Louisiana Aviation: An Extraordinary History in Photographs

Contents

CONTENTS foreword, by Corkey Fornof ix a note about louisiana aviation, by Brad Brandt xi Introduction 1 1 Beginnings 3 From Land and Sea into the Air 4 Pioneering Airmail Service 4 The Lindbergh Visit 11 2 An Era of Entrepreneurs 15 Grass Strips and Muddy Landings 16 The Wedell-Williams Air Service in Patterson, Louisiana 21 The Delta Air Service in Monroe, Louisiana 36 3 Skies Fit for a Kingfish: Shushan Airport 47 4 Transformations 67 After World War II 69 Moisant/Louis Armstrong International Airport— New Orleans 69 The East Baton Rouge/Downtown and Harding/Ryan Airports—Baton Rouge 83 Houma-Terrebonne Airport 87 Shreveport Regional and Downtown Airports 90 Lafayette Regional Airport 92 After the Cold War 95 Chennault International Airport—Lake Charles 95 Alexandria International Airport at England Air Park—Alexandria 100 5 Louisiana’s Hometown Airports 103 Crop-Dusting 105 General Aviation Airports 109 Fly-Ins and Air Shows 111 Conclusion 121 appendix 123 Louisiana’s Public Airports 123 Louisiana’s Aviation Museums 124 Louisiana’s College Aviation Programs 124 Louisiana’s Aviation Organizations 124 acknowledgments 127 Right, Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Corkey Fornof of Houma, Louisiana, performed the aerial stunts in the James Bond 007 films. Below left, Corkey has appeared in numerous commercials aired throughout the world, including this flight through a hangar for Toshiba filmed in the late 1970s. Below right, In the 1960s and early 1970s, Corkey and his father, the late Korean War ace J. W.“Bill”Fornof, one of the United States Navy’s most decorated aviators, performed together in a pair of Grumman Bearcats for air shows throughout the country. (Photos courtesy of Corkey Fornof) ...