History of the Santa Monica Airport
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History of the Santa Monica Airport June 1, 2009 1917 - 1940 Circa 1917 - Pilots flying the early WWI era biplanes start using the site as an informal landing strip / airport In 1922 – Donald W. Douglas forms the Douglas Aircraft Company and moves into an abandoned movie studio at 2345 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica (currently Douglas Park) and starts producing military and civilian aircraft. 1922 Douglas begins using the future site of the Santa Monica Airport to test and fly production aircraft. April 15, 1923 - Dedicated as Clover Field by U.S. Army Air Corps - named for World War I pilot Lt. Greayer “Grubby” Clover who grew up on the Westside and was killed in action during WWI 1920‟2 - Howard Hughes learns to fly at the Santa Monica Airport and maintains a hangar on the Airport up into the 1960‟s April 14, 1926 – Special Municipal Bond Election held for the acquisition of 165 acres comprising most of the existing Clover Field (Park Bond issue). July 19, 1926 – City Council approves Ordinance providing for the issuance of $860,000 Clover Field Purchase Bonds. August 30, 1926 - City Council approves Resolution accepting the Grant Deed for Clover Field June 15, 1927 - City Council Changes the name of Clover Field to Santa Monica Airport 1928 - City acquires an additional 60 acres to expand the fledgling airport facility. August 19, 1929 – First Powder Puff Derby women‟s air race. Twenty women participate in the first women‟s air race from Santa Monica to Cleveland, Ohio where the race ended on Monday, August 26. The event took place as part of the 1929 Cleveland National Air Races. Amelia Earhart, Pancho Barnes, Louise Thaden, Bobbi Trout and other women aviators of the era brought international attention to women in aviation. Douglas Aircraft Company – The Early Years & War Effort 1929 - Douglas completes the move of its factory & offices to Santa Monica Airport and begins to ramp-up production and testing of its early airliners (DC-3 & DC-4) and military aircraft. During this time period SMO, was used primarily by Douglas with some general aviation / sport / movie flying activity. 1. 1924 - Douglas Aircraft (and Santa Monica Airport) was catapulted to super-star status when its World Cruiser biplanes became the first aircraft to successfully 1 circumnavigate of earth between April 6th and September 28th 1924. 2. During it‟s peak years, Douglas employed up to 44,000 employees working three shifts - 24/7 3. Housing had to be built for those employees and it was built in the area surrounding the airport - Both L.A. & Santa Monica zoned residential up to the perimeter of the Airport and adjoining roadways to accommodate the housing demand 4. Douglas built and tested many different kinds of aircraft at SMO including the DC- 3 / DC-4 / DC-6 piston powered airliners - these were very large multi-engine aircraft that rolled off the assembly line by the hundreds / thousands - these were powerful aircraft made lots of noise (and blast) 5. Douglas also built and tested many military aircraft (inc A-20 Havoc & A-26 Marauder) and the B-19 the largest aircraft of its time. 6. Douglas changed the City of Santa Monica forever by transforming the once sleepy beach resort / bedroom community into a primarily blue-collar town. During World War II, the Federal Government (for national security reasons) leased a large portion of the Airport from the City to provide protection for Douglas Aircraft - now a major defense contractor - and also participated in the expansion of the facility to accommodate the ever-growing production of military aircraft by Douglas Aircraft - it was during this time that the Airport was reconfigured to the current runway and taxiway layout and expanded to 227 acres. Following the end of the war - the City and the Federal Government executed an “Instrument of Transfer dated August 10, 1948” in which the Federal Government relinquished its leasehold interest in the Airport and transferred it back to the City. Prior to its transfer back to the City, the Federal Government completed the relocation and expansion of the runway and taxiway system to its current configuration. Runway Orientation / Configuration 1. Runway was moved approximately 1,000 ft south from its original location 2. Runway‟s were changed from an “X” configuration to a single east-west runway 3. Runway now 5,000 feet long with two full-length parallel taxiways (A & B) 4. Runway 21 departs to the west 5. Runway 3 departs to the east. In 1949 Bill Lear opened a manufacturing facility on a ten acre parcel immediately adjacent to the Santa Monica Airport (the current site of the SMC Bundy Campus). By 1962 his company had 5,000 employees. Bill Lear was a prolific inventor and is best known for founding the Learjet Corporation. He also invented the first car radio (the “Motorola”) and developed the 8-track audio cartridge & player. 