Forgotten Runways

[Buck Turgidson]

While I love to set down in fields and places that are not runways, even more interesting are runways that exist in the sim and serious effort has been made to make it difficult to land.  I happened onto a runway in the middle of the Colombian jungle around 5d 55' x 74d 44' and found some barriers placed near the middle of the runway.  After a bit of research and a lot of landings with various craft I learned this runway used to be called Hacienda Pharmacia and was owned by a pharmaceutical distributor. 

 

 

Best bet for landing and TO is the grass strip north of the paved strip.  There is an unseen barrier  about tree height mid field so your take off payloads are limited.

 

 

Clearly the D8 driver needed a better level when cutting this strip!

 

 

Flight safety is not priority here.

 

 

 

The place is now a water park.  Apparently the hippo's that were there escaped and will probably go on to kill more people than the farcing guerrillas!

 

 

 

The Barron will just get off with a full load of gas and humanitarian supplies.  Stay east of the mountains for a mid level flight to Tizin in north Yucatan.  Near Chitzen Itza but not touristy.  Good place to rest up.

 

 

Early morning landing in the peninsula.

 

 

Nice long runway that on Goog looks like it has seen better days.

 

 

 

Park up close to the Federales building to keep things safe.

 

 

Now for the scenic evening tour of the Gulf rigs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now on to Mena International to complete the trip

 

 

 

WTH???

 

 

 

That don't look safe!  Them boys on drugs?  Nope, dropped those back around Baton Rouge!

 

 

I'm calling this in. 

 

 

That's just Barry's boys.  Thems friends of Billy.  Just call it a night.

 

 

[jgf]

You'll also find some interesting airfields in the Alps, buried in valleys, runways on slopes, etc.

 

And here are some add-ons-

https://flightsim.to/file/3652/alps-altisurface

[PhrogPhlyer]

Great pics!

Many of us also search for these airfields, both in Sim flying and in real life.

For US airports, this site is a must, http://www.airfields-freeman.com/

If someone knows a good site for lost airports throughout the world, please post here.

I was shocked when I recently reviewed my Pilots Logbooks, and saw numerous airfields I had landed at that are now closed.

Mostly due to build condominiums or make more sports fields.

I used to love the smell of chocolate on down wind to Hershey Airfield in PA. But it closed in 1981.

And Twin Pine, a grass strip in NJ, closed when the local Township DOUBLED their taxes.

The owner who opened the field after WWII the owner was financially forced them to sell.

Now it is a few sports fields.

Luckily, using FSX or FS9, many closed fields are still available to use.

 

[Nels_Anderson]

Even in MSFS 2020 it's interesting to see what fields are still included, though the real world may be otherwise...

 

You don't have to go to South America for a serious challenge. Try this one, in Massachusetts:

 

https://www.airnav.com/airport/MA52

 

It is literally in the owner's back yard. I've never seen a plane there, but I have friends who have...

[lnuss]

2 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

For US airports, this site is a must, http://www.airfields-freeman.com/

When I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought of Paul's site, but you beat me to it. It's a great place to visit and there are ever so many former airports that are now shopping centers or housing developments. It's sad.

 

2 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

I was shocked when I recently reviewed my Pilots Logbooks, and saw numerous airfields I had landed at that are now closed.

I wasn't shocked, but some that I used to inhabit and others I visited a lot are now closed. For example, in the Northern Illinois section, the field where I learned to fly is gone (a farmer's field), Johnson Field*. Also in Albuquerque there are three fields on his site that I used: Coronado (4AC), Alameda (Q64) and Valencia County (E20, actually near Belen, south of ABQ). Another was Harvey McGuire's small field along the Rio Grande just south of ABQ, but I can't find any info on it at all. It was snug for a C-172. I even ferried a J-4 for him once. The pic below was a hangar party at his field, Harvey in the black vest at left.

 

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* The second pic below is of the Aeronca Chief I trained in at Johnson Field.

[PhrogPhlyer]

2 hours ago, Nels_Anderson said:

Try this one, in Massachusetts:

It's a shame that FSX doesn't have all the trees and homes, but it still is a small runway.

Sids 800' x 50' runway is a great for the Cub.

[Nels_Anderson]

2 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

It's a shame that FSX doesn't have all the trees and homes, but it still is a small runway.

Sids 800' x 50' runway is a great for the Cub.

 

Yah, 800x50 is nothing for a Cub. But the real Sid's is in a residential neighborhood, literally in peoples' back yards, and surrounded by trees. I tried it in MSFS 2020 and could not even see it due to all the trees!

 

[Buck Turgidson]

On 8/23/2023 at 2:18 PM, PhrogPhlyer said:

For US airports, this site is a must, http://www.airfields-freeman.com/

 

 

Great site!  I got on for a second and an hour passed!

[Buck Turgidson]

On 8/23/2023 at 8:02 PM, Nels_Anderson said:

Yah, 800x50 is nothing for a Cub. But the real Sid's is in a residential neighborhood, literally in peoples' back yards, and surrounded by trees. I tried it in MSFS 2020 and could not even see it due to all the trees!

Good one Nels.  Bad wx in MA today.  Spent one flight skud running to find it and 4 more to get stopped without hitting the trees!  Come in over the hill and slip to get down in the fat spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nels_Anderson]

Nicely done!

 

It's a wonder you could even find it...MSFS 2020 always seems to put in too many trees so when I tried it on most attempts I could not even see it.

[PhrogPhlyer]

5 hours ago, Buck Turgidson said:

Spent one flight skud running to find it and 4 more to get stopped without hitting the trees! 

Nice pics! Reminiscences to when the planes wore cloth and the pilots were made of iron. 

That is one nasty scud deck. Of course you maintained VFR cloud clearances the whole flight. 

[Rupert]

Yet another great series of shots and responses!  I love (sim) flying into, new to me, airstrips which is one reason I still subscribe to FLYING magazine..  I'll be looking at several of these as well.

 

Michael

[Buck Turgidson]

3 hours ago, Nels_Anderson said:

Nicely done!

 

It's a wonder you could even find it...MSFS 2020 always seems to put in too many trees so when I tried it on most attempts I could not even see it.

Well I cheated and put the GPS map in my second monitor.  Even so, I spent 30 minutes circling a one or two mile area til I spotted it.  Once spotted it took a dozen more orbits to get visual indicators of where to line up as I kept losing sight of it!

[Buck Turgidson]

2 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

Nice pics! Reminiscences to when the planes wore cloth and the pilots were made of iron. 

That is one nasty scud deck. Of course you maintained VFR cloud clearances the whole flight. 

Made of iron or the wrong part of the Dunning Kruger confidence curve?  Since it is a sim we will never know.

 

When I spawned on the runway about 5 miles away near a river bend I think I gasped it was so bad!  First flight I would not have been legal on the runway and hit wisps of cloud just past tree height.  It got better as I flew for pics.

 

I think to fly with full realistic settings it should stand you down for a period of time depending on if the wreck was survivable or not.  Would definitely put pressure on to take it more seriously.

[PhrogPhlyer]

9 hours ago, Buck Turgidson said:

Dunning Kruger confidence curve

Always a fun dicussion.