Chickasha, OK (pronounced "CHICK-a-shay" by
locals) is one home base and destination cited by Wiley
Post. The one historically used by Post was the original Curtiss-Wright Field, according to the link. The lat/long of that site as N35 57, W97 57. The latter coordinates define a point just east of Lake Hefner, which is now a neighborhood of middle-class housing according to Google Earth. It is west of downtown Oklahoma City.
He flew there to and from Tucson on November 17,
1928 and December 17, 1928. (Coincidentally, December 17,
1928 was the 25th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first
flight. I wonder if he thought about that.) On both of those
flights passing through Tucson he was flying Lockheed Vega NC7954. This brand new Vega was the first "Winnie Mae",
c/n 24, built on August 12, 1928.
Several photos, below, shared by M. Dickenson, are significant because they were taken at the original Curtiss-Wright Field during July-August, 1931, soon after Post's round-the-world flight with Harold Gatty (June 23-July 1, 1931, see farther below). Immediately below, Post and Gatty are greeted by Native Americans.
Post (L) & Gatty, Ca. July-August, 1931 (Source: Dickenson)
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Below, a National Guard flyover in celebration of Post and Gatty's world flight.
National Guard Flyover, Ca. Late July, 1931 (Source: Dickenson)
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Next, a VIP lineup including Post and Gatty.
VIP Lineup, August 1, 1931 (Source: Dickenson)
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TO DIFFERENTIATE: The contemporary Chickasha Municipal Airport is not the same one referred to in the Register by Post, or where the photos above were snapped. Today's Chickasha Municipal Airport is located southwest of Oklahoma
City at 35 05.77N 97 57.97W. It did not exist in Post's
day during the 1920s and 30s. Chickasha Municipal Airport
looks like this today. Images below were taken by your Webmaster
on September 11, 2002 (yes, I just had to fly on this day).
The two airborne shots were through the prop
disk over the nose of my airplane.
Left, flying crosswind for runway 35 (changed recently to 36) on approach from the
northeast.
Right, final approach for runway 35 (now 36). Runway 18/36 is concrete.
The other two runways (4/22, 18/36) are turf and difficult
to see in these images. They are to the right (east) of the
paved runway and taxiway.
On the ground, the airport was sleepy that early fall day.
Only one FBO, and no rental cars or restaurants were on the
field (although some of each are nearby).
On the eastern apron, there were hangars from the
WWII era (below, left). On May 3, 1999
the Chickasha airport was hit by a massive F5 tornado. This
really hurt the hangers and now they are just
decaying away. But before the tornado they were still being used and
in good condition. Today, the canvas ceiling insulation
is crumbling and falling to the ground, and inhabitants,
like this tarantula beginning to crawl up the wall (below,
right), made their way over and under the debris.
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UPLOADED: 01/09/06 REVISED: 08/02/06, 09/11/18, 10/16/18
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