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World War II created somewhere near 500,000 pilots. After the war, many of them wanted to continue flying. The war created pilots in another way, too. GIs returning from combat found that they could use money from the GI Bill to train for future careers. With all that training money, hundreds of flight schools popped up around the country.
Prognosticators following the war predicted that airplanes would be as cheap as automobiles and nearly as common. They envisioned airplane communities where you would roll your plane out of its garage in the morning and take off for work from an adjacent community airstrip.
Commercial aviation boomed, too. The war had turned aviation into the largest manufacturing industry in the world.
In a sense, private aviation and commercial aviation were in a race for the hearts of the American people. Commercial aviation won. Airplane ownership proved too costly for the average household. Meanwhile, commercial travel got cheaper and more accessible.
That’s a little background on why Boise had five airports at one time, but today, gets along with only three in the entire Treasure Valley: the Boise Airport (BOI), the Nampa Municipal Airport, and the Caldwell Industrial Airport. If you count Emmett as part of the Treasure Valley, they have a small municipal airport there, too.
The Boise Airport
The history of the Boise Airport is fairly well known, so I won’t spend a lot of time on that. Suffice to say that the original airport, named Booth Field but rarely called that, was built next to the Boise River, where Boise State University is today. The property was purchased from William T. Booth in 1926 and quickly readied for service.
Passenger service was far in the future, and nearly no one knew how to fly. So, why did Boise need a municipal airport? Air mail. Boise was part of the first commercial air mail route, which included stops in Elko, Nevada, and Pasco, Washington.
The contract for air mail service had already been awarded to Varney Airlines to begin service on April 6, 1926. They needed a place to land in Boise.
The community came together to build an airport.
On April 6, the runway was ready. The citizens turned out to celebrate. Then word came out about the missing pilot.
Telescoping a lot of history into a sentence, Varney Airlines had some success, eventually carrying passengers as well as mail, until they joined forces with other companies to create United Airlines in 1931. That’s why you’ll see a plaque at BOI declaring it the home of United Airlines. The need for better facilities and longer runways led to the development of that airport on the site we know today in 1936.
But what about Boise’s other airports? A reader who had found a map that mentioned two or three others asked me what I knew about them. Not a lot, until now.
Multiple Airports
At one point in 1946, there were five Boise airports, counting Floating Feather Airport, which was near Eagle. The Boise Airport had been operating for nine years, but Jr. College Field or College Field, where the original airport was, still operated. Boise Air Park came online, as did Bradley Field. These airports, or ‘Ports, as the Statesman sometimes called them, all competed for pilots and to make new pilots.
Here’s a brief description of each.
Floating Feather Airport
Located northeast of the intersection of Highway 55 and East Floating Feather Road, this landing strip opened in 1940 and was developed by Bill Woods. It was Boise’s first privately owned airport. Woods put up a wooden 12-plane hanger that first year.
Woods named the airport, and the name soon attached to the road. He thought it was a good name because he remembered so often bringing his aircraft “down the runway like a feather.” His planes were branded with a five-foot pair of wings in flashing bronze and black on each side, with “Boise Valley Flying Service” centered above the wings.
Student pilots at Floating Feather included the Northwest Nazarene College Flyers.
Many of the “Flying Heels,” a group of female stenographers determined to fly, did their training there, too. A flying club called the “Flying Feathers” began meeting and training at the airport in 1941.
Business was good at the Floating Feather Airport. They built a second hanger in 1942. Governor Chase Clark popped by in June to give awards to Civil Air Patrol members.
In April of 1943, student pilots at Floating Feather announced that they believed their instructor, Bill Woods, had set a record by soloing 467 students over a three-year period.
In addition to instruction, most of the airport operators flew hunters and anglers into what was then known as the “primitive area” of Central Idaho. None were more famous for it than Bill Woods. In a 1969 interview with the Idaho Statesman, he estimated that he had 29,000 hours of backcountry flying under his belt. In addition to sportsmen, Woods flew supplies to remote ranches. During the terrible winter of 1949, he was the lifeline for many living in the backcountry, even flying in milk for a baby.
