Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Texas

Texas - Northern Fort Worth area

Alta Vista (revised 5/14/08) - Flying G Airfield / Goode Airport (revised 4/30/08)

Globe Aircraft Company Factory Airfield (revised 5/14/08) - Mangham Airport (revised 4/30/08)

Pops Field / Blue Mound Airport (revised 7/5/08) - Ritchey Field (revised 5/14/08)

____________________________________________________

Flying G Airfield / Goode Airport (23F), Southlake, TX

32.94 North / 97.18 West (Northwest of Dallas Fort Worth Airport)

“Flying G (Private)” Airfield, as depicted on the 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield).

The date of construction of this little general aviation airport has not been determined.

The earliest depiction which has been located of this airfield

was on the 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield).

It depicted the “Flying G (Private)” Airfield as having a single north/south runway.

However, the airfield was not depicted at all on the 1964 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ross Richardson),

nor was it depicted on the 1968 USGS topo map.

A 1968 picture by Bruce Norman of Leland & Dwayne Burns in front of their Piper Tri-Pacer at Flying G / Goode Airport (courtesy of Leland Burns).

Leland recalled, “The photo was taken on one of our early outings.

Bruce had flown over from south Fort Worth just to see the new airstrip & hangars & all that Bob Goode had put together.”

Leland Burns recalled, “I sort of grew up at Bob's [Bob Goode's] original place.

My dad worked with Bob at Bell Helicopter - both were engineers.

My father, Dwayne Burns, owned a Piper Tri-pacer that had a really great interior.

Dad [Dwayne Burns] was sharing with me that he had helped Bob put up the first hangar (in photo)

and he also had a big hand in fencing in the airfield before Bob opened it up for rentals.

Bob Goode brought dad a sketch one day & the 2 of them worked out a set of house plans in their off hours.

Then the 2 of them built the house around the corner from the airstrip.

Bob wanted to buy the 20-odd acres between his house & the airfield.

He bought out one guy shortly after dad started flying there.

There may have been a few tie-downs but the first hangar wasn't built until approximately 1968.

Dad had Bob reserve him a space dead center of the hangar.

The hangar was still incomplete but close enough when dad bought the Tri-pacer.

This 1^st hangar ran north/south & in the [aerial] photo is the middle (or furthermost south) north/south hangar.

This first hangar was also the end of the original runway, 2,000' by my memory.

After that he built all east to west hangars until I stopped going.”

A 1970 aerial view of Flying G / Goode Airport showed the field to have 2 closely-aligned grass runways,

with a row of T-hangars each at the north & south ends of the field.

Five single-engine aircraft were visible parked outside at the field.

The 1973 USGS topo map

depicted the “Landing Strip” as having a single unpaved runway, with hangars on the northwest & southeast sides.

At some point between 1963-78, the airfield was evidently renamed “Goode”,

as that is how it was labeled in the 1978 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

It depicted the field as having 2 turf runways (with the longest being the 3,400' Runway 17/35),

with the airport property having been extended somewhat further south at some point between 1970-78.

One hangar was situated in the narrow parcel of land in between the north ends of the 2 runways,

while 2 other hangars were located on the southeastern end of the field.

The manager was listed as R. G. Goode.

The 1981 USGS topo map depicted Goode Airport as having 2 unpaved runways,

with 4 hangars along the east side.

The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)

described the field as having 2 closely-aligned turf runways

(3,400' Runway 17/35 & 2,600' Runway 18/36).

By the time of the 1985 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse),

Runway 17/35 had been paved (3,130' long), while the other runway had been abandoned.

The operator was listed as R. G. Goode.

A 1990 aerial view showed an amazing number of hangars at Goode Airport – a total of 23 hangars.

Goode Airport was apparently quite well-used,

due to a total of 21 hangars which were visible in the 1995 USGS aerial photo.

It was located on an extremely tight little parcel of land -

the entire airfield property was a mere 500' wide!

Mike Palmer recalled, “We flew our Glasair into Goode Field (23F) way back in January, 1996.

