MossRoad
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Man, that's a great photo! Thanks.
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cqaigy2
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From somebody without much experience around air planes and such, but it seems to me that civilian (none commercial) aviation has declined over the years. Seems at least down in the lower 48, that you see fewer small air fields and few planes at those air fields. Again this is from someone that doesn't have much exposure.
MossRoad
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Quickly off the top of my head I can think of 3-4 private strips that are gone and 2 business strips that are gone just within about 15 miles of me. That's not counting the one in the picture above.
MossRoad
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There's probably several reasons.
1 being the private grass strip can't be used in the winter or when the ground is mushy.
2 is the kids don't fly and the guy gets old, sells the plane, and converts the field to a lavender farm (true story).
3 There are quite a few small public airports around here and most people that I know like to keep the planes inside T-hangers and be able to use them 365 days per year.
4 is the cost. It's an expensive hobby.
And 5 is there are flying clubs at a lot of small-medium airports where you can join for a fee and rent the club planes as needed. Those are probably the best bang for the buck these days.
1 being the private grass strip can't be used in the winter or when the ground is mushy.
2 is the kids don't fly and the guy gets old, sells the plane, and converts the field to a lavender farm (true story).
3 There are quite a few small public airports around here and most people that I know like to keep the planes inside T-hangers and be able to use them 365 days per year.
4 is the cost. It's an expensive hobby.
And 5 is there are flying clubs at a lot of small-medium airports where you can join for a fee and rent the club planes as needed. Those are probably the best bang for the buck these days.
OP
Xfaxman
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I was born in East Chicago, Indiana in 1940, grew up near Cedar Lake and Crown Point.Here's a picture of the Midway Airport back in the 60s or 70s. There are some Ercoupes siting there. They actually flew some B17s in and out of there, lots of B25s too. hat place was a real hot spot of aviation for many years. Pissed me off when they put a Meijer store in there.
Midway Airport was very active then.
MossRoad
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Different Midway.
MossRoad
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This area was called Midway, I believe, because it was Mid-Way between Elkhart and Goshen.
About here... (click to enlarge).
About here... (click to enlarge).
OP
Xfaxman
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Yep, this is the one I remember, southeast of Chicago: Midway Airport (MDW)Different Midway.
MossRoad
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If anyone has 20-30 minutes, read this article. It was 56-57 years ago and still remembered each Palm Sunday.
en.wikipedia.org
A short clip at the start of the article....
On April 10–12, 1965, a devastating severe weather event affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States.[nb 2][nb 3][nb 4] The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of tornadoes, which became known as the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of tornado strength, ever recorded, including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In all, the outbreak killed 266 people, injured 3,662 others, and caused $1.217 billion (1965 USD) in damage.
That would be about $11 Billion in 2022 dollars.
1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak - Wikipedia
A short clip at the start of the article....
On April 10–12, 1965, a devastating severe weather event affected the Midwestern and Southeastern United States.[nb 2][nb 3][nb 4] The tornado outbreak produced 55 confirmed tornadoes in one day and 16 hours. The worst part of the outbreak occurred during the afternoon hours of April 11 into the overnight hours going into April 12. The second-largest tornado outbreak on record at the time, this deadly series of tornadoes, which became known as the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, inflicted a swath of destruction from Cedar County, Iowa, to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and a swath 450 miles long (724 km) from Kent County, Michigan, to Montgomery County, Indiana. The main part of the outbreak lasted 16 hours and 35 minutes and is among the most intense outbreaks, in terms of tornado strength, ever recorded, including at least four "double/twin funnel" tornadoes. In all, the outbreak killed 266 people, injured 3,662 others, and caused $1.217 billion (1965 USD) in damage.
That would be about $11 Billion in 2022 dollars.
MossRoad
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