What, you never heard the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “New Mexico, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plane” ???

Post by BigAddison – featured photo by John Muzio

It should be plane to see by now where I’m going with this, New Mexico happens to have rights to claim what may be the most significant milestone in American aviation history post Orville & Wilbur Wright. Specifically, Columbus, New Mexico. And I’m going to show you why from what I found on my bike touring and tales I’ve heard from 40 years of being around these parts of the southwest high desert.

Our story starts on March 9, 1916 when the infamous Francisco “Pancho” Villa had his army known as the “Villaistas”, cross the border in Columbus, New Mexico and raid the village and army base burning down parts of the town and killing both soldiers and civilians.

In response, the US Army launched what is known as the “Punitive Expedition” to find and capture Pancho Villa.

Among the notable history making firsts this expedition is credited for are:

• The last ride of the U.S. Calvary
• The first use of mechanical vehicles aka Tanks. Led by the young George Patton who would go on to lead the tank command across Germany.
• The birthplace of the U.S. Airforce with the first use of Airplanes in the military.

You can read more about that and much more aviation history here in Columbus at my blog post “Riding the Sombrero“.

Flash forward about 70 years to Mr. Bill Cobb and the First Aerodrome Airpark

Riding east on Hwy 9 out of Columbus towards El Paso, TX, passing the “Sombrero” and keeping a sharp eye out for the original location of the First Aero Squadron Aerodrome Airport only marked by a sun fading sign and a small footprint of some infrastructure that once stood on the site.

Probably the result of Bill Cobb’s recognition of this history, some years later the First Aero Squadron foundation was formed to protect and preserve this iconic place and time in American aviation history.

Continuing east I came to a turn-off Hwy 9 to a dirt road I hadn’t explored yet. As I made my way down I started to notice the road was lined with what looked like to me as some sort of old aviation beacons. Could this road have been a runway? Or maybe the beacons were a signal to pilots that they were about to cross the international border? I don’t for sure, but I’m intrigued.

Hacienda Sur Luna (House of the moon).

My guess is it was this history that captured Mr. Bill Cobb’s fancy and gestated the idea for reviving and commemorating our unique aviation footprint in American history by combining his love of aviation with the

establishment, and building of a triple runway airpark located just north of the village limits. The featured image of this post is an aptly digitized picture of its past splendor which was earmarked by a life size Jenny biplane (those used in the Punitive Expedition) ,

 

that served as the wind air-sock for the first runway in the complex called Hacienda Sur Luna.

Sadly, like most manmade edifices left in the desert sun, the replica Jenny slowly disintegrated and joined the history of what once was.

Here’s a taste of the park in 2018 when there was still a spattering of the airpark wonder days. The Jenny is airborne!

In my research for this post I met and spoke with a few residents of the airparks. Most notably was Skip Kimball, a 40 plus year resident who was kind enough to let me interview him. At 82 years old, Skip is pert near the last person at the airpark that knew Mr. Bill Cobb. And YES! Skip still flies! 

Airpark Life

When I first started visiting my mother in Columbus (circa late 1980’s), the airparks were flourishing and abuzz not only with the sounds of airplane engines circling around our skies, but new money, building, a little bit of affluence not seen round here. The residents were pilots of course. Retiree’s with an expensive hobby.  Their garages are hangers with homes attached. Each lot opened to one of the three runways making for quick taxiing to take-off, land, and park. Pretty cool right?

Something else about this crowd, they were an eclectic bunch. Some with eccentric tastes as witnessed by the following video and pictures of the airparks landscapes. You wont find columned gates marking entrances, here you’ll find a little bit of Watts Towers mixed with aviation “props”.

Planely put,

Mr. Cobb’s dream likely died with him thinking it was accomplished. And it was for a time, but now is destined to join its namesake with only a sun faded sign and the footprints of what once was. FLY HIGH BILL!