The Secret Airport
“I can think of nothing heavier than an airplane
I can think of no greater conglomerate of steel and metal
I can think of nothing less likely to fly”
For a while now I have seen a few photographers on Instagram post pictures of an abandoned airport in the Phoenix area. I searched all over the web to find directions, surely someone posted something about it. Like a jealous ex-girlfriend (or ex-boyfriend!) I creeped on every photographer that posted a picture of the airport to see where they went, who they went with, and see if I could find something pointing to the darn location. I was left with a big fat nothing. So then came the black hole of Youtube and Google searches. Again, nothing. After almost giving up, I resorted to scouring Google Maps. Spending far too many hours (it would be too embarrassing to tell you how many), I found a dirt strip that looked like a possible airport. I zoomed in and boom! There it was: tiny little airplanes in a perfect arrangement. We planned our trip there the next morning to catch the sunrise.
By the way, if you didn't know this about me (Dan), I was obsessed with airplanes all throughout my childhood. For some reason my teen years ruined it all when it was "no longer cool" to nerd out on that kind of stuff. I spent countless hours building model airplanes, looking up at the sky to figure out the type of plane, and flipping through the pages of all the books I could get my hands on. The reason for my obsession: getting to sit in the cockpit of a Continental Airlines plane at the young age of 6, from that day I was hooked.
Finding and visiting this abandoned airport was simply a treat for my childhood self. Getting close to these behemoths, it makes you wonder just how the hell do these things even fly. That is the beauty I have always found about airplanes. Mankind figured out in the last 100 years how to go from wishing we could fly like birds to flying a darn rocket to the moon.
Alright, drum roll please...
Here are the secrets about this secret airport and how to find it:
- Spend a lot of time researching where this is.
- Don't give up finding it. Once you do you'll wonder why it wasn't easier.
- Don't get caught by the police, it's an abrupt way to end this field trip.
- When you go there, go during sunrise, the light is just gorgeous.
- Whatever you do, do not, I repeat do not damage the planes.
There's one thing that I wish for more than this airport to remaining a secret. The one thing is that I wish it could last forever. It was almost disappointing leaving knowing that others would find it. Not only would the Arizona sun weather the planes, but that people who visit after us without the same respect for the history and the beauty that was left behind. I hope that others don't leave their mark with graffiti or damage what's left.
As you try to find this place, have fun. Enjoy the detective work needed to find it and when you leave it, keep the condition as it was when you found it so others can find this secret museum and enjoy it for years to come. May the fun commence!
