Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
California: Northern Fresno area
© 2002, © 2009 by Paul Freeman. Revised 11/19/09.
Buller Field / Atwater Municipal Airport (revised 11/19/09) - Coyote Flats Airport (revised 2/20/09)
Frog Town Airport (revised 11/14/08) - Fresno Country Club Airfield / Furlong Field (revised 10/20/09) - Wishon Airport (revised 11/14/08)
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Fresno Country Club Airfield / Furlong Field, Fresno, CA
36.8 North / 119.86 West (Northwest of Fresno, CA)
Fresno Country Club Airfield, as depicted on the June 1942 11M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This small airport on the northwest side of Fresno was evidently established at some point between 1941-42,
as it was not yet listed among active airfields in The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of this airfield which has been located
was on the June 1942 11M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted “Fresno County Club” as a commercial airport.
Joyce (Furlong) Ayerza reported, “My father was Frank Furlong, owner/operator of Furlong Field.
When the war broke out, my folks had to move all the planes to El Paso TX
as they didn't want any aircraft to be sighted by the enemy on the west coast.”
It was still depicted as “Fresno Country Club” on the August 1943 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The Haire Publishing Company's 1945 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described the “Furlong Country Club Airport” as a “class 1” field, owned, operated, and managed by Frank Furlong.
It was said to have a single 2,400' northwest/southeast partially oiled runway,
and a single 120' x 60' hangar.
Airline service was said to be provided by Transcontinental & Western, and United Airlines.
The 1945 USAAF Pilot's Handbook (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Furlong as an auxiliary airfield.
Joyce (Furlong) Ayerza recalled, “When the war was over, they [her parents] started a business on the airport called Central Air Services,
an all inclusive airport that provided flying lessons, repaired airplanes, housed or provided tie down space for private airplane owners
and was a refueling stop for people flying small airplanes between northern & southern California.
Thus, there were many more than 12 airplanes on the airport.
My Dad & Mom probably owned 12 airplanes to provide the flying lessons, but there were many more airplanes that were privately owned.
My Dad & Mom built a large flight office that had a Link Trainer used for teaching instrument-only flying techniques.
They also built a restaurant that would serve 9 people.
My Mom was famous for her hamburgers & one time served Dick Haymes & Rita Hayworth when they stopped in to refuel on a flight going up north.
She knew they were famous but didn't know who they were until my Dad came in & said, 'Do you know who you just served?'”
Joyce continued, “My Mom also had a private pilots license & would take me flying in the mornings before school to keep her license valid.
In those days you had to log so many hours to keep a license valid (that made it fun for me).
I can remember when she would go to the cafe at 7AM & prepare breakfast for the early bird pilots
then in the slow time of the day in the cafe she would go to the flight office & work on the books.
If Dad went to town she would have to run the cafe, office & gas airplanes all at the same time. She was a busy lady.”
Joyce continued, “Dad & Mom also provided flying lessons for the GIs after the war.
I can remember at one time when there were at least 4 or 5 flying instructors working for us.
My Dad did not have an instructor's license only a commercial license.
My Dad took many people up in an airplane for their first airplane ride.
He would never do any aerobatics during their first ride as he didn't want to scare them;
he wanted them to return & take flying lessons.
These things were all happening from about 1945-53.”
Joyce continued, “A couple of big cattle ranchers in the coastal range that lived in Fresno
would fly back & forth daily to their ranches with their private airplanes.”
Joyce continued, “In the early to mid 1950s things were pretty tough as the flying business soured due to the GI Bill for vets being discontinued.
People could not afford airplanes during these times.
It got so bad that my Mom went to work for Arden Farms Co to help out.
My Dad was trying to get some businesses to rent space on the property but couldn't get permits to even operate a paint shop
because of the political problems that were going on in the county planning office at the time.
It was also during these hard times that my dad remodeled the original large hangar,
one of about 4 or 5 on the property, into a chicken farm that housed chickens raised for fryers.
In one years time he lost $10,000 which at the time was a lot of money,
so he sold the equipment for what he could get out of it & discontinued the chicken business.
During that year the price of feed got higher than the price he could get for the chickens.”
Joyce (Furlong) Ayerza recalled, “Crop duster companies also operated out of the airport
that would provide spraying and dusting services for the westside farmers.
I can remember at least four: Brockman, Charley Treat, Marian Lawton, Snead, Fresno Helicopters & others through the years.
Harry Rogers of Rogers Helicopters first started as a mechanic for California Helicopters at our airport.