Woods flew missions for Idaho Fish and Game, dropping feed for deer and elk, and famously conducting the first aerial roundup of antelope for the agency
Prognosticators following the war predicted that airplanes would be as cheap as automobiles and nearly as common. They envisioned airplane communities where you would roll your plane out of its garage in the morning and take off for work from an adjacent community airstrip.
Commercial aviation boomed, too. The war had turned aviation into the largest manufacturing industry in the world.
In a sense, private aviation and commercial aviation were in a race for the hearts of the American people. Commercial aviation won. Airplane ownership proved too costly for the average household. Meanwhile, commercial travel got cheaper and more accessible.
That’s a little background on why Boise had five airports at one time, but today, gets along with only three in the entire Treasure Valley: the Boise Airport (BOI), the Nampa Municipal Airport, and the Caldwell Industrial Airport. If you count Emmett as part of the Treasure Valley, they have a small municipal airport there, too.
The Boise Airport
The history of the Boise Airport is fairly well known, so I won’t spend a lot of time on that. Suffice to say that the original airport, named Booth Field but rarely called that, was built next to the Boise River, where Boise State University is today. The property was purchased from William T. Booth in 1926 and quickly readied for service.
Passenger service was far in the future, and nearly no one knew how to fly. So, why did Boise need a municipal airport? Air mail. Boise was part of the first commercial air mail route, which included stops in Elko, Nevada, and Pasco, Washington.
The contract for air mail service had already been awarded to Varney Airlines to begin service on April 6, 1926. They needed a place to land in Boise.
The community came together to build an airport.
On April 6, the runway was ready. The citizens turned out to celebrate. Then word came out about the missing pilot.
Telescoping a lot of history into a sentence, Varney Airlines had some success, eventually carrying passengers as well as mail, until they joined forces with other companies to create United Airlines in 1931. That’s why you’ll see a plaque at BOI declaring it the home of United Airlines. The need for better facilities and longer runways led to the development of that airport on the site we know today in 1936.
But what about Boise’s other airports? A reader who had found a map that mentioned two or three others asked me what I knew about them. Not a lot, until now.
Multiple Airports
At one point in 1946, there were five Boise airports, counting Floating Feather Airport, which was near Eagle. The Boise Airport had been operating for nine years, but Jr. College Field or College Field, where the original airport was, still operated. Boise Air Park came online, as did Bradley Field. These airports, or ‘Ports, as the Statesman sometimes called them, all competed for pilots and to make new pilots.
Here’s a brief description of each.
Floating Feather Airport
Located northeast of the intersection of Highway 55 and East Floating Feather Road, this landing strip opened in 1940 and was developed by Bill Woods. It was Boise’s first privately owned airport. Woods put up a wooden 12-plane hanger that first year.
Woods named the airport, and the name soon attached to the road. He thought it was a good name because he remembered so often bringing his aircraft “down the runway like a feather.” His planes were branded with a five-foot pair of wings in flashing bronze and black on each side, with “Boise Valley Flying Service” centered above the wings.
Student pilots at Floating Feather included the Northwest Nazarene College Flyers.
Many of the “Flying Heels,” a group of female stenographers determined to fly, did their training there, too. A flying club called the “Flying Feathers” began meeting and training at the airport in 1941.
Business was good at the Floating Feather Airport. They built a second hanger in 1942. Governor Chase Clark popped by in June to give awards to Civil Air Patrol members.
In April of 1943, student pilots at Floating Feather announced that they believed their instructor, Bill Woods, had set a record by soloing 467 students over a three-year period.
In addition to instruction, most of the airport operators flew hunters and anglers into what was then known as the “primitive area” of Central Idaho. None were more famous for it than Bill Woods. In a 1969 interview with the Idaho Statesman, he estimated that he had 29,000 hours of backcountry flying under his belt. In addition to sportsmen, Woods flew supplies to remote ranches. During the terrible winter of 1949, he was the lifeline for many living in the backcountry, even flying in milk for a baby.
