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Green Acres Airport - Historic Visalia Series #14 Traditional Cache

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Hidden : 2/14/2013
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

From the vantage point of this cache, the Green Acres Airport runway 30 was directly to the northwest. Airplanes would have to almost graze this tree in order to make a landing at this airport which has now been demolished. Although the exact date of construction of the former small airfield is unknown, what was eventually known as Green Acres Airport was originally named Hyde Field, and was in operation as far back as 1927.


A circa late 1940s - early 1950s photo of Morell Austin at Green Acres Airport 

According to Paul Freeman from "Abandoned & Little Known Airfields", Green Acres was operated by Morell Austin from some time after WWII until May of 1953. Morell had been employed during the war at the Rankin Aeronautical Academy, and after the war he continued as a flight instructor at Green Acres. In addition to instruction, he did a fair amount of charter flying, as well as support to the Forest Service & National Park Service, especially during forest fires. He was also involved with crop dusting during that same period.

According to the history of this closed airfield, one Visalian recalled the following:

“Green Acres Airport in the 1960s & 1970s... My uncle Arnold Whisman was owner of Arnold's Aerodrome. I learned to fly there. My best memory is of my first landing. I dumped a Beech Sundowner on the 2,300' x 50' runway like a sack of potatoes. I believe Arnold either owned the airport outright or leased the field over the period 1960s-70s. He had a fleet of Stearman crop dusters he ran & also operated a business that offered air charter & lessons. He had a Barron there among other planes of which the Sundowner was one. The trainers were Grummans if I recall correctly. Arnold was not a Cessna fan & did not think much of Piper either until the Comanche was produced. Arnold had a V-tailed Bonanza & really wouldn't put family in anything that wasn't Beech. I think Arnold was a fine pilot & a good uncle.”
 

By 1976, the runway at Green Acres Airport had been paved, as the 1976 Pilot's Guide to CA Airports depicted the field as having a 2,300' paved Runway 12/30 (with a 500' overrun at the northwest end). A total of five hangars were situated on the north side of the east end of the runway, at which was located Kaweah Dusters & Arnold's Aerodrome.

Another Visalian recalled of Green Acres starting in 1983, “I remember seeing only crop dusters, and Jeff Davis’ beautiful T-6 Texan, flying out of there. The tall trees from the Visalia Country Club golf course (right across the street from this cache), which line that stretch of Goshen Avenue, were quite an obstacle on approach. It seemed that the airplanes just skimmed over the tree line.”
 
From 1985-2001, Kaweah Crop Dusters conducted an environmental clean-up of DDT & other hazardous materials at the Green Acres Airport.



Green Acres was apparently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1989-94, as by the time of this 1994 USGS aerial photo, the former runway had been removed, with the area returned to farming. Only a faint trace of the former Runway 12/30 could still be recognized in the agricultural field. There was also no trace remaining of any buildings at the site.

Another Visalian's recollection of Green Acres Airport demolition:
“When they tore the airport down, crops of carrots were grown on the property & destroyed, year after year, since carrots absorb toxins in the ground. This was necessary because of pesticide tanks that leaked over time from the crop dusting outfits operating there. (I know rabbits run wild in that area, and wondered how many 'croaked' if they got a hold of some. Fortunately, our local newspaper never reported any giant, mutated rabbits either…)”
 
Charles Irvin reported in 2007, “Green Acres Airport... as of a year or two ago, it's all tract homes, and the empty field is no more.”

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Bireurnq. Nyfb, lbh zvtug jnag gb nccebnpu guvf pnpur sebz gur abegu gnxvat abegu Jbbqynaq Fgerrg sebz Ubhfgba Nirahr naq cnex ng gur abegurea-zbfg fcbg ba Jbbqynaq. Sebz gurer, vg'f n fubeg jnyx, ohg guvf fubhyq xrrc gur zhttyr snpgbe ybj.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)