Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Northern Arizona
© 2002, © 2016 by Paul Freeman. Revised 2/27/16.
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Ash Fork Airport / Jay Hasbrook Airport / Santa Fe Airport (revised 3/7/14) - Ash Fork Intermediate Field (revised 3/12/11)
Grand Canyon North Rim Airport / V.T. Park Airport (revised 2/8/12) - Red Butte Airport / Grand Canyon Airport (revised 3/28/15)
Tuba City Airport (1st location) (added 7/5/15) - Tuba City Airport (2nd location) (revised 2/27/16) - Winona Intermediate Field (revised 3/7/14)
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Tuba City Airport (1st location), Tuba City, AZ
36.13, -111.26 (North of Flagstaff, AZ)
The original Tuba City Airport, as seen in a 6/20/43 aerial view looking northeast from the from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
The original airport for the town of Tuba City was located 1 mile southwest of the town.
The date of establishment of the original Tuba City Airport has not been determined.
The only reference which has been located to the original location of Tuba City Airport
was in the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
It described Tuba City Airport as being located 1 mile southwest of the town,
and consisting of a 100 acre oval-shaped property having a 4,000' east/west unimproved surface landing area.
The field was said to not have any hangars, to be owned by the U.S. Government,
but not be in operation (possibly closed during WW2 like many other small civilian airports).
At some point between 1945-56, the Tuba City Airport was evidently relocated to a site adjacent to the east side of the town,
as that is where it was depicted on the 1956 USGS topo map.
The site of the original location of Tuba City Airport is occupied with a smattering of houses,
with no trace recognizable of the airport.
The site of the original Tuba City Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Moenave Street & Old Airport Road, appropriately enough.
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Tuba City Airport (2nd location), Tuba City, AZ
36.134, -111.234 (North of Flagstaff, AZ)
The 2nd location of the Tuba City Airport, as depicted on the 1956 USGS topo map.
At some point between 1945-56, the original Tuba City Airport to the southwest of the town
was evidently relocated to a site adjacent to the east side of the town, as depicted on the 1956 USGS topo map.
It depicted Tuba City Airport as having a single northeast/southwest runway.
The 1969 USGS topo map depicted the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport as having an unpaved northeast/southwest runway,
with a taxiway leading to the northwest toward the hospital.
David Stevens recalled of the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport,
“My dad & I took an off-airport excursion in 1972.
He had just bought a 1960 Cessna 182 a few months earlier & this was his first long-distance flight (El Monte to Michigan)
and failed to monitor his fuel as we were in a long left bank to survey the field for landing (he had to pee & this was the nearest field I could find on the sectional).
The older Cessna gauges were notoriously inaccurate...his excuse not mine, and not being a pilot yet I couldn't chime in.
He was fighting a crosswind from the left, and it took out one of the wooden runway markers.
The plane was dismantled a few days later & trucked back to Van Nuys.
When we had our emergency landing there, the strip was mainly being used by plane owners who served as air ambulance pilots for the Native American population.”
The 1973 Flight Guide (courtesy of Fred Udall) depicted the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport as having an 4,300' unpaved Runway 1/19,
with a taxiway & a ramp on the west side.
The last dated map depiction which has been located of the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport was on the 1983 USGS topo map.
A circa late 1980s aerial view by David Stevens looking south along the unpaved runway of the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport.
A replacement Tuba City Airport with a longer paved runway opened 5 miles west of the town in 1992,
at which point presumably the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport was closed.
A 2014 aerial view looking north shows the runway of the 2nd location ot Tuba City Airport remains recognizable,
and there are a few foundations along the west side of the midpoint of the runway, possibly for some hangars or other airport-related buildings.
As of 2015, street maps label the 2nd location of Tuba City Airport's runway as Grandview Street,
although it does not appear to be actively reused as a street, because there are no houses or buildings built along it.
Thanks to David Stevens for pointing out this airfield.
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Winona Intermediate Field, Winona, AZ
35.143, -111.27 (Northeast of Phoenix, AZ)
Winona Intermediate Field 43A, as depicted on the January 1942 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Winona Intermediate Field was apparently established as one of the Department of Commerce's network of airfields
built for the emergency use of commercial aircraft flying along airways in between major cities.