It was fairly run down then, but still usable (hangars were more like open barns).

That was a particularly cold week... they had freeze warnings up for the night

and the owner was draining the water fountain as we were unloading so the pipes wouldn't crack.

I remember the hotel driver had a hard time finding the field, it was that obscure.”

Palmer continued, “Getting ready to come home, our main tank fuel drain stuck open after taking a fuel sample during preflight.

It was about 20 degrees (F) that morning. The owner of the field was very helpful.

Amazingly, the old timer had a new drain in his inventory & helped me replace the drain in situ,

offering me some empty bread bags to cover my hands & elbows as fuel poured all over me during the change out.

It was a piece of fiberglass stuck in the drain. I now carry a spare drain in the plane.”

According to Paul Quinn (who lives right across the street),

"Goode succumbed to progress & was the last privately-owned airport left in Tarrant County.

It closed in 1998."

The closure of the little airport was no doubt ensured by its location,

smack in the middle of what has become a rapidly developing upscale suburb.

It was also located a mere seven miles east of what has become one of the world's busiest airports,

Dallas Fort Worth International.

Owner Robert Goode eventually opened Goode Field in Canton, TX, in 1993,

a private airfield catering to gliders.

Aerial view of the truncated remaining portion of the former airport, circa 2000.

Note the remaining piece of runway pavement, complete with turn-around.

A sad view of the remains of a former nice little general aviation airport,

along with the reason for its demise - new homes.

A view looking south along the remaining 500' portion of the Goode runway.

The remaining runway pavement runs right up to the wall surrounding the new housing development.

Photo by Paul Freeman, 2002.

Paul Freeman visited the site in 2002, to find a sad sight -

the southern half of the property had been obliterated by the construction of a new housing development.

Only an 1,100' x 500' portion of the airport property remained intact,

and it was marked with a "For Sale" sign.

However, that portion contained the primary hangar, which still stood,

as well as a 500' portion of the runway,

which was abruptly brought to an end by a new wall surrounding the housing development

which had been built over the southern portion of the former airport property.

The runway segment was extremely overgrown,

as were portions of a concrete taxiway which led from the hangar to the runway.

The trash-strewn hangar even contained the junked rear fuselage of a light aircraft, looking very forelorn.

A 2002 photo by Paul Freeman of the exterior of the sole hangar which remains standing at Goode.

A 2002 photo by Paul Freeman of the trash-strewn interior of the sole remaining hangar at Goode.

A 2002 photo by Paul Freeman of the only remaining aircraft at Goode Airport -

a sad looking rear fuselage of a Beechcraft Musketeer inside the hangar.

Leland Burns recalled, “The tail section in the last remaining hangar photo was from a plane owned by Bob [Goode].

His wife bought it for him - I think brand new; a Beechcraft Musketeer.

It seems Bob only had the plane for 12-18 months before he suffered a horrific crash.

The story I recall was the private field he was planning to land at had a tractor parked in the runway's middle.

After much circling & debate he tried to land just past the tractor.

He went long before touching down & when he realize he would not stop before hitting a wire fence he gunned the engine.

It was too late.

One wing clipped a fence post & the plane got jerked about

moving sideway through the air 40-60 yards until hitting trees.

The plane pin-balled through the trees with the rear compartment completely gone.

The engine broke loose as well & Bob & his wife were setting in the largest piece remaining.

Bob was able to walk away but was deeply bruised EVERYWHERE.

His wife had a broken leg or ankle.

Two of Bob's sons became pilots.

One took the engine from the Musketeer & placed it into a small stunt biplane.

A Mong Special or something like that.

The plane never flew however as they later decided it might be more engine than the plane could handle.”

The last truncated remains of the little Goode Airfield,

as seen in a circa 2002-2005 aerial view looking north at the remaining runway portion & hangar.

Unfortunately, Jay McPhail reported in June of 2005,

“Goode Airfield was torn down last month to make way for a soccer complex.