Woods flew missions for Idaho Fish and Game, dropping feed for deer and elk, and famously conducting the first aerial roundup of antelope for the agency
This 1948 ad was one of many that christened Bill Woods “The Old Man of the Mountains.”
When reminiscing about his time running Floating Feather Airport, Woods said everything was divided into eras: Before the crash and after.
The crash happened about 9:30 pm on June 28, 1944. The Floating Feather Airport wasn’t the home base for the airplane when tragedy struck the airport, quite literally. An Army B-24 Liberator based at Gowen Field caught fire over West Boise. The pilot, probably attempting to land at the nearest airport, flew toward Floating Feather. Witnesses said the flames were intermittent at first. The plane exploded over the airport and went down about 200 feet from the wooden hanger, setting it on fire. Debris from the explosion scattered over a three-mile area, setting multiple fires. Three small planes, a car, a road grader, and the hanger all burned.
Eight men perished in the explosion of the plane. Two parachuted to safety, and the tail gunner was able to crawl out of the wreckage on the ground.
The crash and resultant fires attracted onlookers driving 2,000 cars to the highway adjacent to the airport.
The crash happened about 9:30 pm on June 28, 1944. The Floating Feather Airport wasn’t the home base for the airplane when tragedy struck the airport, quite literally. An Army B-24 Liberator based at Gowen Field caught fire over West Boise. The pilot, probably attempting to land at the nearest airport, flew toward Floating Feather. Witnesses said the flames were intermittent at first. The plane exploded over the airport and went down about 200 feet from the wooden hanger, setting it on fire. Debris from the explosion scattered over a three-mile area, setting multiple fires. Three small planes, a car, a road grader, and the hanger all burned.
Eight men perished in the explosion of the plane. Two parachuted to safety, and the tail gunner was able to crawl out of the wreckage on the ground.
The crash and resultant fires attracted onlookers driving 2,000 cars to the highway adjacent to the airport.
An Army B-24 Liberator based at Gowen Field, like the one above, exploded and set fire to the Floating Feather Airport in 1944.
The Floating Feather Airport began operating again two weeks after the crash, but things were never quite the same.
As might be expected at a busy airport that catered to student pilots, there were several minor crashes there over the years. One fatality took place in 1943 when 23-year-old Frank Tweedy, an experienced smoke jumper, attempted a recreational parachute jump. He bailed out at 3,000 feet. Whether the jumper misjudged the distance to the ground, or the parachute was defective, it did not open.
Hundreds more successful jumps followed as the Boise Skydivers Club and the Alate Parachute Club called the airport home in later years. The skydivers began to outnumber the student pilots in the 1950s and 60s. They gave regular demonstrations and hosted multi-state skydiving meets. The Statesman often covered their exploits, ignoring the new pilots that soloed during that period.
As might be expected at a busy airport that catered to student pilots, there were several minor crashes there over the years. One fatality took place in 1943 when 23-year-old Frank Tweedy, an experienced smoke jumper, attempted a recreational parachute jump. He bailed out at 3,000 feet. Whether the jumper misjudged the distance to the ground, or the parachute was defective, it did not open.
Hundreds more successful jumps followed as the Boise Skydivers Club and the Alate Parachute Club called the airport home in later years. The skydivers began to outnumber the student pilots in the 1950s and 60s. They gave regular demonstrations and hosted multi-state skydiving meets. The Statesman often covered their exploits, ignoring the new pilots that soloed during that period.
The “Centennial” skydiving show was in celebration of the Territorial Centennial in 1963.
Coverage of skydiving and everything else at Floating Feather Airport petered out in the early 1970s. Bill Woods sold the airport in 1972 to developers. He passed away in 1974.
Boise Air Park
You could still land at Boise Air Park today if you had a pontoon plane. It would scare the heck out of swimmers and stand-up paddle boarders, though. Quinns Pond is where the planes took off and landed, beginning in 1945.