It was apparently established at some point between 1929-33,
as it was not yet listed among active airfields in the 1929 Airplane Landing Fields of the Pacific West (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to the Winona Intermediate Field which has been located
was in The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Winona as the Department of Commerce's Site 43A, along the Los Angeles - Amarillo airway.
The field was said to measure 145 acres in size,
and to have 2 sod & dirt runways: 3,887' east/west & 3,300' north/south.
The field was said to have beacon, boundary, and approach lights, but no service.
Winona apparently gained a third runway within the next year,
as the Department of Commerce's 1934 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described the field as having 3 sod & dirt runways (with the longest being the 3,960' north/south strip).
A shed was said to have "43A" & "LA-A" marked on the roof,
and the field was said to have emergency aviation gasoline.
The earliest depiction of the Winona Intermediate Field which has been located
was on the January 1942 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The earliest photo of the Winona Intermediate Field which has been located
was a 6/20/43 aerial view looking north from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
It depicted Winona as having 3 unpaved runways.
The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described Winona Intermediate Field
as a 155 acre L-shaped property having 3 “sod” runways, with the longest being the 3,960' north/south strip.
The field was not said to have any hangars, was described as being owned by the U.S. Government,
and operated by the Civil Aeronautics Adminstration.
The last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Winona
was on the September 1946 Prescott Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The Winona Intermediate Field was evidently abandoned at some point between 1946-49,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the March 1949 Prescott Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The need for the network of intermediate fields had largely been eliminated by that point,
as advances in the range & safety of commercial aircraft made such emergency fields unnecessary.
A 4/1/54 USGS aerial photo showed that the outline of 3 runways at the Winona Intermediate Field was still recognizable.
Nothing at all was depicted at the site of the Winona Intermediate Field
on USGS topo maps from 1968, 1970, 1982, or 1983.
After being abandoned for more than 60 years,
a 6/20/07 aerial photo showed that the outline of 3 runways at the Winona Intermediate Field was still quite recognizable.
There did not appear to be any traces of any buildings at the site.
The Winona Intermediate Field is located a mile southeast of the intersection of Interstate 40 & Forrest Service Road (exit 219). ____________________________________________________
Ash Fork Intermediate Field, Ash Fork, AZ
35.23, -112.55 (Northwest of Phoenix, AZ)
A 6/20/43 aerial view looking west at Ashfork Intermediate Field from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
The earliest official description of the Ash Fork Intermediate Field which has been located
was in The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described the field as Site 36A along the Los Angeles - Amarillo Airway,
one of the Department of Commerce's network of Intermediate Fields.
The field was said to have two 3,960' sod & dirt runways, oriented north/south & east/west.
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Ash Fork in the same manner.
The earliest depiction of the Ashfork Intermediate Field which has been located
was a 6/20/43 aerial view looking west from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
It depicted Ashfork as having 3 unpaved runways.
The earliest aeronautical chart depiction of the Ash Fork Intermediate Field which has been located
was on the 1943 11M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
It labeled the field as Ash Fork Intermediate Field 36A,
and also indicated that the Ash Fork Radio (a 4-way radio navigational range) was located on the field.
Ash Fork was described in the April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 4,100' unpaved runway.
It was still listed as "Site 36A" along the Los Angeles - Amarillo Airway.
The March 1945 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) still depicted Ash Fork as Site 36A.
The March 1949 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks) depicted "Ash Fork (CAA)" as Site 36,
and described the field as having a 4,100' unpaved runway.
The Ash Fork Intermediate Field was evidently closed at some point between 1949-62,
as it was not listed among active airfields in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory.
The need for the network of intermediate fields had largely been eliminated,
as advances in the range & safety of commercial aircraft made such emergency fields unnecessary.
Nothing at all was depicted at the site of the Ash Fork Intermediate Field on the 1970, 1973, or 1983 USGS topo maps.
Nearly 60 years after it was constructed,
a 6/8/07 aerial photo showed that the outline the Ash Fork Intermediate Field was still quite recognizable.
There did not appear to be any traces of any buildings at the site.
The Ash Fork Intermediate Field is located on the north side of Interstate 40, 4 miles west of the town of Ash Fork.