He then acquired his license to fly helicopters & started his own business;
in fact it was the last flying business to operate on the airport before my Mom sold the land in 1957 after my Dad died.
My Father died February 1957 & my Mom was not financially able to keep the airport going so she sold it.”
The last chart depiction which has been located of Furlong Field as an active airfield
was on the March 1959 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The Aerodromes table on the chart described Furlong as having a 2,500' oiled runway.
Furlong Field was no longer listed among active airfields in the 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (according to Chris Kennedy).
However, Mike Wilkens reported, “I learned to fly at Furlong in a J-3 in the summer of 1961.
At the time, there were just a few old hangars left, which were so delapidated they more resembled shelters.
There was the skeleton of an old Cessna Bobcat rotting in one of them.
My dad kept his Swift there for another couple of years, and he & a partner restored a Stinson 108-3 there in the mid-1960s.
The hangar was parallel to Shaw, and it seems there was another building along Brawley, perhaps a maint shop/hangar.
The hangars along Shaw are freshest in my mind, because that was where Dad's Swift was kept (they were actually T-shelters, not enclosed).
They started not far from the irrigation canal seen cutting across the corner of the property near the intersection.”
The date of closure of Furlong Field has not been determined.
The 1965 USGS topo map still depicted Furlong Field,
with a single, very short northwest/southeast runway & a single building on the northeast side.
The 1979 USGS topo map still depicted “Furlong Field”, with a single northwest/southeast runway segment.
In the 2002 USGS aerial photo, the slightest trace of the northwest/southeast runway alignment was still perceptible.
There did not appear to be any other remaining traces of the airport – the area had been built over.
The site of Furlong Field is located southeast of the intersection of Shaw Avenue & North Brawley Avenue.
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37.34 North / 119.58 West (North of Fresno, CA)
Wishon Airport, as depicted on the February 1945 11M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This small airport on the northwest short of Bass Lake was evidently established at some point during 1944,
as it was not yet depicted on the August 1943 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
or listed in the April 1944 Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer).
The earliest reference to this airfield which has been located
was in the November 1944 Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (according to Chris Kennedy).
It was listed as “Wishon USFS”,
so it was presumably established by the U.S. Forrest Service.
The earliest chart depiction of the field which has been located
was on a February 1945 11M Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Ney Grant recalled, “There used to be a Bass Lake Airport between Yosemite & Fresno,
right on the shores of Bass Lake outside the small town of Oakhurst.
It was called the Wishon airfield & I heard it was owned by PG&E.
There is higher terrain on one end so it was a one way strip or close to it.”
The 1953 USGS topo map depicted a single northwest/southeast runway, labeled simply as “Landing Field”,
with 2 small buildings on the east side of the northern end of the runway.
The 1957-58 Aviation Week Airport & Business Flying Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Wishon Airport as a “limited” airfield with a single 2,200' unpaved runway.
The runway was noted to be “one-way”,
with landings recommended to the north-northwest, and takeoffs to the south-southeast.
An undated aerial photo looking southwest at Wishon Airport, with Bass Lake in the background.
The airport was depicted as consisting of a single runway, along with a parallel taxiway.
An undated (circa 1950s?) photo of an Ercoupe & other light planes at Wishon Airport.
An undated (circa 1950s?) photo of a Vultee & other light aircraft at Wishon Airport.
An undated (circa 1950s?) photo of some Cessnas & a few small buildings at Wishon Airport.
An undated (circa 1950s?) photo looking southwest along the Wishon Airport runway toward Bass Lake.
The last chart depiction which has been located of Wishon as an active airfield
was on the May 1957 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The Aerodromes table on the chart described Wishon as having a single 2,200' bare runway.
According to Ney Grant, “A famous actress died taking off from there
(I heard the plane couldn't outclimb the terrain & crashed into trees),
and I think it was shut down after that.”
Wishon Airport may have been officially closed at some point between 1957-59,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the March 1959 Mt. Whitney Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
or subsequent aeronautical charts.
However, the 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (according to Chris Kennedy) continued to list Wishon Airport.
It described Wishon as having with a 2,200' hard-surfaced runway.
Furthermore, James Janssen recalled of Wishon Airport, “I flew in there many times during the 1960s.
To the best of my knowledge, it was open in 1967-69.
I flew in there with another pilot many times in the mid-1960s – probably 1963-65.
I then went back after I got my pilot's license in September 1966, for sure, it was a great place!
Back then, there was a restaurant & boat rental (the falls) on the left (looking down runway to the lake) & a campground on right.
A little store was in walking distance.
I really don't remember the date of last visit but it was probably around 1968-69.
