AAF/USAF: Flight Strips
First published in 1998. Reformatted 2025.Introduction
For years I had noticed that the designation of certain airfields from the World War II era was "Flight Strip." I noticed that these flight strips had similar characteristics (see below) but I was unaware of their origin until I found a couple of reference books relating to airfield construction. They point to an interesting chapter in airfield history, which may be of interest to a small group of researchers.Definition
In 1947, the Civil Aeronautics Administration definition of a Flight Strip was:an area not less than 200 feet in width and not less than 1,800 feet in length (the area may be as large as 1,800 feet in width by 8,000 feet in length), with clear approaches, located in a highway right-of-way or adjacent to a public highway, on public land, developed with state and/or county funds (including Federal aid), appropriated to the State Highway Departments (The Asphalt Institute, 1947).
Background
The Federal Highway Act of 1940 authorized the Commissioner of Public Roads of the United States to study the construction of flight strips adjacent to highways. Construction of flight strips was first authorized in the National Highway Act of 1941. The Act states:Flight Strips. In order to insure greater safety for traffic on the public highways by providing additional facilities in connection therewith to be available for the landing and takeoff of aircraft, the Commissioner of Public Roads is authorized to provide, in cooperation with the Army Air Corps, for studies and for the construction of "Flight Strips" adjacent to public highways or roadside development areas along such highways. The acquisition of new or additional lands necessary for such projects may, to the extent determined by the Federal Works Administrator, be included as part of the construction thereof and Federal funds shall be available to pay the cost of such acquisition. For carrying out the purposes of this section, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated during the continuance of the emergency declared by the President on May 27, 1941, in addition to any funds that may be available under any other appropriation, the sum of $10,000,000, which shall be available, without regard to apportionment among the several States, for paying all or any part of the cost of such projects (Sharp, et al, 1948).Two more appropriations for flight strips were made before 1948, each for $5,000,000. (Sharp, et al, 1948). It was suggested that maintenance of flight strips might logically be assigned to state or county highway maintenance departments (The Asphalt Institute, 1947).
Characteristics
The identifying characteristics of a flight strip were:- A single paved runway (bituminous or concrete), between 1,800 and 8,000 feet long.
- Located adjacent (and parallel) to an existing highway.
- Some military use, either fully or on a joint-use basis.
Purposes
The purposes of flight strips were (Sharp, et al, 1948):- To provide auxiliary landing fields for military purposes and to assist in the dispersal of planes from nearby airports.
- To provide landing facilities for civilian flyers.
- To provide basic landing facilities for small cities or groups of towns for air feeder service and air cargo.
- To provide auxiliary landing facilities for all types of aircraft.
Flight Strip Inventory
I have not found a definitive list of "official" flight strips. I have compiled this list from a variety of sources, providing some basic tabular data on each strip, along with its status in 1995. (Why 1995? To correspond with my research into the use in 1995 of World War II Army Air Fields in the United States.)
| NAME | LOCATION | COORDINATES | 1995 USE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alkali Lake Flight Strip OR | 14 SW Wagontire | 43-05, 119-58 | Alkali Lake State (OR03) |
| Amedee Flight Strip CA | 9 N Herlong | 40-16, 120-09 | Amedee AAF (AHC) |
| Aurora Flight Strip OR | 1.6 NNW Aurora | 45-15, 122-46 | Aurora State (UAO) |
| Barco Flight Strip NC | 2 W Barco | 36-23-30, 076-01 | Currituck Co (9W7) |
| Battle Mountain Flight Strip NV (Note 1) | 4 SE Battle Mountain | 40-36, 116-52-15 | Battle Mountain (BAM) |
| Boardman Flight Strip OR | 3 WSW Boardman | 45-49, 119-49 | Boardman (OR33) |
| Caliente Flight Strip NV | 21.5 W Caliente | 37-36, 114-51 | Caliente (0L2) |
| Carrabelle Flight Strip FL | 2 W Carrabelle | 29-50-45, 084-42-15 | Carabelle - Thompson (X13) | Churchill Flight Strip NV | 15.5 S Fernley | 39-24, 119-15 | Silver Springs (B08) | Deblois Flight Strip ME | 2 S Deblois | 44-43-30, 067-59 | Deblois (43B) |
| Dell Flight Strip MT (Note 1) | 1.5 NW Dell | 44-44, 112-43 | Dell (4U9) |
| Half Moon Bay Flight Strip CA | 5.5 NW Half Moon Bay | 37-30-15, 122-30 | Half Moon Bay (HAF) |
| Homerville Flight Strip GA | 1 NW Homerville | 31-04, 082-46 | Homerville (HOE) |
| Leadville Flight Strip CO (Note 2) | vic Leadville | 39-17, 106-20 | unknown |
| Lomita Flight Strip CA | 1 W Lomita | 33-48, 118-20-45 | Zamperini (TOA) |
| Low Flight Strip UT | 11.8 W Low | 40-47, 113-12 | unknown | Marathon Flight Strip FL | 3 NE Marathon | 24-44, 081-03 | Marathon (MTH) | Mastic Flight Strip NY | 4 NW Moriches | 40-49-30, 072-53-45 | Brookhaven (HWV) |
| Melfa Flight Strip VA | 1 SW Melfa | 37-39, 075-46 | Accomack Co (MFV) |
| Napa Flight Strip CA (Note 2) | 5.5 S Napa | 38-13-15, 122-17-15 | Napa County (APC) |
| Odessa Flight Strip TX | 1 WSW Odessa | 31-50-30, 102-23-30 | unknown |
| Omak Flight Strip WA | 3.2 N Omak | 48-28, 119-31 | Omak (OMK) |
| Owyhee Flight Strip NV | 4 W Owyhee | 41-57, 116-11 | Owyhee (10U) |
| Oxnard Flight Strip CA (Note 3) | 5 E Oxnard | 34-12-45, 119-04-20 | Camarillo (CMA) |
| Rome Flight Strip OR | 26 S Rome | 42-34, 117-53 | Rome State (REO) |
| Sahuarita Flight Strip AZ | 2.2 E Sahuarita | 31-58, 110-55 | unknown |
| Tappahannock Flight Strip VA | 1.5 SW Tappahannock | 37-56, 076-52 | Tappahannock (W79) |
| Wampee Flight Strip SC | 3 WSW Ocean Drive | 33-49, 078-43 | Grand Strand (CRE) |
| Winters-Davis Flight Strip CA | 7.5 ENE Winters | 38-35-40, 121-51 | Yolo Co (2Q3) |
Note 1 - Also designated as a CAA Intermediate Field.
Note 2 - Later designated as an Army Air Field (AAFld).
Note 3 - Later designated as an Air Force Base (AFB).
Summary
Flight strips are one subset, or type, of airfield. They were a product of preparations for World War II. Flight strips served the military and their local communities. Many still served one or the other in some capacity in the 1990s.References
The Asphalt Institute. (1947.) Manual on Airfields. Design, Construction, and Maintenance of Runways, Taxiways, Aprons, and Warm-up Areas on Airports, Airparks, and Flight Strips. New York: The Asphalt Institute. H. Oakley Sharp, G. Reed Shaw, John A. Dunlop. (1948). Airport Engineering. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Updated January 26, 2025
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