1950's & 1960's Douglas Aircraft Company – Post War Era 1. During the post-war 1950's Douglas continued to expand its propeller-driven commercial airliner business -culminating in the production of the 166,000 lb - DC-7C capable of transporting 110 passengers at speeds of up to 400 mph for 2 5,600+ miles. 338 DC-7s were built at the Douglas plant. 2. At the close of the „50's, Douglas began development of a 4-engine jet powered airliner - the DC-8 - to compete with Boeing‟s 707. Douglas came to the City with a proposal to lengthen the runway to accommodate this new aircraft and to acquire additional acreage to build new corporate offices - the City declined the request - subsequently, Douglas shifted the manufacturing of jet aircraft to Long Beach Airport. However, research and development, missile production, and sub-assembly work continued at the Santa Monica Airport plant. 3. During its fifty-year tenure at Santa Monica Airport, the Douglas Aircraft Company built at total of 10,724 aircraft at the plant. General Aviation Activity 1. During the 50's and 60's general aviation experienced unprecedented growth and activity – as pilots returning from WW II and the Korean War purchased aircraft and continued flying 2. Airlines were expanding - hiring pilots - and pilot training reached an all time high. 3. This growth peaked at Santa Monica Airport (and at other airport‟s in the Basin) in the late 60's when total operations reached 356,000+ per year - which equated to 975 operations per day (or an average of approx 40 arrivals & 40 departures per hour over a twelve hour period) Early 1960's the first civilian jets started coming to the Airport. Stagg V. City - December 1969, aircraft operator challenged the City‟s night time (11:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.) jet departure curfew. Upon appeal, the court ruled on behalf of the City and upheld the departure curfew finding that the enabling ordinance “clearly comes under the City‟s power to „regulate the use of the airport.‟ Douglas Leaves - 1. During the 1970's, it became apparent that Douglas was leaving the City to consolidate its operation at the Long Beach Airport site. The City subsequently conducted an economic analysis of the property to determine the best use of the site - during this process the City requested a ruling from that State as to whether or not the City could close the Airport. The State Attorney General ruled that the City could not close the airport. 2. Douglas completed its relocation to Long Beach in 1975 and by September 1977 the entire Santa Monica Plant had been razed to the ground leaving only a large vacant dirt lot. 3. The Airport thus became purely a general aviation airport 1970's - The Airport Neighbors Forum & Noise Regulations 1. In 1974 the City formed the “Airport Neighbors Forum” consisting of 3 representatives of local airport neighborhoods and aviation interest for the expressed purpose of developing proposals to mitigate aircraft noise. 2. The current recommended flight tracks are a direct result of this citizen group involvement 3. Subsequently, the City Council adopted several ordinances designed to reduce aircraft noise based upon of the Forum‟s recommendations. These included: A total ban on all jets SENEL limit of 100db Departure curfew between 11:00 p.m. & 7:00 a.m. Ban on helicopter flying Prohibition on “touch and go‟s” (nights, weekends & holidays After the City adopted the jet ban in April of 1975, it was challenged in court by SMAA, NBAA and GAMA in 1977. 1. Federal District Court enjoined the jet ban in 1979, but upheld the City's other regulations 2. The 9th Circuit Court of appeal upheld the court's injunction of the jet ban in 1981 and affirmed the City‟s authority as to other regulations, including adoption of a 100 dB noise limit. 1980's - 1. During the 1980's General Aviation experienced a dramatic nation-wide down turn in total operations as a result of many factors including: · Economic recession · FAA controllers strike · Increased product liability cases against GA aircraft manufactures - driving up the cost of new aircraft · WWII & Korean vets started dropping out of the pilot pool · Slow-down in the airline industry which reduced the demand for new pilots. 2. During the late 80's annual SMO aircraft operations dropped to their lowest level since the early 50's 3. In 1980, the City again conducted an economic impact analysis of the Airport and determined that there was greater revenue generating potential if the Airport was closed and converted to mixed commercial use. The City notified the Airport tenants on month-to-month leases that their tenancies would be terminated in one year.