Flying Into Fullerton Airport's History
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In "Wings Over Fullerton," a historical pamphlet by Sylvia Mudrick, the Fullerton Municipal Airport is called the “oldest and largest general aviation airfield still in its original location in Orange County.”
The Fullerton Municipal Airport can trace its origins back as early as 1913 when barnstormers and crop dusters used the former pig farm as a makeshift landing strip. The site later became home to a sewer farm.
The airport's "official" birthday is 1927. William and Robert Dowling, with the aid of H. A. Krause and the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, had petitioned the council for permission to turn the by then-abandoned sewer farm into a landing field. The Fullerton City Council approved Ordinance 514 in January 1927, formally establishing the airport. The council leased the land to the chamber for five years, at a fee of $1 per year, and the chamber, in turn, subleased operations to William Dowling and friend Willard Morris of Yorba Linda. The city would assume direct control of the facility in January 1941.
A portion of the Howard Hughes feature Hell's Angels was filmed at Fullerton in 1929. Hughes would feature later in Fullerton's history by buying a tract of land for Hughes Aircraft. The campus eventually became home to Hughes Aircraft Ground Systems Group, closing in 2000.
In 1949, Dick Riedel and Bill Barris of Fullerton Air Service, sponsored by the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, set a world flight endurance record from the airport, keeping their modified Aeronca Sedan, the Sunkist Lady aloft for 1,008 hours and 2 minutes.
The control tower, built with Federal Aviation Administration funds in 1959, was the first in Orange County.
The California Highway Patrol, Anaheim Police Department, and Orange County Fire Authority maintain helicopters on the airfield.
Here's a look back at the airport's history through photographs.
Historical Photograph Credits:
Photo By Epolk - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3327570
Title: Fullerton Airport and businesses, Artesia Avenue, looking northwest
Date: 1957
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 17:57
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/123e248c4a06d5349452b9df21117bdd/
Photograph dated December 3, 1957.
Title: Hughes Aircraft and Fullerton Airport, looking northwest
Date: 1957
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 17:59
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/cf3dbbae57e0540fc26ed19a463a55c2/
Photograph dated December 3, 1957.
PilotAge
Best Flight School
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking north
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 18:03
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/a89dcdd55337d143ffd9c6c2bca6a72b/
Photograph dated January 14, 1958.
Fullerton Airport Day 2015 Custom Ink Fundraising
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking east
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:40
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/b0b54004922dab0bf150ae9edb2343e3/
Photograph dated November 3, 1958.
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking south
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:41
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/d2bc1387ea5151516da1bae810e4bf37/
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking south
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:42
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/bdc64233a4d61dd99f188171a4849213/
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking northeast
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:51
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/61500d28d9d4ba88b209f5edca81439f/
FPL Local History Room
Fullerton Airport Day 2016 Photos by Emerson Little
Filmed Footage by Emerson Little
Edited by Emerson Little
Music by David Benoit
Available on the album: Orchestral Strings
The Fullerton Municipal Airport can trace its origins back as early as 1913 when barnstormers and crop dusters used the former pig farm as a makeshift landing strip. The site later became home to a sewer farm.
The airport's "official" birthday is 1927. William and Robert Dowling, with the aid of H. A. Krause and the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, had petitioned the council for permission to turn the by then-abandoned sewer farm into a landing field. The Fullerton City Council approved Ordinance 514 in January 1927, formally establishing the airport. The council leased the land to the chamber for five years, at a fee of $1 per year, and the chamber, in turn, subleased operations to William Dowling and friend Willard Morris of Yorba Linda. The city would assume direct control of the facility in January 1941.
A portion of the Howard Hughes feature Hell's Angels was filmed at Fullerton in 1929. Hughes would feature later in Fullerton's history by buying a tract of land for Hughes Aircraft. The campus eventually became home to Hughes Aircraft Ground Systems Group, closing in 2000.
In 1949, Dick Riedel and Bill Barris of Fullerton Air Service, sponsored by the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce, set a world flight endurance record from the airport, keeping their modified Aeronca Sedan, the Sunkist Lady aloft for 1,008 hours and 2 minutes.
The control tower, built with Federal Aviation Administration funds in 1959, was the first in Orange County.
The California Highway Patrol, Anaheim Police Department, and Orange County Fire Authority maintain helicopters on the airfield.
Here's a look back at the airport's history through photographs.
Historical Photograph Credits:
Photo By Epolk - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3327570
Title: Fullerton Airport and businesses, Artesia Avenue, looking northwest
Date: 1957
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 17:57
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/123e248c4a06d5349452b9df21117bdd/
Photograph dated December 3, 1957.
Title: Hughes Aircraft and Fullerton Airport, looking northwest
Date: 1957
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 17:59
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/cf3dbbae57e0540fc26ed19a463a55c2/
Photograph dated December 3, 1957.
PilotAge
Best Flight School
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking north
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 18:03
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/a89dcdd55337d143ffd9c6c2bca6a72b/
Photograph dated January 14, 1958.
Fullerton Airport Day 2015 Custom Ink Fundraising
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking east
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:40
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/b0b54004922dab0bf150ae9edb2343e3/
Photograph dated November 3, 1958.
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking south
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:41
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/d2bc1387ea5151516da1bae810e4bf37/
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking south
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:42
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/bdc64233a4d61dd99f188171a4849213/
Title: Hughes Aircraft, Fullerton, looking northeast
Date: 1958
Collection: Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Owning Institution: Los Angeles Public Library
Source: Calisphere
Date of access: May 2 2021 21:51
Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/61500d28d9d4ba88b209f5edca81439f/
FPL Local History Room
Fullerton Airport Day 2016 Photos by Emerson Little
Filmed Footage by Emerson Little
Edited by Emerson Little
Music by David Benoit
Available on the album: Orchestral Strings