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Ash Fork Airport / Jay Hasbrook Airport / Santa Fe Airport, Ash Fork, AZ
35.231, -112.49 (Northwest of Phoenix, AZ)
The Ash Fork Airport, as depicted on the August 1971 USAF Tactical Pilotage Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Dan Lawler reported that in a phone conversation with the person responsible for the Acheson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad's land leases,
“He told me the original use of the site for aircraft operations dated all the way back to the World War One era
when Ash Fork was still a major stop along the rail line, and still contracted with a 'Harvey House' lodge.
I remember him using the phrase, '...one of the earliest landing fields in the country'."
[Note that this Ash Fork Airport north of the town was a separate airfield from the original Ash Fork Intermediate Field,
located a few miles to the west of the town.]
The Ash Fork Airport was not depicted on the 1949 USGS topo map,
nor listed among active airfields in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory.
The earliest depiction of the airfield which has been located
was on the August 1971 USAF Tactical Pilotage Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the Ash Fork Airport north of the town as having a 3,400' unpaved runway.
The 1972 Flight Guide (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Ash Fork as having three unpaved runways (with the longest being the 3,400' Runway 7/25)
and 2 small buildings (hangars?) south of the runway intersection.
The earliest photo which has been located of Ash Fork Airport was a 4/2/72 USGS aerial view.
It depicted 3 unpaved runways & a few small buildings.
Dan Lawler recalled, "In the summer of 1975 I was beginning to set up my business, Air Grand Canyon.
I was seeking a location along the US 66 / Interstate-40 corridor
from which to conduct commercial Grand Canyon air tours.
Since at that time the AZ Corporation Commission required a flight operator to obtain a certificate from them,
and would almost never issue one where another operator was already in business,
most of the otherwise prime locations like Williams & Flagstaff were effectively ruled out."
Dan continued, "Ash Fork, however, had no operator,
and was a location from which a one-hour round-trip air tour could be conducted.
Having flown over the town I had seen the old dirt runways,
and through some local inquiries I determined that the airport was on land owned by the Acheson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad."
Dan continued, "With a phone call to the Santa Fe headquarters in Chicago
I began the particularly lengthy process of leasing the airport land from them.
I learned from Santa Fe’s guy in charge of land-leases that the land was then being used for cattle grazing,
and had been since the 1950's."
Ash Fork Airport was listed as an active airfield in the 1976 AOPA Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as Santa Fe Airfield on the June 1976 Phoenix Sectional Chart (according to David Brooks).
An April 1976 aerial view by Dan Lawler looking east at the Ash Fork Airport.
"The runways had at some time in the past received some well done grading, and were crowned, and still drained effectively.
[Runway] 7/25 had quite an up-slope toward the west."
An April 1976 aerial view by Dan Lawler looking south at the Ash Fork Airport.
Dan Lawler continued, "There was a small very run-down open-front hangar & a big shack on the airport property,
along with several piles of old lumber & debris.
A local guy told me the buildings had been erected in the post-war 1940s.
By 1977 the hangar was ratty, but if you had a 'third-world' mindset,
it was still usable for a single-engine airplane.
The shack on the other hand, while nearly as large as the hangar,
was so tumble-down it wasn’t even safe to walk into."
Dan continued, "Brahma cattle roamed the runways at will, leaving an incalculable number of cowpies,
and the whole property was pockmarked with prairie dog holes.
Of the 3 runways, 16/34 was rutted to the point of being not usable,
but the other 2 runways were still marginally serviceable rough dirt.
That summer, after first driving them several times in my car,
I landed there in a Cessna 210, a Cessna 172, and a Piper Warrior."
Dan continued, "That September my step-brother, Jay Hasbrook,
was killed in a sailplane accident in the Sierra Estrella mountains southwest of Phoenix
(Jay was a commercial pilot & flight instructor, the son of aviation safety expert Howard Hasbrook).
I was the one who had the airport renamed in his honor,
simply by sending a letter to the AZ Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division."
Dan continued, "As the lease negotiations with Santa Fe dragged on, a different opportunity presented itself.
A Floridian named Carl Antone contacted me about helping to develop an airport
on property he owned south of the town of Ash Fork.
Carl convinced me to abandon the frustrating effort to secure the old Santa Fe airport,
and we cooperated in creating a 4,300’ black cinder airstrip on his property.