I could have been one of last to visit.
I do remember watching a Cessna crash in the lake on takeoff (one of my last visits), engine backfiring, and following the shore.
Just missed some swimmers.
The pilot was unhurt, and I watched a tow truck pull it out of the water.
I talked to the pilot just before he took off, we were discussing the restaurant at the 'Falls', it was already gone,
and I will always remember his comment 'One thing they can't take away is the lake!'”
The 1980 USGS topo map still depicted a single 2,100' runway, but it was labeled simply as “Landing Strip”
(which typically means the airfield was no longer open by that point).
By the time of the 1990 USGS topo map, the airfield was no longer depicted at all.
On the 1998 USGS aerial photo, the area formerly occupied by the airport had been redeveloped with houses,
and there did not appear to be any remaining trace of the airport.
Ney Grant reported in 2005, “There are condos/apartments there & I have never been able to see any signs.”
The site of Wishon Airport is located south of the intersection of North Shore Road & Road 222.
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Coyote Flats Airport (04CA), Coyote Flats, CA
37.2 North / 118.48 West (Northeast of Fresno, CA)
A 1958 photo of Cessna's prototype YH-41 helicopter during Army testing at Coyote Flats (courtesy of Jed Keck).
During its lifetime, this little strip was the highest airfield in the United States, at 10,000’ elevation.
The location is extremely remote,
being surrounded by glaciers that remain year-round.
The 1950 USGS topo map did not depict any airfield at Coyote Flats.
In 1958 the Army tested Cessna's prototype YH-41 helicopter at Coyote Flats (as depicted in a photo courtesy of Jed Keck).
This may have been before the runway was actually established.
A 1965 photo of an Air Force evaluation crew in front of their CH-47, “Porky”, at Coyote Flats (courtesy of Jed Keck).
The Coyote Flats runway was reportedly built in 1968 by the Army High Altitude Test Center
as a facility to test the high altitude performance of helicopters & light airplanes.
It was also used in a similar capacity by the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare School in Bridgeport, CA.
According to Jed Keck, “Rumor is that they even operated a C-130 Hercules out of there but I have not seen the photo.”
Coyote Flats was depicted simply as "Landing Strip" on the 1978 USGS topo map.
It was not depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield) on a 1987 aeronautical chart.
As seen in the 1987 USGS aerial photo,
the airfield consisted of a single 3,000' runway, which was originally paved.
To the west of the runway was originally a small metal building (hangar or shed) & a windsock.
According to a 1994 environmental impact study of Edwards AFB,
Coyote Flats was listed among 18 off-base properties controlled by the Air Force Flight Test Center.
The Coyote Flats property was listed as a "Test Site", with 642 acres,
and was listed as being USAF property from 1965 to the time of the study (1994).
The 1994 USGS topo map depicted a single runway, labeled simply as “Landing Strip”.
Jed Keck recalled, “For 7 years I was a pilot for Southern California Edsion
and flew over or landed at Coyote Flats at least 50 times.
When I started with Edison in 1996 it was still on the Sectional Chart.”
The Coyote Flats airfield was evidently closed at some point between 1998-98,
as it was no longer depicted at all (even as an abandoned airfield) on a 1998 World Aeronautical Chart
or the 2000 Sectional Chart.
Apparently, the property is now under the jurisdiction of the Forrest Service.
To discourage landings by civilian pilots,
the Forrest Service had apparently recently dug deep ruts into the runway
and placed branches across it in an x-shaped pattern.
Like too many other backcountry airstrips,
the Forest Service had torn this one up to prevent anyone from landing on it & closed it down.
This was apparently done to avoid the risk lawsuits if a crash should occur,
and because the state legislature doesn't want to spend the meager funds needed to keep it operational.
However, apparently the Coyote Flats airstrip has once again been visited
by some backcountry pilots (with suitable skills & aircraft).
Jeff reported in 2003, "We visit Coyote Flats airstrip every year on our annual end of summer camping trip.
The buildings are all gone.
Only the foundation of a camera observation point is left.
The ruts the Forest Service put in the strip are almost gone."
A pre-2005 aerial photo by J. Lawson of Coyote Flats.
A pre-2005 photo by J. Lawson of a Taylorcraft at Coyote Flats.
A pre-2005 photo by Jeff of a friend taking off from Coyote Flats. Note those huge tires!
A December 30, 2005 USGS aerial view looking north at the Coyote Flats runway.
Thanks to Skychick2 for pointing out this airfield.