It remained as it was [described above] up until they tore it down.

Now nothing, not even the segment of runway, remains.”

Leland Burns reported in 2005, “I bought a house in Keller about 12 weeks ago hardly more than a mile from the old Goode strip.

Two or three weeks ago the last hangar was torn down to make way for a horse arena.

I'm glad it is not more houses.”

The site of Goode Airport is located southeast of the intersection of Southlake Blvd. & Davis Blvd.

____________________________________________________

Mangham Airport (F70), North Richland Hills, TX

32.86 North / 97.2 West (Northeast of Fort Worth, TX)

Mangham Airport, as depicted on a 1961 Tarrant County highway map.

The date of construction of this former small airport is unknown.

It was apparently built at some point after 1948,

as it was not depicted on the 1948 USAF Urban Area Chart.

According to drag racing historian Bret Kepner, although Mangham was built as an airport,

it also served as one of the original commercial drag racing sites in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,

referred to as North Richland Hills Drag Strip.

It was used in this capacity for a very brief period from 1956-57.

The earliest depiction of Mangham Airport which has been located

was on the 1961 Tarrant County highway map.

The 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield)

depicted Mangham as having 2 runways, oriented north/south & northwest/southeast.

The 1964 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ross Richardson)

depicted Mangham Airport as having a 2,400' unpaved runway.

Ganey Bradield recalled, “Mangham Airport was owned & run by a man named 'Stormy' Mangham.

He was a pretty colorful character.

He was one of the very early pilots for American Airlines.

His son, Charlie, did most of the hands-on daily operation for Stormy.

He had a running battle with Texas Electric Service Company -

wanting them to bury some lines on the north side of his airport,

so he wouldn't have to go over them on landing to the south.

One day, after a long 'hot' telephone conversation with them,

he stormed out of his hangar, asked me to prop his Aeronca Champ,

took of in a circle from his parking spot, and 'drug' it in over the wires for a landing -

intentionally grabbing the wires with his tailwheel.

Yep - he drug them down, without any major mishap, parked his plane & came in muttering -

'let them fix their dammed wires now... Oh my, I just accidentally came in a little low & snagged the wires... Too bad.'

That was Stormy.

I was out there at the time because we kept our CAP Aeronca L-16 there

and I was doing some maintenance on it.”

The earliest photo that has been located of Mangham Airport was a 1970 aerial view.

It depicted the field as having a single north/south paved runway,

along with 2 grass runways.

The field had a total of 7 hangars,

along with dozens of light aircraft visible parked outside,

including several aircraft on the other side of the road along the north side of the field.

Kerry Crawford recalled, "I flew out of Mangham Airport from 1974 until it closed.

When the DFW TCA [Terminal Control Area] was a cone, the ceiling over the airport was 3,000'

and just east in was on the ground so you could not depart east."

"Landing at night was always a challenge since the 20 lights lining the runway

looked like 60 watt bulbs from pattern altitude.

Because of growing neighborhood complaints, they installed a VASI for rnwy 17, but still tiny lights.

There were hangars on both sides of the north end of the runway,

so turbulence over the buildings was always fun."

"I witnessed 2 crashes while I was there.

A Piper Champ ground-looped on takeoff & fell about 50 feet, breaking in half. Both were OK.

Then an experimental aircraft lost power on takeoff,

went under the power lines & into trees, catching fire. Burned, but lived."

A circa 1976-77 photo of Mangham Airport by Cliff Knight.

The photo is looking west, at the end of Runway 17, showing the FBO.

The building on the far right side was the owner's residence at one time,

but later housed the Tarrant Aero Association.

Cliff "used to ride my bicycle to Mangham every Sunday & fly all day long with my Jr. High School band director."

A rare airplane which lived at Mangham:

a T-6 Texan which was modified into a replica of Japanese Val dive-bomber,

which was used in the filming of the movie "Tora Tora Tora".

It was owned by Robert Parcell, a Captain with Frontier Airlines who flew with Knight's father.

