Brackett Field is a public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

a mile (2 km) southwest of La Verne, in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It was named after astronomer

Frank Parkhurst Brackett Frank Parkhurst Brackett (June 16, 1865 – September 3, 1951) was an American professor of astronomy who taught at Pomona College. Biography Brackett was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the eldest son of Solomon Hoyt Brackett and Mary A ...

(1865–1951).

History

Brackett Field and Puddingstone Reservoir

Brackett Field, named after

, one of the original professors at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

who started working at the college in the late 1800s, has a long history. In 1911 Calbraith Perry, “C.P.,” Rogers landed his Wright Flyer Biplane nicknamed the “Vin Fiz,” after the carbonated soda produced by the sponsor of the first flight across the United States, near what are now two parallel runways. Brackett Field originally consisted of a dirt strip cut out of a field in the late ‘30s. The original runway was 2,600 feet of dirt and there was a school for student pilots from Pomona College. Later, the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

, then a paramilitary branch of the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

, used Brackett Field for operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1957 the county took over the airport and has owned it since that time. Brackett, about an hour east of the studios in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, has been used for location filming of scenes for a number of TV series and movies. These include ''Wings of Fire'', ''

Airport 1975 ''Airport 1975'' (also known as ''Airport '75'') is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film ''Airport''. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, a ...

',' ''

Spencer's Pilots ''Spencer's Pilots'' is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. Created by Larry Rosen and developed by Alvin Sapinsley, the series stars Gene Evans.''The Tuscaloosa News'' (via Associated Press ...

'' (CBS, 1974–1975), and ''The Tim Conway Show''. The field was the starting point of the

Powder Puff Derby The Women's Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States, taking place during the 1929 National Air Races. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly know ...

in 1947. Brackett originally had one runway (26 / 8), which was paved and had paved taxiways on each side. The

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

was built in the late 1960s. In the 1980s increased traffic (due to the loss of other general aviation airports in the area to urban encroachment) led to the northern taxiway being replaced by a second runway (26R / 8L), which forced the control tower to move a few feet north. Most of the development of the field prior to the 1980s was on the south side, where the Administration Building ("Ad Building") is located. These developments included a Cessna dealership, flying schools and other facilities such as the first metal hangars on the field. A large, wooden hangar was built on the north side of the field, to house such operations as a Piper dealership and aircraft repair. The hangar burned down circa 1960, was rebuilt, then burned down again about 10 years later, was again rebuilt, then demolished a few years later to make way for more modern facilities. Since the 1960s, Brackett has been the home base of

(Air Force Auxiliary) Squadron 64.

References

External links

*
Whiteman Airport Association newsletter
{{County of Los Angeles Airports in Los Angeles County, California La Verne, California