I’ll always fondly remember that first abortive start at the old Santa Fe Airport at Ash Fork."
Air Grand Canyon finally began sightseeing flights from this new Jay Hasbrook airfield in the summer of 1977,
but their operations at that location lasted less than a year, after the new runway was destroyed in a flood.
Air Grand Canyon eventually moved to the Williams Airport,
and finally to the Grand Canyon Airport, where it was the airport's 2nd largest fixed-wing air tour operator in 2004.
The July 1977 World Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted the "Jay Hasbrook" Airport as having a 3,400' unpaved runway.
The 1979 USGS topo map depicted the “Ash Fork Landing Strip” as having 2 unpaved runways,
with 2 small buildings just southeast of the runway intersection.
The last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Santa Fe Airfield
was on the November 1980 Phoenix Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).
It depicted Santa Fe as a private airfield with a 3,400' unpaved runway.
The Santa Fe Airfield was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1980-81,
as it was no longer depicted on the 1981 Phoenix Sectional Chart (according to David Brooks) or later aeronautical charts.
In the 1992 USGS aerial photo, the outlines of Runways 7/25 & 3/21 were still apparent,
but not a trace appeared to remain of Runway 16/34, or any buildings at the site.
A 6/8/07 aerial photo showed the outlines of Runways 7/25 & 3/21 were still apparent,
but not a trace appeared to remain of Runway 16/34, or any buildings at the site.
The Ash Fork Airport is located northwest of the intersection of Double A Ranch Road & Railroad Avenue.
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Grand Canyon North Rim Airport / V.T. Park Airport (L42, NGC), North Rim, AZ
36.388, -112.132 (North of Grand Canyon, AZ)
"Grand Canyon (North Rim)" Airport, as depicted on the March 1949 Grand Canyon Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
Steven Sund recalled, "There was an airstrip at the Grand Canyon's north rim
presumably to connect the more remote north rim with the south rim villages.
It was on the west side of the main access road & was possibly operated by the US Forest Service."
The Grand Canyon North Rim Airport was apparently established at some point between 1937-38,
as it was not listed among active airfields in The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was in The Airport Directory Company's 1938 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It described Grand Canyon North Rim as a commercial airport located 18 miles north of Canyon Rim.
It was said to have 2 runways: 3,800' north/south & 2,500' northeast/southwest.
The Grand Canyon North Rim Airport was described in the same fashion
in The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
The Grand Canyon North Rim Airport was apparently closed for a few years during WW2
(like many other small civilian airports),
as it was not depicted at all on the February 1944 Grand Canyon Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
or listed among active airports in the April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
or the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
The Grand Canyon North Rim Airport was evidently reopened at some point between 1945-49,
as it was depicted on the March 1949 Grand Canyon Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted "Grand Canyon (North Rim)" Airport as having a 3,000' unpaved runway.
The airport was evidently closed again (for reasons unknown) at some point in the next 4 years,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the September 1953 Grand Canyon Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
or subsequent aeronautical charts.
The 1962 USGS topo map continued to depict a single unpaved northwest/southeast runway, labeled simply as "Airstrip".
The 1968 AOPA Airport Directory (according to www.airfields.database) listed this field as “V.T. Park”,
with a 3,500' dirt Runway 15/33.
A single 3,400' northwest/southeast runway was still depicted on the 1984 USGS topo map,
labeled simply as "Landing Strip".
It was still listed as V.T. Park Airport in 1986 AOPA Airport Directory (according to www.airfields.database).
The 1988 USGS topo map continued to depict a single 3,400' northwest/southeast runway,
labeled simply as "Landing Strip".
The remains of the single runway at North Grand Canyon was still quite apparent in the 1992 USGS aerial photo.
There did not appear to be any remains of any buildings at the site.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking at the snowy remains of the Grand Canyon North Rim Airport's runway.
The Grand Canyon North Rim Airport is located along the west side of Route 67,
just south of the Kaibab Lodge.
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Red Butte Airport / Grand Canyon Airport, Tusayan, AZ
35.852, -112.09 (South of Grand Canyon, AZ)
An April 1928 photo of Charles Lindbergh, 2 of his backers, and his Ryan B-1 Brougham in front of the Scenic Airways hangar at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
In 1927, former WW1 Army flyer, entrepreneur & promoter Parker Van Zandt
created a runway across a northern Arizona meadow at a place called Red Butte,
built a hangar, and launched the first commercial air tours over the nearby Grand Canyon.