Operators Haven Schoonover, Lloyd Eason, and Paul Parks promoted Boise Air Park as the city’s “downtown airport.”
Boise Air Park
You could still land at Boise Air Park today if you had a pontoon plane. It would scare the heck out of swimmers and stand-up paddle boarders, though. Quinns Pond is where the planes took off and landed, beginning in 1945.
Operators Haven Schoonover, Lloyd Eason, and Paul Parks promoted Boise Air Park as the city’s “downtown airport.”
All of the area airports in the 40s, 50s, and 60s offered flight training. Boise Air Park created a lot of pilots, each of whom was listed in the local paper when they got their licenses. Ken Arnold, of UFO fame, flew out of there.
Boise Air Park closed sometime in the early 1950s.
Bradley Field
Bradley Field, or Bradley Airport, which you can think of in today’s terms as Garden City’s airport, started in 1946, shortly after operations began at Boise Air Park. Though Garden City didn’t exist during most of the airport’s life, it was squarely in the middle of what is now the city.
There is some irony in using local landmarks to describe where the airport was. If you search for “Bradley Airport” in the Statesman archives, you could get the impression that being a landmark was the main purpose of the place. Houses for rent or for sale, accidents on the highway, business addresses—all were described by their relationship to Bradley Airport.
Here's a Google Maps view of Chinden Boulevard from the Fred Meyer Store on the left to 49th Street on the right, with an old aerial of Bradley Airport overlaid to pinpoint its location.
Boise Air Park closed sometime in the early 1950s.
Bradley Field
Bradley Field, or Bradley Airport, which you can think of in today’s terms as Garden City’s airport, started in 1946, shortly after operations began at Boise Air Park. Though Garden City didn’t exist during most of the airport’s life, it was squarely in the middle of what is now the city.
There is some irony in using local landmarks to describe where the airport was. If you search for “Bradley Airport” in the Statesman archives, you could get the impression that being a landmark was the main purpose of the place. Houses for rent or for sale, accidents on the highway, business addresses—all were described by their relationship to Bradley Airport.
Here's a Google Maps view of Chinden Boulevard from the Fred Meyer Store on the left to 49th Street on the right, with an old aerial of Bradley Airport overlaid to pinpoint its location.
Bradley Airport covered 270 acres with a single 3,000-foot gravel northwest/southeast runway built by Morrison Knudsen Company. Some of the original buildings canted at 45 degrees to the runway, serve as storage units today.
Bradley Airport was built to serve as a “replacement airport” for Boise. That doesn’t mean that it replaced the main airport, only that private aircraft were encouraged to use it instead of the commercial airport.
On opening day in December 1946, the “resort” airport had a lounge with showers, a Skytel for overnight accommodations under construction, a Sky Store, aircraft shops, and a café. The airport offered private pilots some hangers and a lot of tie-down spots where they could keep their light planes. If you weren’t a pilot yet, there was training available.
On opening day in December 1946, the “resort” airport had a lounge with showers, a Skytel for overnight accommodations under construction, a Sky Store, aircraft shops, and a café. The airport offered private pilots some hangers and a lot of tie-down spots where they could keep their light planes. If you weren’t a pilot yet, there was training available.
The Bradley Airport received one of the nation’s major aviation awards in 1948. The National Aeronautics Association named it the Best Close-to-City Resort Type Airpark. It operated profitably for years but was starting to be a financial strain on the owners by 1971. They asked the county to take over the operation of Bradley Field.
Commissioners considered it. Taxpayers revolted, and the owners sold the property to a developer. Bradley Airport closed on February 22, 1973.
Strawberry Glenn
This airfield, where the Riverside residential area is now north of the Boise River and west of Glenwood, has been called many things. The original name, when farmer Bill Thomas first developed it in 1946, was the Green Meadow Airport. It was a cow pasture airport serving the needs of pilots with surplus planes and Piper Cubs.
