Welcome back to the Sunstone Way.
This Saturday, Long Beach Airport will host its annual Festival of Flight – a celebration of the city’s long aviation heritage as well as its booming aeronautic future.
There’s plenty to celebrate. Long Beach was California’s first municipal airport, opening in December 1920. The current airport location opened in 1924, more than a century ago.
Early Community
From the beginning, a community was formed around the airport. It began with Earl Daugherty, who opened a flight training school after serving as an Air Corps instructor in World War I. Some still know the Long Beach Airport as Daugherty Field.
Did you know that Emilia Earhart took her first airplane ride in Long Beach? It was at the Daugherty Flying Circus.
The airport community grew quickly as aviation became more popular in the 1920s. And the city’s military connection was strengthened considerably when the airport built hangers for both the Naval Reserve and the Army Air Corps, with ground and flight training taking place.
War Years
By the time Douglas Aircraft opened its plant in 1941, Long Beach had laid claim to the busiest airport in the country for total aircraft operations. As Douglas ramped up production when the U.S. entered World War II, things got even busier. Douglas delivered the first C-47 transport to the military just 16 days after the Pearl Harbor attack, and would make another 4,238 of that model during the war. That’s on top of more than 5,000 total A-20 Havocs, B-17 Flying Fortresses and A-26 Invaders.
All those planes had to get to where they could be used, and pilots were scarce. So the Sixth Ferrying Group was created, using women pilots, both civilian and military. Barbara London, a Long Beach aviation legend, was in command of the squadron.
It seems fitting female pilots moved the planes, which were largely built by a workforce of women. Long Beach and Douglas Aircraft is where the iconic Rosie the Riveter “We Can Do It!” poster was created.
The entire community was unified in the war effort, at the airport and on the coast – people working for and with each other.
Modern Times
After the war ended, aircraft manufacturing could have easily ended. But Douglas Aircraft and its later iteration, McDonnell Douglas, continued to build planes for the military and started building commercial passenger jets as well. The C-17 became the cargo workhorse for the military, and it was built in Long Beach, while the DC-9 and DC-10 became commercial stars.
At the same time, general aviation boomed, accounting for more than 80% of air traffic in Long Beach year after year.
America’s biggest aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, merged/absorbed McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and started making commercial 717 jets as well as continuing the C-17 construction line. But the last Boeing 717 rolled out in 2006, and the final C-17 was delivered in November 2015, ending commercial aircraft manufacturing in Long Beach.
It was a tough day for the community.
Taking Off Again
But the Long Beach community was far from ready to give up its aviation legacy. Instead of throwing in the towel, meetings began to come up with a plan – a master plan to use the now-idle manufacturing space to launch something new.
It was new, but it also was in the century+ tradition of aerospace. We called it Space Beach. The idea was to repurpose land to house the innovative companies helping to conquer the final frontier.
Underlying the concept was the effort to build and rebuild an aerospace community. We had the people – if you can help build a modern jet, you can help build a spacecraft. We had the space, and the location. And we had the will.
It wasn’t an overnight success. But the concept began gathering momentum in February 2020 when Relativity Space announced it was opening its new headquarters in Long Beach. Then the next year, major player SpaceX signed a lease at the Port of Long Beach for its rocket recovery efforts.
By the middle of 2021, the count was at 24 aerospace companies and growing. The community was strong. It’s getting stronger every day.
Festival of Flight
It seems fitting to take a day to celebrate both the past and the future of aerospace in Long Beach, and this Saturday, Oct. 25, is the day. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the west end of the airfield will be dedicated to everything aerospace, from airplanes to tour to experimental aircraft to marvel at.
Here’s a tip. Do not, DON’T, use the regular passenger entrance to the airport. The address is Airfield-Taxiway E, 3590 Wardlow Road. There will be overflow parking at 4901 Airport Plaza Drive off Clark Avenue, and a free shuttle will be provided.
Entry into the festival is free as well. This is going to be a great chance to celebrate our community and see some cool airplanes too! Now that’s the Sunstone Way.
And remember, always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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