His Scenic Airways was bankrolled by some of the biggest names in American business (such as Henry Ford).
Its first flights carried National Park Service & Fred Harvey Company officials
over the Canyon in a Stinson Detroiter.
Scenic Airways flew its first paying sightseers over the Grand Canyon in April 1928,
a month later bringing online the first of more than a dozen AT-4 & AT-5 Tri-Motors
purchased from the Ford Motor Company.
In addition to a large hangar at Red Butte, 4 cottages & a Great House were built.
The Great House was of the same quality as the El Tovar Lodge.
Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport had a very famous visitor in April 1928,
as documented by a photo of Charles Lindbergh, 2 of his backers, and his Ryan B-1 Brougham in front of the Scenic Airways hangar at Red Butte.
An April 1928 photo of Charles Lindbergh's Ryan B-1 Brougham in front of the Scenic Airways hangar at Grand Canyon Airport.
The Standard Oil Company's 1929 "Airplane Landing Fields of the Pacific West" (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described the Grand Canyon Airport as being operated by Scenic Airways.
The airfield was said to measure 9,250' x 3,700', with a sandy loam surface,
with the entire field available for landings.
A T-shaped hangar, marked "Scenic Airways" in front,
was said to be at the northwest corner of the field.
The onset of the Great Depression spelled the end for overextended Scenic Airways.
By 1930, Scenic’s assets, including the Red Butte Airport & its maintenance hangar,
along with 17 aircraft had been sold off.
A group headed by one Jack Thornburg bought the Canyon tour operation
& reopened the Red Butte airport for the 1931 summer season,
flying as Grand Canyon Air Lines using a three-engine Bach & a Curtiss Robin.
An undated photo of a Scenic Airways Ford Trimotor.
From 1931 onward - except for WW2 when pleasure flying was suspended -
the aerial tour service has operated from the South Rim under several names.
In the mid-1930s the airline enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Transcontinental & Western Air,
with side trips to the Canyon from TWA stops at Winslow, AZ, to the Red Butte field via Ford Tri-Motor.
A winter 1935 view of a snowy scene of the Grand Canyon Airlines hangar at Red Butte.
An aerial view of the "Grand Canyon Airport"
from The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airports Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The directory described "Grand Canyon Airport" as having 2 sod landing strips,
with the longest being an 8,000' northeast/southwest runway.
The aerial photo in the directory depicted a single hangar along the west side of the field,
as well as a total of 12 aircraft parked on the field.
A description of Grand Canyon Airport in the 1930s is provided in Giacinta Koontz's book “The Original Grand Canyon Airport”.
Things hummed along until WW2.
Some sources indicate that only military flights flew out of the Red Butte Airfield from 1942-45.
However, the field may have been closed at some point during the war
(as was the case with many other small civilian airports),
as no airfield was depicted at Red Butte on the 1945 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
nor listed among active airfields in the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock).
It evidently reopened at some point between 1945-49,
as "Grand Canyon" Airport was depicted on the 1949 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).
It was described as having a 6,000' unpaved runway.
In 1951 civil aviation began again at Red Butte with the Hudgins brothers.
The Aerodromes table on the 1956 Prescott Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss)
described "Grand Canyon (South Rim)" as having 2 unpaved runways, with the longest being 6,000'.
The 1956 USGS topo map depicted Grand Canyon Airport as having 2 perpendicular runways
with 2 buildings on the west side of the field.
Since 1957, the airline service at the field has been called Grand Canyon Airlines, Inc.
Grand Canyon Airport was still depicted as an active airfield
on the August 1962 USAF Operational Navigation Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1964 Jeppesen Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted the Grand Canyon Airport as having a total of 4 runways, including parallel Runway 2L/20R & 2R/20L.
The longest runway was the 9,100' Runway 1/19.
Several small buildings were depicted along the west side of the field.
By the time of the January 1966 USAF Operational Navigation Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
the original Red Butte / Grand Canyon Airport had been closed,
after it was replaced by the new Grand Canyon National Park Airport, built 13 miles to the northwest in Tusayan.