Photo by Cliff Knight, 1977.

A view from a Cessna 172 on final to Runway 17 at Mangham in 1978, by Clifton Knight.

The runway had been paved by the time of the 1978 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ray Brindle),

which depicted Mangham as having a 2,500' paved runway.

Tim Carter recalled, "I was hired by Delta in 1978 & moved to North Richland Hills,

where I did some instructing at Mangham Field which was walking distance from my house.

Tarrant County Junior College had a flying department & a club at Mangham,

and I instructed a little in a Decathlon they had.

A friend & fellow Delta pilot, Bill Guy, owned a Piper dealership & school there in the early 1980s."

The 1981 USGS topo map depicted “Mangham Airport (Private)” as having a single north/south runway.

It did not depict the crosswind runway.

Several hangars were depicted on the northwest & northeast sides of the field.

Mangham Airport was listed among active airfields in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury),

which described the field as having a 2,500' asphalt Runway 17/35 & a 2,800' turf Runway 10/28.

The operators were listed as Rose Aviation Service & Hurst Piper Inc.

The runway configuration remained the same in the 1985 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse).

A total of nine hangars were depicted at the north end of the airport,

along with a small paved apron west of the Runway 17 approach end.

The manager was listed as Charles Manham,

and the operator was listed as Metro Aviation Inc.

Kerry Crawford recalled, "When they dropped the TCA [Terminal Control Area] to the ground is when Mangham closed.

Otherwise every aircraft would have to have gotten new radios & contacted DFW to depart, so they just closed it.

What I always wondered is where all the planes went.

There were hundreds there, some with an inch of dust & hadn't flown in years."

Mangham Airport apparently closed sometime between 1985-90,

as a 1990 aerial view showed that all of the hangars had been removed.

In the 1995 USGS aerial picture, the remains of both runways are still apparent,

as well as the foundations of the 3 hangars on the northeast corner of the property.

In a later aerial photo from 2000,

the area had been cleared for redevelopment.

Fred Carlson reported in 2006, “I live a few minutes away from the field.

The 3 hangars are still there & I think are being used for storage / workshops.

Under what appears to be a converted hangar there is the fuselage (minus wings) of an aircraft painted with 'Sharks Teeth'.

The actual airfield has been developed & virtually no trace remains.

Along the southwest side of Cardinal Drive there is a stone wall that could be part original offices.”

Mangham Airport was located northwest of the intersection of Grapevine Highway & Cardinal Drive.

____________________________________________________

Globe Aircraft Company Factory Airfield, Saginaw, TX

32.86 North / 97.35 West (Northwest of Fort Worth, TX)

A circa 1941-42 picture from the Swift Museum Foundation (courtesy of Robert Brown)

showing the original Bennett Aircraft Corporation hangar added to John Kennedy's horse stables.

A Bennett BTC-1 is parked in front of the hangar.

This historic former aircraft factory & airfield has had a long & convoluted history,

with many different users over the years.

In 1933, John Kennedy (former owner of Globe Laboratories) purchased several hundred acres

near the intersection of Blue Mound & Watauga Roads.

In the next few years Kennedy built facilities on his property for the his intended plans to conduct aircraft manufacturing.

On April 9, 1940, John Kennedy established the Bennett Aircraft Corporation of Fort Worth,

along with oilman Frank Bennett & several other investors,

with facilities at Blue Mound Road (according to a report courtesy of Robert Brown).

Their first product was the Bennett BTC-1 twin-engine aircraft,

of which a single prototype had been previously been constructed in California by Frank Bennett.

Their marketing of the aircraft became focused on the military,

but it evidently did not see production.

The Bennett Aircraft Company reorganized as the Globe Aircraft Corporation in 1942.

A circa 1940s aerial view looking west at the factory & its airfield,

showing scores of factory-fresh Globe Swifts, ready for delivery.

A circa 1940s aerial view looking northeast at the Globe factory.