See also: http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~jdlawson/coyote.htm
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Frog Town Airport, Angels Camp, CA
38.05 North / 120.52 West (East of Stockton, CA)
Frog Town Airport, as depicted on the September 1962 San Francisco Sectional chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
This former small airport was located on the grounds of the Frog Town Fairgrounds.
The date of construction of Frog Town Airport is unknown.
It was evidently built at some point between 1957-62,
as it was not depicted on the 1957 Sacramento Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was on the September 1962 San Francisco Sectional chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
which depicted Frog Town as having a 2,400' unpaved runway.
The 1962 USGS topo map depicted a single northwest/southeast runway, labeled simply as “Landing Strip”.
The 1965 San Francisco Sectional chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Frog Town as having a 2,100' unpaved runway.
The runway at Frog Town was evidently paved at some point between 1965-66,
as the 1966 San Francisco Sectional chart (courtesy of John Voss)
depicted the field as having a 2,100' paved runway.
Frog Town Airport was listed in the "unattended airport" section
of the 1978 Pilot's Guide to California Airports (according to Chris Kennedy).
Frog Town Airport apparently closed at some point between 1978-82.
as it was not listed among active airfields in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory.
USGS topo map 1991.
On the 1993 USGS topo map,
the runway was still depicted, but labeled simply "Landing Strip".
On the 1998 USGS aerial photo, the cleared area formerly occupied by the runway was still somewhat discernible,
but the pavement had apparently been removed.
The site of Frog Town Airport is located east of the intersection of Route 49 & Gun Club Road.
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Atwater Airport / Buller Field / Atwater Municipal Airport (0O1), Atwater, CA
37.33 North / 120.6 West (East of San Francisco, CA)
The 1961 USGS topo map depicted the Atwater Airport as having a single northwest/southeast runway.
The date of construction of this general aviation airport has not been determined.
The earliest depiction which has been located of Atwater Airport was on the 1961 USGS topo map.
It depicted Atwater Airport as having a single northwest/southeast runway.
No buildings were depicted on the field.
At some point between 1961-64 the field was evidently renamed Buller Field
as that is how it was labeled on the June 1964 San Francisco Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted Buller as having a 2,200' unpaved runway.
The Aerodromes table on the 1966 San Francisco Sectional chart (courtesy of John Voss)
described Buller Field as having a single 2,170' treated dirt runway.
At some point between 1966-67, the field apparently was renamed back to Atwater Airport & became private,
as that is how it was depicted on the June 1967 San Francisco Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The listed runway length had also been shortened to only 1,800'.
The field evidently became a public-use airport again at some point between 1967-82,
as it was listed as Atwater Municipal Airport in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury).
The field had also gained a paved runway, as it was described as having a single 2,450' asphalt Runway 12/30.
The operator was listed as Merced Aviation - Atwater Branch.
An undated (circa 1980s?) aerial view by Don Jordan looking southwest at Atwater Airport,
showing the runway, taxiway, ramp, hangar, and several light planes.
Don Jordan recalled, “Atwater Airport... I had 2 airplanes hangared there in the 1980s. I had a Piper Colt & a Cessna 210 there.
Traffic was left hand for 30, and right hand for 12.
I think the runway was about 3,600', with trees just across the road on the southeastern end.
The airport FBO operator's name was Stan Swenson.
After he sold the business, a lady bought the business & continued its operation.
My Piper Colt broke a bungee chord on landing there once, and scared the Hell out of me.
My 210 also had its nose gear collapse on the same airport.
Stan, an A&P mechanic, fix both aircraft right in his new hangar.
Stan provided all types of flight training, as well as all types of maintenance. It was a nice little airport.”
As depicted on the 1987 USGS topo map,
the airfield consisted of 2 runways (the primary runway was 2,800').
The 1989 Airport/Facility Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Atwater Municipal Airport as having a single 2,670' asphalt Runway 12/30.
Atwater Municipal Airport was closed in 1994,
when the much larger former Castle AFB was closed & became the new Atwater Airport.
The City of Atwater redeveloped 40 acres of the former airport property into the Atwater Business Park,
with construction proceeding in 1995.
As of the 1998 USGS aerial photo,
a 600' segment of the northwest end of the runway still existed, on the west side of Industry Way,
with a closed runway "X" marking still visible on the pavement.
Pat Lawler reported, “My dad learned to fly there & I spent numerous hours out there.
Looking at the picture & having been out there, I can tell you that I don’t see any of the old buildings/hangars.”
The airport site is located west of the intersection of Airpark Road & Giannini Road.
A new road has been built through the center of the former airport, Business Park Way.
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