Everything about Ellington Field totally explained
Ellington Field is a joint civil-military
airport located 15 miles (24
km) southeast of downtown
Houston, within
Harris County in the
U.S. state of
Texas. The airport supports the operations of the
United States military,
NASA and a variety of
general aviation tenants. The field is a base for
NASA's administrative, cargo transport and high-altitude aircraft, which also includes NASA's fleet of
T-38 Talon jets bailed to the agency from
USAF, the
Shuttle Training Aircraft, and an N
KC-135 aircraft known as the
Vomit Comet, a
zero-g trainer. The only two
WB-57F aircraft used for atmospheric research and reconnaissance still flying in the world today are housed at Ellington. The
Texas Air National Guard, Texas Army
National Guard and the
U.S. Coast Guard also maintain a presence at the base, with the Coast Guard facility known as Coast Guard Air Station Houston. Ellington Field is also home to the largest flying club in Texas and the annual "Wings Over Houston"
airshow. The wing's current combat support arm will remain intact, while the 272nd Engineering Installation Squadron, an
Air National Guard unit currently located off-base, will relocate to Ellington Field.
History
Pre–World War
In 1917, the U.S. government purchased 1,280 acres (5.2 km²) of land from Dr. R. W. Knox and the Wright Land Company to establish an airbase in Houston. The location, near
Genoa Township in southeast Houston, was selected because the weather conditions were ideal for flight training. Soldiers from nearby
Camp Logan briefly assisted with the construction of the airfield when civilian workers went on strike. Soon after construction began on the airfield, the base was named after Lt. Eric Lamar Ellington, an Army pilot killed four years earlier in a plane crash in
San Diego, California.
Ellington was no longer considered necessary after World War I concluded and the base was deactivated as an active duty airfield in 1920. A small caretaker unit was kept at the airfield for administrative reasons, but generally, the only flight activity during this time was from Army pilots stationed at Kelly Field who flew down to practice landings on Ellington's runways.
In 1923, Ellington had been ordered to be completely dismantled, but that plan was halted when the
Texas National Guard established an aviation squadron at the field. The base was one of the sites where bomber pilots received their advanced training and also housed the
United States Army Air Corps'
bombardier school, known as "the Bombardment Academy of the Air." Ellington served primarily as a reserve airbase from the end of the war in 1945 until 1948. Navigator cadets trained in TB-25 and
TB-29 "Flying Classroom" aircraft. Navigation training was enhanced at Ellington when the Air Force installed a microwave navigation system. To help navigators learn celestial positioning, a Houston resident paid for the construction of a planetarium at Ellington. The planetarium, which stood high and was topped by an aluminum dome, could hold 40 students.
NASA established Ellington as its base for astronaut flight training in the early 1960s because of its proximity to the newly-constructed
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The
T-38 Talon (T-38N) is the primary jet aircraft used for astronaut training at Ellington.
The field was the site of the
Apollo lunar landing training program.
Most of NASA’s aircraft based at the Johnson Space Center are kept and maintained at the base.
Ellington Field was officially deactivated by the Air Force in 1976 and all
Air Force Reserve squadrons were transferred to other military facilities; however, the Texas Air National Guard, the Texas Army National Guard and the
U.S. Coast Guard still maintain a presence at the base. In 1984, the city of Houston purchased Ellington to use as a third civil airport, and it was again renamed Ellington Field.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ellington Field'.
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