Operation Grasshopper was a project to look for natural resources in

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

from the air. For this project, seven

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

s were constructed in the interior of Suriname from 1959 onward. The project was the brainchild of the Minister of Development of Suriname at the time, Frank Essed. In order to speed up the process of mapping the natural resources of the country—under the method used at the time it would at least take another few decades before the whole country was mapped—the plan foresaw in the exploration of the country by flying over it using planes with

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

s and

scintillometer A scintillometer is a scientific device used to measure turbulent fluctuations of the refractive index of air caused by variations in temperature, humidity, and pressure. It consists of an optical or radio wave transmitter and a receiver at opposi ...

s on board. In order to be able to do this, seven airstrips were needed in the interior of Suriname. The 7 airstrips were built for the purpose to make the interior accessible for exploration activities. During the construction of an airport near Paloemeu, a plane carrying building material crashed nearby. The pilot and co-pilot, Vincent Fajks and Ronald Kappel died in the crash.{{Cite web, url=http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=163559, title=Accident Aero Commander 520 PZ-TAG, 06 Oct 1959 The airport was subsequently named after Fajks. The airstrip at Tafelberg was named after Mr. Kappel. One result of Operation Grasshopper was the discovery of

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

in the

Bakhuis Mountains The Bakhuis Mountains () are a mountain range in central Suriname, spanning 110 kilometres. The mountain range form of the northern part of the Wilhelmina Mountains, and the mountains and its village were named after the Netherlands, Dutch explor ...

. This led to the drafting of the West Suriname Plan.

Airports constructed during Operation Grasshopper

Kabalebo Airstrip Kabalebo Airstrip serves the village of Kabalebo, Suriname. It was constructed as part of Operation Grasshopper. Facilities The Kabalebo Airstrip has one long unpaved runway. The main-lodge of the Kabalebo Nature Resort and its swimming pool ...

* Coeroeni Airstrip *

Kayser Airstrip Kayser is a derivation of the Germanic Kaiser surname, and may refer to: * Kayser (surname) * Kayser (band), a Swedish thrash metal band * Kayser (unit) in spectroscopy, equal to reciprocal centimeter * Käyser Airstrip, small airport in Surinam ...

* Oelemari Airstrip * Sipaliwini Airstrip * Tafelberg Airstrip * Vincent Fayks Airport

References

* Bruijning, C.F.A. en J. Voorhoeve (red.): ''Encyclopedie van Suriname'', Amsterdam en Brussel 1977, Uitgeversmaatschappij Argus Elsevier, pp. 227–229. 20th century in Suriname