Tucumcari Municipal Airport is about six miles east of

Tucumcari, New Mexico Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay Count ...

History

Opened in August 1941, Tucumcari Municipal Airport was built by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

and at the time it was known as Fort Sumner Army Auxiliary Airfield #7, being subordinate to Fort Sumner Army Air Field. The airfield provided primary glider pilot training. The glider school was operated under contract by the Cutter-Carr Flying Service, under the general supervision of the 9th Glider Training Detachment, 36th Flying Training Wing,

Western Flying Training Command Flying Division, Air Training Command, was a training formation of the United States Air Force. The unit was established in 1926 as the Air Corps Training Center to be the primary pilot training center for the Air Corps. It was reorganized int ...

. Training was conducted using

Aeronca TG-5 Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. F ...

combat training gliders, towed by

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

aircraft. The flight cadets consisted of both experienced sailplane pilots and others who had washed out of conventional pilot training and were given a second chance to fly. The possibility of officer's pay and the chance to fly attracted a particular breed of risk-tolerant trainees. Trainees were given instruction on how to follow a tow plane and fly the unpowered aircraft to the designated landing zone.Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''. Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas Unlike powered pilots, combat training was also provided, as once a pilot committed to a landing and discovered, as he got closer, frequently the landing zone was under fire, mined, or otherwise obstructed, and he would have little room to maneuver to make a safe landing. Once the landing was made, the glider pilot then became another infantryman.Cameron, Rebecca Hancock, 1999, ''Training to Fly. Military Flight Training 1907–1945'', Chapter 4: Training at home for War Overseas. Air Force History and Museums Program, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB, Alabama Once the glider pilot cadet successfully completed primary training, he moved on to advanced training, taught by AAF instructors at several military glider schools. The school closed in March 1943 as part of the drawdown of the Army Air Forces pilot training program. It was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers. The facility became a prisoner of war camp in March 1944. The airport was eventually discharged to the

War Assets Administration The War Assets Administration (WAA) was created to dispose of United States government-owned surplus material and property from World War II. The WAA was established in the Office for Emergency Management, effective March 25, 1946, by Executive Ord ...

(WAA) after the end of World War II.

Civil use

Pioneer Airlines Essair (short for ''Efficiency, Safety, and Speed in the Air'') was incorporated in 1939, the first airline authorized by the federal Civil Aeronautics Board (Civil Aeronautics Board, CAB) to fly as a "local service" air carrier in the United Sta ...

served the airport from 1948 until 1953–54, one of several stops on their route between Albuquerque and Dallas.

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by 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 version ...

s were used at first, replaced by 36-seat Martin 202s in 1953. Trans Central Airlines briefly served Tucumcari in 1970 with

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

s to Albuquerque and Amarillo. Airfreight carrier South Aero currently provides feeder service for

UPS Airlines UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky. The second-largest cargo airline worldwide ( in terms of freight volume flown), UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of UPS (Unit ...

with flights to Albuquerque. This service was formerly provided by

Ameriflight Ameriflight LLC is an American cargo airline with headquarters at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. It is the largest United States FAA Part 135 cargo carrier, operating scheduled and contract cargo services from 19 bases to destinat ...

during the 2010's.

References

External links

* * {{USAAF Training Bases World War II 1941 establishments in New Mexico USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields USAAF Glider Training Airfields Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in New Mexico Transportation in Quay County, New Mexico Buildings and structures in Quay County, New Mexico Airports in New Mexico Airports established in 1941

History

Civil use

See also

References

External links