During WW2, the Globe Aircraft Company conducted licensed production

of the Beech AT-10 advanced trainer aircraft at the Saginaw plant.

According to Scott Murdock, during WW2 the Globe plant

was designated by the Defense Plant Corporation as Plancor 898,

and the plant property was evidently acquired by the federal government.

The Globe airfield was not depicted on the 1942 Dallas Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).

The earliest depiction of the airfield which has been located

was on the August 1944 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks),

which depicted Globe as a commercial airfield.

The AT-10 assembly line at Globe's plant.

The Globe plant was declared excess by the Army in 1945,

and sold as surplus in 1946 (presumably back to the Globe company).

After the end of WW2, Kennedy was looking for business to keep his plant humming.

He made a deal with R.S. "Pop" Johnson,

who had designed the very first low wing,

2-place retractable gear general aviation aircraft, called "The Swift".

Johnson became an employee of Globe, which would undertake production & marketing of the little aircraft.

The first all-metal Swift flew in 1945, and was certified in 1946.

Strangely, the Globe factory airfield still wasn't depicted at all

on the March 1947 Dallas Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

Was it never again depicted as an active fixed-wing airfield?

A Globe GC-1A Swift, 1948.

Globe worked to continually improve the Swift design, and sales took off.

Returning veterans admired its "hot fighter" look, even though the horsepower of the first run was only 85 hp.

National advertising programs were conducted,

and a tremendous demand & backlog of orders for Swifts resulted.

To meet this backlog of orders,

Globe entered into a contract with newly founded TEMCO (Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company)

at nearby Grand Prairie, TX (at the former North American plant at the Dallas NAS).

The contract authorized TEMCO to build Swifts under sub-contract simultaneously with the Globe production.

An undated view of the Globe Swift production line.

In 1946, Globe & TEMCO together produced a total of 833 Swifts in just over a 6 month period.

Production very quickly caught up with orders,

and suddenly the parking fields near both plants were full of unsold Swifts.

Kennedy soon closed the doors to the Globe Saginaw plant for various business reasons,

but primarily to avoid what we would today call a corporate "hostile takeover".

TEMCO obtained rights to the Swift as payment for money owned them by Globe.

All parts & production tooling for the Swift were transferred to the TEMCO Grand Prairie plant,

and the doors to the Globe Saginaw plant were closed.

The Globe Airfield was apparently abandoned for a few years,

as it was labeled "Abandoned" on the 1948 USAF Urban Area Chart.

It depicted 2 runways: a northwest/southeast strip on the east side,

and a longer north/south strip on the west side.

The next phase of the history of this factory complex concerns its reuse by the Bell Helicopter Company.

When Bell Aircraft moved its growing helicopter manufacturing operations to Fort Worth in 1951,

the Globe Plant in Saginaw was leased by Bell.

All of Bell Helicopter's initial operations,

including flight & maintenance training in the Bell 47 helicopter took place at the Saginaw plant.

A variety of design, production, testing & training operations

were also conducted by Bell at the old Globe plant.

Bell's Globe operations were also involved in supporting their flight test facility at nearby Hicks Field.

A view of the factory complex looking southeast, evidently from the period when it was reused by Bell Helicopter.

A single north/south runway was depicted at the Globe facility

on the 1963 Tarrant County TX Highway Department Map (courtesy of Gainey Bradfield).

It was listed as the "Bell Globe" Heliport in the 1963 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse),

and described as having a 3,000' x 100' landing area.

The 1964 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ross Richardson)

depicted "Bell Globe" as a private heliport.

In a 1970 aerial view of Globe Airfield, the western runway was prominently marked with several closed “X” symbols,

and there was no sign of the former eastern runway.

A large hangar had been built (for helicopters?) on the northwest corner of the field at some point between 1948-70.

A closeup from the 1970 aerial photo of the ramp next to the Globe factory showed what appeared to be a large number of light helicopters (Bell 47s?).

A closeup from the 1970 aerial photo of the Globe airfield's northwest ramp, showing the hangar & a dozen unidentified helicopters.