Thomas sold the field to Harold Major, who called it Major’s Field until he sold it to Laddie Campbell, making it Campbell Airpark. George Dovel came along and purchased the strip but didn’t name it after himself, calling it Gem Heliport, with an emphasis on helicopters.
You could get flight instruction at the Gem Heliport, both fixed wing and rotary. You could also charter back-country flights.
In 1962, Harry Stone took over the operation and it became Stone Airport. Through all the owners, facilities at the little airport improved and expanded.
In 1968 or 69, Jack Hoke took over and officially named the field Strawberry Glenn Airport, something locals had been calling it for some time. A fire at the field’s only hanger destroyed the building and soon effectively closed the airport to the public.
In 1973, as Bradley Airport was flying the coop, Strawberry Glenn was reopening with expansion plans. The airport hosted fly-ins, small airshows, and the Strawberry Glenn Pilots Association through the 70s.
In 1979, Garden City began floating the idea of making Strawberry Glenn a municipal airport for general aviation. It would function as a “replacement” or “reliever” for Boise Airport. Owner Jack Hoke already had a housing developer lined up with a purchase option.
Garden City Mayor Ray Eld, a pilot himself, pushed the idea. It became a campaign issue, and probably one of the reasons the long-time mayor was defeated. The idea of purchasing Strawberry Glenn evaporated with the election. Strawberry Glenn was sold, and the site became the Riverside subdivision.
Harry Stone, who owned the airport in the early 60s explained why private airports were going broke in a 1970 Idaho Statesman interview. “The only money you can make is through sale of parts, storage, and aircraft maintenance. Yet, you are required to have a large number of profitless acres for landing—all on which you have to pay taxes.”
That, and the fading interest in becoming a pilot, spelled the end of Boise’s private airports after more than 30 years in operation.
Commissioners considered it. Taxpayers revolted, and the owners sold the property to a developer. Bradley Airport closed on February 22, 1973.
Strawberry Glenn
This airfield, where the Riverside residential area is now north of the Boise River and west of Glenwood, has been called many things. The original name, when farmer Bill Thomas first developed it in 1946, was the Green Meadow Airport. It was a cow pasture airport serving the needs of pilots with surplus planes and Piper Cubs.
Thomas sold the field to Harold Major, who called it Major’s Field until he sold it to Laddie Campbell, making it Campbell Airpark. George Dovel came along and purchased the strip but didn’t name it after himself, calling it Gem Heliport, with an emphasis on helicopters.
You could get flight instruction at the Gem Heliport, both fixed wing and rotary. You could also charter back-country flights.
In 1962, Harry Stone took over the operation and it became Stone Airport. Through all the owners, facilities at the little airport improved and expanded.
In 1968 or 69, Jack Hoke took over and officially named the field Strawberry Glenn Airport, something locals had been calling it for some time. A fire at the field’s only hanger destroyed the building and soon effectively closed the airport to the public.
In 1973, as Bradley Airport was flying the coop, Strawberry Glenn was reopening with expansion plans. The airport hosted fly-ins, small airshows, and the Strawberry Glenn Pilots Association through the 70s.
In 1979, Garden City began floating the idea of making Strawberry Glenn a municipal airport for general aviation. It would function as a “replacement” or “reliever” for Boise Airport. Owner Jack Hoke already had a housing developer lined up with a purchase option.
Garden City Mayor Ray Eld, a pilot himself, pushed the idea. It became a campaign issue, and probably one of the reasons the long-time mayor was defeated. The idea of purchasing Strawberry Glenn evaporated with the election. Strawberry Glenn was sold, and the site became the Riverside subdivision.
Harry Stone, who owned the airport in the early 60s explained why private airports were going broke in a 1970 Idaho Statesman interview. “The only money you can make is through sale of parts, storage, and aircraft maintenance. Yet, you are required to have a large number of profitless acres for landing—all on which you have to pay taxes.”
That, and the fading interest in becoming a pilot, spelled the end of Boise’s private airports after more than 30 years in operation.
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