Hale County Airport is a public airport about south-southwest of

Plainview, Texas Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,187 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Plainview began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe establ ...

History

From 1942 to 1944, the Hale County Airport consisted of an all-way turf airfield with a 2,700' x 2,700' landing/takeoff area. Glider training was provided to the United States Army Air Forces by Clint Breedlove Aerial Service. They primarily used

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

s and

Waco CG-4 The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) by the British. The ...

unpowered gliders. There were possibly two auxiliary landing airfields. The mission of the school was to train glider pilot students in proficiency in operation of gliders in various types of towed and soaring flight, both day and night, and in servicing of gliders in the field. The airport was inactivated during 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program. It was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers on 30 September 1945. It was eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration (WAA) and became a civil airport in April 1946. Three commercial airlines served Plainview between 1948 and 1963. Pioneer Air Lines began service in January 1948 and ended on April 1, 1955, when the carrier merged into

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

. Continental then served the airport until 1959 when Central Airlines began service. During 1962, Central operated 516 flight departures but only boarded 148 passengers. Service ended in 1963. All three carriers operated

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...

aircraft and provided flights to Amarillo and Lubbock. The Pioneer and Continental flights continued on from Lubbock to Midland/Odessa, San Angelo, Austin, and Houston Hobby Airport. Central Airlines flights continued northbound from Amarillo to Wichita and Kansas City with several stops en route.http://www.timetableimages.com, Pioneer, Continental, and Central Airlines timetables

References

* Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas * Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC.

External links

* * {{Authority control 1942 establishments in Texas Airports established in 1942 USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields USAAF Glider Training Airfields Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Texas Buildings and structures in Hale County, Texas Transportation in Hale County, Texas

History

See also

References

External links