All of the structures at the Red Butte Airport (the hangar, 4 cottages & the Great House)
either burned down or were taken down by the 1970s.
The airfield was not depicted at all on the 1970 USGS topo map.
Mike Borck recalled, “The Grand Canyon Airport on the South Rim... I grew up there.
We were ranchers; I moved there in 1972, I was 7 years old.
We used the hangar as a barn, when we first moved there we lived in the north side of the duplex,
Mason Meeks & his wife, the ranch foreman at the time lived in the house that burnt down.
Mr. Meeks retired & we moved into the bigger house, the one that burnt down years after I left home for the Marine Corps in 1982.
My Mom Delma & step Dad Marion 'Sonny' Wallmark stayed on at the hangar as 10 x & 77 Bars Ranches for several more years.
My brother & I while carrying water to some of our animals witnessed this plane crash, tail number N2541W, in April of 1976 out on the old runway.
When we first moved there hanging on the wall of the hangar was what I was told were a pair of ailerons for a biplane.
The hangar was in very good shape in the days when we were there.
Sad to see but it looks to have really taken a beating since we left.”
At the site of Red Butte Airport, the 1980 USGS topo map depicted two 4,500' runways
(oriented northeast/southwest & northwest/southeast), labeled simply "Landing Field".
It also depicted the oval driveway (west of the runways) of the former airport terminal.
The outlines of the 2 runways are still barely perceptible in the above 1992 USGS aerial photo,
as well as the oval driveway of the former airport terminal (on the west side of the field).
The former hangar was also still visible, at the south end of the oval driveway.
A September 2004 photo by Chris Kennedy of the hangar which remains standing at the site of the Old Grand Canyon Airport.
Chris Kennedy visited the site of the old Grand Canyon Airport in September 2004.
His report: "The site is actually in a wooded area (except for what was the runway area, which is cleared)
down a short dirt road which starts about 2 miles down a good gravel National Forest road.
I think it's private property, although the road into it was not posted as private, or I wouldn't have gone down it.
There were a bunch of trucks parked near the hangar building, so somebody is using the property for something.
I couldn't tell in my brief visit if the building itself was still in use."
As of 2005, it was reported that the entire airport property (850 acres) was owned by the U.S. Forest Service,
which leased the property to ranchers.
Until 2005, this historic site was used for cattle, horses and other ranching commerce,
resulting in considerable neglect and vandalism to the site.
Toxic waste accumulated & buildings either burned down or were torn down.
Souvenir hunters removed artifacts left unguarded.
Giacinta Koontz is the Director of an organization named the Red Butte Aerodrome Preservation Project.
She has been preparing a nomination to place Red Butte on the National Register of Historic Places.
Giacinta reported in 2005, “The buildings are privately owned.
The buildings sit upon land owned by the Forest Service (Kaibab National Forest).
After the rancher's land use permit to graze cattle expired
he sold the buildings to the new owners (my employers) last February 2005.
The Forest Service had plans to knock everything down (the bulldozer was sitting outside the bungalow)
when the new owners stepped in & halted that demolition.”
A circa 2006 aerial view showed the Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport remained in an unchanged state.
A closeup from the circa 2006 aerial view showing the hangar which remains standing at the site of the Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
A pair of pre-2008 photos of the front & rear of the 70-year-old hangar
which remains standing at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport (courtesy of Bob Wilson).
The lettering “Grand Canyon Airlines” still remains on both the front & back,
whereas the “Scenic Airways” lettering was evidently removed (but still readable) from the front of the hangar.
A circa 2008 photo of the interior of the 70-year-old hangar which remains standing at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
A November 2012 photo by Jim Jordan of the 80+ year-old hangar which remains standing at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
A November 2012 photo by Jim Jordan of the 80+ year-old hangar which remains standing at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
A 2/8/15 photo by Paul Griffiths of Lost Viking Photography of the 80+ year-old hangar which remains standing at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
An evocative 2/8/15 photo by Paul Griffiths of Lost Viking Photography of the interior of the Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport hangar.
A retouched 2/8/15 photo by Cassy Borg of the 80+ year-old hangar which remains standing at Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport is located 2 miles east of Route 180, 11 miles south of Tusayan, AZ.
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