War I, combined with the

"star power" of American fighter pilots and aces such

as Edward "Eddie" Rickenbacker brought aviation even

more exposure. By the end of World War I, the aviation industry was staged for an explosion.

It came, at first, in the form of entertainment.

As the United States deactivated its military at the

end of World War I, much of the military equipment,

including the aircraft, became surplus. Pilots and

THE ARMY INFLUENCE On August 1, 1907, the Aeronautical Division of

the Army Signal Corps was established as the Air Services. Three men, including the officer in

command, Capt. Charles Chandler, were charged with "all matters pertaining to military ballooning, air

machines, and all kindred subjects." At the time, the

Army's air force was limited to balloons. In 1912, due

in part to Curtiss' success at recruiting and training

naval officers as pilots, the Curtiss Aviation School on North Island was taken over by the U. S. Army Signal

Corps. The Air Service handled the flying until the

Army Air Corps took over the Army Signal Corps

aviation activities. In 1914 the 1st U.S. Army Aero Squadron was formed,15 and the airfield at North Island was renamed Rockwell Field. 16

mechanics also found themselves to be in oversupply. Surplus military aircraft were available cheap, and

enterprising pilots picked them up. Aerial combat,

introduced in World War I, developed the skills pilots

would use to introduce an enthusiastic public to

aviation. To generate business, aviators would fly low

over towns, vi I Iages and farmhouses, dropping

leaflets or performing a few tricks as a signal to

observers that an air show was coming. Teams of

men roamed the countryside offering the public rides

in Curtiss Jennies at $12.50 for a ten- or fifteen­

minute flight.

Barnstorming brought aviation to the masses,

although it would be another venture, more mundane,

but ultimately more successful, that would bring the aviation industry the visibility and economic

importance it enjoys today.

This venture would arrive "in the mail."

3

COMMERCIAL AVIATION TAKES FLIGHT IN SAN DIEGO

AIRMAIL

At the end of World War I, the United States government faced not

only a surplus of military aviation equipment and personnel, but also a desire

not to let aviation's current wave of technological advancement expire in the post-war economic retraction.

In 1918, Congress, the War Department and the Post Office worked

together on an experimental system to provide regular airmail service from New York City to Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The Post Office handled the mail,

while the War Department provided the pilots, planes, maintenance and fuel.

Reuben H. Fleet, who earned his wings from North Island Naval station in 1917,

oversaw the training and operation of the unit, that flew the first load of mail. In August of 1918, the Post Office relieved the War Department and began

managing the entire operation.

Although running scheduled routes in all kinds of weather using the

primitive instruments of the era was problematic, the Post Office still managed

to uphold its motto: "Neither snow nor rain nor sleet nor gloom of night. . . " will

keep the airmail pilots from completing their rounds. In fact the system was so

successful that the Post Office added regular service from New York to Chicago in 1919, and to San Francisco in 1920.

Reuben H. Fleet would go on to become the president of San Diego's

Consolidated Aircraft Company.

Early flight instruments, including an altimeter, compass and air speed indicator, are shown in the cockpit of a 1924 steel mail plane.

5

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James DeWitt H i l l was one of many a i rma i l p i l ots who earned h i s wings i n a S a n D iego-based flying school . H i l l l earned to fly at the G len n Curtiss Flying School on North Island i n 1 9 1 2, and later taught flyi ng at the Curtiss Flying School and the Thomas School i n N ew York. His a i rma i l days began i n 1 924, the same year the earth-inductor compass, the turn i n dicator, and the i n c l i n ometer were i ntroduced, enabling aviators to navigate at n i g ht, in the fog, and during heavy weather. 17 Although all these i n struments wou l d later be i nsta l led in the Spirit of St. Louis,18 not all of them were i m med iately i nsta l led in the a i rm a i l a i rcraft. Thus th'e long n ight flights, frequ ently in poor vi s i b i l ity, were particularly dangerous. H i l l worked the Cleveland to N ew York mail run, one of the more dangerous because of the Al legheny 6

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