Floyd Bennet Field, part 1

[beaky]

After my visit to the Cradle of Aviation Museum Sunday, I decided to take the long way home, braving the traffic on the Belt Parkway. There's a very interesting place along the way, just SW of Kennedy Airport...haven't been there but one time, years ago, so I decided to take a little detour for another look.




Yes, it's Floyd Bennett Field, at one time one of the most significant airfields in the world. Many record-setting and  first-ever flights originated or ended up here, and... well, if you're interested, just Google it sometime...




Most of the original hangars are not exactly shipshape; the airport's been closed for many years. But there are hints of its former glory, and the weathered appearance sort of drives home the fact that this place has an old, rich history.






This control tower building is now a "Visitor Center", didn't seem like it was open, and I didn't check, as I was making a pretty quick stop here. Looks like it's been fixed-up a little...






There's a lot going on here, as we'll see, despite it being a defunct airfield. There's fishing areas, nature trails, a community garden, and... would you believe... cricket?
  No, really... the nearest area of the borough of Queens is called Jamaica, and there are a large number of West Indians living there (now there's a good 'chicken-or-egg' question; I have no idea if it's a coincidence or not).
  They seem to really enjoy this game, but I was perplexed. Looks like someone losing their temper while playing croquet...




More from FBF on the way!

[ChuckMajik]

That's Cricket, a freakishly awesome game.
Oh, and nice shots.

[FLYING_TRUCKER]

Well done rotty .

It is sad sometimes to see the state of the old airfields, what do you think they will do with this one?

I suppose they will turn it into condo's or apartment buildings.

Thanks for posting the main building...it looks as if it is being used to some extent.

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

[beaky]

Well done rotty .

It is sad sometimes to see the state of the old airfields, what do you think they will do with this one?

I suppose they will turn it into condo's or apartment buildings.

Thanks for posting the main building...it looks as if it is being used to some extent.

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

No idea what's ahead for this place, but there's a lot of public use for recreation, and there's an active  Coast Guard  chopper base adjacent... I doubt it's up for development, but I also doubt it'll be fixed up as a museum anytime soon, either. They may have even left the runways intact to provide emergency landing areas for flights out of JFK... not much else around there except ocean and marshland, so with a serious problem on takeoff to the SW, it'd be very helpful to have even an old, half-overgrown strip in front of you...

[Hagar]

Very interesting once again. I've heard the name of course but don't know much about the history. I'll take your advice & google it. (Google is now a verb in the dictionary so I assume it has a small 'G' when used in this sense).

I think the closest comparison to this over here would be Croydon Airport, the original London airport. This was all grass with a terminal building similar to the one at Shoreham. It was still in regular use when some friends & I did our grand cycling tour of southern airports in about 1958, ending up at Heathrow.

[Jakemaster]

Thats so cool! In FSGW3, floyd bennet field is there in all its glory.

Maybe next time Im in new york, I can convince someone to take me there, just to see some aviation history up close.

[beaky]

Thats so cool! In FSGW3, floyd bennet field is there in all its glory.

Maybe next time Im in new york, I can convince someone to take me there, just to see some aviation history up close.

I'm pretty sure there's a bus stop there... it's in Queens. I think the other time I visited, I brought a bicycle on the subway to rockaway Beach and rode over the bridge. It's pretty accessible.

[Craig.]

Not only cricket, but a proper organised game with full test uniforms
LOL great shots Rotty.

(test uniforms, the all white kit you see there, used primarily for international matches lasting 3 or more days)

[Hagar]

(test uniforms, the all white kit you see there, used primarily for international matches lasting 3 or more days)

Used to be standard dress for cricket of any sort. We had to wear full white kit when playing it at school & I was never in one of the school teams.

[Jakemaster]

I'm pretty sure there's a bus stop there... it's in Queens. I think the other time I visited, I brought a bicycle on the subway to rockaway Beach and rode over the bridge. It's pretty accessible.

Well, Its not that it is inaccessible.  Im only sixteen, so I probably wouldn't go alone.  Also, I only go up there to visit family, and they are in the kings park area.  Next time I go, I plan on going back to the intrepid, haven't been in a while, and last time I was there I didn't get to see the sub next to it, and the concorde wasn't there yet.  When we go to the city, we usually go through queens, so probably itll just be a little stop.

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

That looks like French cricket, the way the bowler is bowling it....strange...
We still wear full whites at school, nice photos tho!
Refreshing to see an  old school airport.


A.

[Hagar]

That looks like French cricket, the way the bowler is bowling it....strange...

Somehow I don't think West Indians would be interested in French cricket.

I see what you mean but the bowler is way past the wicket & has obviously already bowled the ball. From the position of the wicket keeper he's a slow or spin bowler. Some bowlers have unique actions or it might just appear strange in that shot.

PS. For the uninformed; the ball is bowled underarm in what we used to call 'French cricket'. In fact this is how the ball was originally bowled in 'proper' cricket & there's nothing in the rules to prevent it.

[Flt.Lt.Andrew]

Hence the Greg (or was it Ian?) Chappell incident, in which one of them bowled underarm- a no-ball, or something, leaving Australia the victors (England had to score 1 run to win). Nevertheless, good to see the game in action!

EDIT: I see now! He IS  a slow bowler, but thats part of his wind down or wind up.


A.

[beaky]

Just to clear the air: he was in fact bowling overhanded; not sure if this was taken during his windup or after release. I'd have to blow that up to see if the ball can be seen enroute...
looking again, I think he's winding up.
Not that i'd know- as far as i know, "bowling" involves rented shoes and a big heavy ball with three holes in it...

[C]

I haven't even been past it for many years. It might be difficult to find now as I don't thnk there's much sign of it ever existing which I think is a darned shame. The airfield itself is either covered with factories or houses now although one or two of the original buildings might still be there. I was told recently that even the famous old Propeller pub across the road has finally gone, along with the big propeller that stood outside the pub. All that history & nothing to show for it.

It's still very visible, being on the Purley Way in/out of London. The terminal building survives as does the hotel next door. Amazingly a fair amount of the airfield hasn't been built on, and I think if you look at multimap you will see that some of the original concrete runway "ends" still exists. It has a visitor centre open on the first Sunday of the month, 1100-1600, and has a Tiger Moth (inside) and DH Heron on display outside. Ironically, where FBF has cricket being played, Croydon appears to have a Baseball diamond in the middle of the old airfield!

http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=531000&Y=163000&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&pc=&zm=0&scale=10000&up.x=287&up.y=7(scroll down one click to see the remaining tarmac)

Similarly, very close to Croydon is the former RAF Kenley, still owned by the MOD, with all its tarmac intact (the Luftwaffe took care of the hangars in 1940)...

http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?client=public&X=537500&Y=160000&width=700&height=400&gride=&gridn=&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&pc=&zm=0&scale=50000&multimap.x=7&multimap.y=368