| LAKELAND TAKES TO THE AIR: EARLY AVIATION HISTORY OF THE CITY |
HISTORICAL NOTE |
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Photo Gallery 1 |
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Photo Gallery 2 |
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Introduction |
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(Haldeman and Elder's American Girl readied for its transatlantic flight, October 1927.)
Lakeland has a long and sometimes colorful aviation history. That heritage is celebrated every year at the Sun 'n Fun Fly-in. Lakeland Linder Airport, home of the Sun 'n Fly-in, is one of the finest regional airports in the state. It was not, however, Lakeland's first municipally owned airport, or even its second.
Lakeland's aviation history formally began with nationally known aviator and native son, George Haldeman. Haldeman was a pilot and flight instructor who, in the mid-1920's, established a small airfield on family owned land in Gibsonia, just north of Lakeland. Here, Haldeman and his brother Walter trained a number of would-be pilots, including young Ruth Elder. In the fall of 1927, George Haldeman and Elder attempted a transatlantic flight five months after Charles Lindbergh had soloed across the Atlantic. Had the flight been successful, Elder would have been the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, bad weather and a leaking oil line forced the two to ditch in the Atlantic 300 miles short of their goal. They were rescued by a passing ship and, although they had been unsuccessful, they were treated as national and international heroes. They were even accorded the ultimate hero's welcome, a tickertape parade through the streets of New York City.
Partly as a result of the interest in aviation generated by Haldeman's flying school, the city of Lakeland in late 1926 leased 160 acres of land on the Bartow Highway at Combee Road for construction of a municipal airport. The airport was dedicated in November 1927 and named Haldeman-Elder field in honor of the would-be transatlantic flyers. To guide pilots to the new airport, the city later painted "Lakeland" in large letters on the roof of the newly completed Polk Theater, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the airport.
As local interest in aviation continued to grow, it quickly became apparent that the Haldeman-Elder Field was inadequate to meet the city's needs. In late 1933 and early 1934, the city acquired several parcels of land between Lakeland Hills Boulevard and Lake Parker and applied for funds from the Civil Works Administration to build a new airport. The funds were approved and construction begun in early 1934. The airport was dedicated as Lakeland Municipal Airport in 1935. Haldeman-Elder Field remained in service as an auxiliary field.
War in Europe and Asia brought more changes to aviation in Lakeland. In September 1940, the city leased the Lakeland Municipal Airport to a civilian flight training school, known first as the Lakeland School of Aeronautics, later as the Lodwick School of Aeronautics. The city also proposed to build a new municipal airport in south Lakeland and to name it Drane Field in honor of former U. S. Representative and long-time Lakeland resident, Herbert J. Drane.
The city had barely begun work on the newly christened Drane Field when it leased the unfinished airport to the War Department. The field was completed by the military and opened as Lakeland Army Air Field in May 1942. It served as a training base for a variety of fighter and bomber squadrons for the reminder of World War II. At various times it was home to B-17's, B-24's, and P-51 Mustang fighters. It closed as a military base late in 1945 and was returned to city control. It languished underutilized for many years until it was rededicated as Lakeland Municipal Airport in 1960. In much expanded and modernized form, it is now the home of the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.
Haldeman-Elder Field continued in use as an auxiliary field for cadets at the Lodwick School of Aeronautics until the school closed in August 1945. It fell into disrepair and was marked as abandoned on a 1950 map of Lakeland. The site is now one of mixed industrial and residential use, as well as the home of Oscar Pope Elementary School. No trace of the Haldeman-Elder Field remains.
At war's end, part of the site of the Lodwick School of Aeronautics continued to be used by school owner Albert Lodwick for a commercial venture converting and selling surplus military aircraft for civilian use. The remainder reverted to the city for use as a municipal airport. The City Commission honored Lodwick's service to the country by renaming the airport Al Lodwick Field in 1948. The airport continued to be used by the city for several more years, but gradually more and more of the complex was converted for use as the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers. By the summer of 1957, the city had decided to phase out Lodwick Field as an airport and concentrate its resources on Drane Field in south Lakeland. What was the site of Lakeland's second municipal airport and the Lodwick School of Aeronautics is now Tiger Town, the modern spring training complex of the Detroit Tigers.
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