Hicks Airfield
Encyclopedia
Hicks Field redirects here, for the baseball stadium in Edenton, North Carolina
see Historic Hicks Field
.
Hicks Airfield is a public use airport
located 14 nautical miles (26 km) northwest of the central business district
of Fort Worth
, in Tarrant County
, Texas
, United States
. The airport is used solely for general aviation
purposes.
. Canadians named the facility Taliaferro Field after Walter Taliaferro, a US aviator who had been killed in an accident.
The first trainees arrived in November 1916 to a very crude facility. Most structures were unfinished and personnel lived and worked in canvas tents. The Flu Epidemic killed many assigned personnel. After US Entry into World War I in April 1917, the airfield was taken over by United States Army and renamed Hicks Field. The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" became the primary aircraft used for flight training after the Army takeover. The 22d, 27th, 28th, 139th, 147th, and 148th US Aero Squadrons trained at the facility. Military use ended in early 1919 after the end of World War I.
In 1923, the field became the location of the world's first helium plant, operated by United States Navy. It became a Navy blimp facility until 1929 when shortages closed facility.
Taken over by United States Army Air Corps in 1940, facilities improved and it was used as a contract primary flight training facility by the USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Command). Texas Aviation School & W. F. Long Flying School provided flying training to aviation cadets. Initially under supervision of 307th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment, later redesignated as 2555th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary) on 1 May 1944. A ten-week course of primary training continued at Hicks, and a total of 2,403 cadets were processed, and about 70% made it to the next level of training at Randolph Field.
Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19
s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks were assigned. The field was inactivated 20 July 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program, declared surplus, and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers. It was eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and returned to civil control.
Postwar use included storage and sale of surplus military aircraft, and it was also used by Bell Helicopter as flight test airfield during 1950s. Bell activities ended in late 1950s and the facility became a general aviation airfield, eventually falling into disuse and then closed.
The airport reopened in 1985 with a new facility being built about a mile north-northwest of original airfield. By the 1990s the entire facility was being redeveloped into an industrial area, although most of original facility is still in a state of disuse with deteriorating buildings.
of 855 feet (261 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
designated 14/32 with an asphalt
surface measuring 3,740 by 60 feet (1,140 x 18 m).
For the 12-month period ending March 7, 2009, the airport had 31,000 general aviation
aircraft operations, an average of 84 per day. At that time there were 327 aircraft based at this airport: 92% single-engine
, 6% multi-engine, 1% helicopter
and 1% ultralight.
Edenton, North Carolina
Edenton is a town in Chowan County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,966 at the 2008 census. It is the county seat of Chowan County. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has become a popular retirement location and a destination for...
see Historic Hicks Field
Historic Hicks Field
Historic Hicks Field is a baseball stadium located in Edenton, North Carolina. The stadium is home to the John A. Holmes High School Aces as well as the Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plain League....
.
Hicks Airfield is a public use airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located 14 nautical miles (26 km) northwest of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, in Tarrant County
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The airport is used solely for general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
purposes.
History
The airfield was established by the Canadian Flying Corps in 1916 as one of three airfields (also Benbrook Field and Baron Field) to train American pilots who entered the Canadian military before the United States entry into World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Canadians named the facility Taliaferro Field after Walter Taliaferro, a US aviator who had been killed in an accident.
The first trainees arrived in November 1916 to a very crude facility. Most structures were unfinished and personnel lived and worked in canvas tents. The Flu Epidemic killed many assigned personnel. After US Entry into World War I in April 1917, the airfield was taken over by United States Army and renamed Hicks Field. The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" became the primary aircraft used for flight training after the Army takeover. The 22d, 27th, 28th, 139th, 147th, and 148th US Aero Squadrons trained at the facility. Military use ended in early 1919 after the end of World War I.
In 1923, the field became the location of the world's first helium plant, operated by United States Navy. It became a Navy blimp facility until 1929 when shortages closed facility.
Taken over by United States Army Air Corps in 1940, facilities improved and it was used as a contract primary flight training facility by the USAAF Gulf Coast Training Center (later Central Flying Command). Texas Aviation School & W. F. Long Flying School provided flying training to aviation cadets. Initially under supervision of 307th Army Air Forces Flying Training Detachment, later redesignated as 2555th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Contract Pilot School, Primary) on 1 May 1944. A ten-week course of primary training continued at Hicks, and a total of 2,403 cadets were processed, and about 70% made it to the next level of training at Randolph Field.
Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19
Fairchild PT-19
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II . London: Bounty Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7537-1461-4....
s as the primary trainer. Also had several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks were assigned. The field was inactivated 20 July 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program, declared surplus, and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers. It was eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and returned to civil control.
Postwar use included storage and sale of surplus military aircraft, and it was also used by Bell Helicopter as flight test airfield during 1950s. Bell activities ended in late 1950s and the facility became a general aviation airfield, eventually falling into disuse and then closed.
The airport reopened in 1985 with a new facility being built about a mile north-northwest of original airfield. By the 1990s the entire facility was being redeveloped into an industrial area, although most of original facility is still in a state of disuse with deteriorating buildings.
Facilities and aircraft
Hicks Airfield covers an area of 77 acres (31.2 ha) at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 855 feet (261 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 14/32 with an asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
surface measuring 3,740 by 60 feet (1,140 x 18 m).
For the 12-month period ending March 7, 2009, the airport had 31,000 general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
aircraft operations, an average of 84 per day. At that time there were 327 aircraft based at this airport: 92% single-engine
Aircraft engine
An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...
, 6% multi-engine, 1% helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
and 1% ultralight.
Other sources
- Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), Locating Air Force Base Sites History’s Legacy, Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC, 2004.
- Manning, Thomas A. (2005), History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas ASIN: B000NYX3PC
External links
- Hicks Airfield, official website
- Taliaferro Field / Hicks Field at Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields at Texas DOT Airport Directory