Bell Helicopter's pilot & maintenance training continued at the Globe Plant until 1970,

when those activities were shifted to new facilities in Hurst, just southwest of their main plant.

However, "Bell Globe" was still depicted as a private heliport

on the 1978 DFW Sectional Chart (courtesy of Ray Brindle),

In the 1981 USGS topo map, the property was still labeled "Saginaw Army Aircraft Plant".

It depicted a single 2,200' paved north/south runway on the west side,

and a heliport on the east side.

A 1990 aerial view showed the Globe airfield to be abandoned, with not a single aircraft or helicopter visible on the property.

Aerial photo 2000.

The interior of the factory building, 2001.

A 7/02 photo by Paul Freeman of the west side of the abandoned factory building,

showing the "Bell Helicopter" lettering which was still plainly discernible.

A 7/02 photo by Paul Freeman, looking east along the north side of the factory, with the airfield water tower in the background.

A 7/02 photo by Paul Freeman of the south side of the factory, along with its security tower.

A 7/02 photo by Paul Freeman of a former hangar on the west side of the former airfield,

which appears to be of somewhat more recent construction than the others on the property.

The hangar is now used to overhaul military trucks.

Paul Freeman visited the site of the Globe plant in 2002.

At the northeast corner of the property, all of the original Globe factory buildings still stand,

although in very decayed condition.

The factory's water tower still stands to the south of the plant,

still painted in the red & white checkerboard pattern commonly found at airfields.

A paved taxiway leads west from the factory buildings toward the paved runway, which also still exists.

A former hangar sits along the west side of the runway.

The hangar is of noticeably later construction than the factory buildings,

presumably built at some point by Bell Helicopter during their tenure at the Globe plant.

The entire complex is surrounded by a high barbed-wire fence,

and it apparently reused by a company which overhauls military cargo trucks.

The runway is used as a parking area for a large number of these trucks.

Scott Murdock visited the Globe plant in 2004,

and reported that the property remains basically unchanged.

Tim Tyler reported in 2004 that a portion of the "former Saginaw Army Aircraft Plant" was listed for sale

in an online auction by the General Services Administration.

The parcel listed for sale was a total of almost 7 acres,

and included several buildings, including an Aircraft Manufacturing Building

(93,606 square feet, of which a portion of the roof was described as having collapsed),

a Facility Maintenance Shop, Guard House (North), Covered Reservoir, Pump House, Elevated Water Storage Tank,

Guard House (South), Aircraft Paint Shop, Water Well, Fire House Station, and a parking lot.

Scott Murdock visited the site of Globe Aircraft in 2005, and it looked largely unchanged from its appearance in 2002.

A circa 2002-2005 aerial view looking north at the former Globe Factory,

showing that the northeast end of the factory was already partially demolished.

Unfortunately the end came for the historic Globe factory building in 2005,

as shown by these 2 pictures (courtesy of Mike Headley).

Mike observed later in 2005, “The only difference between these photos & what the site currently looks like

is that the remaining portions of the building have been knocked down completely.

It's really sad that this building that I've grown up around is gone.

It took my breath away when I saw what had happened a few days ago.

I am not sure what the fate of the remaining buildings are

but there is heavy equipment still parked on the property

and it's still possible that the rest will be demolished in the coming days.”

A December 15, 2005 photo by Mark Nemier, showing the tracks coming out of the west end of the former hangar.

A December 15, 2005 photo by Mark Nemier, showing the unfortunate state of the former Globe factory.

The factory & airfield site is located southwest of the intersection of Blue Mound Road & East McLeroy Road.

The southern edge of the property is bounded by Kennedy Lane

(evidently named for the former President of Globe Aircraft Company).

Another clue to the area's aviation heritage may be found on the opposite (east) side of Blue Mound Road,

where sits a small community of vintage small single-family homes,

evidently built as the factory housing for the workers of the Globe plant.

The neighborhood has streets named Globe Avenue, Bell Avenue, Continental Street, etc.