Sunday was the perfect day to visit the Twentynine Palms Airport and mingle with aircraft owners, historians, and enthusiasts. The airport is closest to the Joshua Tree National Park entrance and the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base.
Yesterday, approximately 30 people gathered to admire vintage aircraft and meet their owners. Children hung onto their parents’ hands and danced around the planes while their parents inspected them. Some were rare, like Kevin King’s kit plane, the SQ 2000. King said 37 kits were sold, and this is the only plane flying today.
Jim Bagley, flight instructor, commercial pilot, and San Bernardino Aviation Commissioner, told me that this airport was one of the Condor fields built in 1939 and was used to prepare glider pilots for the invasion of Europe. In 1944, under the US Navy, the airport was named the Twentynine Palms Naval Auxiliary Air Station. The airport was designated a civilian airport with a 4,000-foot paved runway when the Navy replaced the glider with larger planes,
It was a nostalgic experience for me to visit this airport and view the vintage planes. My father, a glider pilot during the war, may have been trained here.
Bagley pointed out a large, orange tetrahedron from World War II on the far side of the runway that had been moved to the airport to replace the original. A tetrahedron is a pyramid with a flat polygon base and triangular faces connecting the base to a common point. This tetrahedron is used as a visual wind indicator, essentially pointing into the wind to show pilots the direction from which the wind is blowing, aiding them in takeoffs and landings. Since there isn’t a control tower, it acts like a giant arrow always facing the wind.
The Vintage Aircraft Show gives owners a property tax exemption under the ‘Aircraft of Historical Significance’ program and highlights rural airports’ critical role in history and for communities . They provide essential services such as earthquake and fire response, medical transport, and community connectivity. Additionally, they support the nearby military base and serve as educational hubs for locals and tourists.
The next Vintage show is next month. The theme is Santa, and I’m looking forward to seeing who flies in.
