Recently I have had the good fortune to acquire a lot of aviation books at insanely good prices (in fact the shipping from the UK has been twice as much as the books themselves cost). Included within the over 30 titles is George w Cearley's History of Atlanta Airport. Cearley's books are always amazing - chocked full of detailed information and black and white photos. I have four of his airline titles and now this one which cost me less than $10.
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
Anyway I have always loved Atlanta airport and its two major encumbents Eastern and Delta. I have already created a 1960s era airport diorama and was on the lookout for a new project when the book arrived. My 1960s diorama is great but it is hard for it to pass for a 1950s airport even when the airbridges are removed. Within Cearley's book a series of amazing photos of Atlanta in the late 1950s caught my attention and led me to decide to try an Atlanta inspired 1950s airport model.
Atlanta itself has been really 4 different airports all built adjacent to each other. The original was replaced in 1948 by a temporary terminal called the Quonset hut and in the 50s the ramp space was massively expanded with two oddly shaped piers. In 1959 they even gained a pair of early airbridged gates for Delta's new DC-8s. This facility was replaced in 1961 by a new facility which itself would make a lovely (and large) model. That airport was outgrown within a decade and in 1980 the current facility opened with its famous and trendsetting parallel piers.
Anyway it is the Quonset 1948-1961 airport I want to emulate though with a space of only 4x2 (120x60cm) I would have to modify the layout and make it quite a bit smaller.
Key features gleaned from the photos that I also want to have in my model are:
- Propliners were parked insanely close together by modern standards, often blocking each other in their gates especially when double lines of aircraft were parked. This was standard behaviour and not unusual at ATL. See this amazing photo from the book:
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
- The airfield was very complicated in terms of apron types. This was a legacy of continuous building over a period of time so that as ramps were expanded old runways and taxiways were partially built over giving the field a patchwork effect.
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
Anyway I have always loved Atlanta airport and its two major encumbents Eastern and Delta. I have already created a 1960s era airport diorama and was on the lookout for a new project when the book arrived. My 1960s diorama is great but it is hard for it to pass for a 1950s airport even when the airbridges are removed. Within Cearley's book a series of amazing photos of Atlanta in the late 1950s caught my attention and led me to decide to try an Atlanta inspired 1950s airport model.
Atlanta itself has been really 4 different airports all built adjacent to each other. The original was replaced in 1948 by a temporary terminal called the Quonset hut and in the 50s the ramp space was massively expanded with two oddly shaped piers. In 1959 they even gained a pair of early airbridged gates for Delta's new DC-8s. This facility was replaced in 1961 by a new facility which itself would make a lovely (and large) model. That airport was outgrown within a decade and in 1980 the current facility opened with its famous and trendsetting parallel piers.
Anyway it is the Quonset 1948-1961 airport I want to emulate though with a space of only 4x2 (120x60cm) I would have to modify the layout and make it quite a bit smaller.
Key features gleaned from the photos that I also want to have in my model are:
- Propliners were parked insanely close together by modern standards, often blocking each other in their gates especially when double lines of aircraft were parked. This was standard behaviour and not unusual at ATL. See this amazing photo from the book:
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
- The airfield was very complicated in terms of apron types. This was a legacy of continuous building over a period of time so that as ramps were expanded old runways and taxiways were partially built over giving the field a patchwork effect.
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
George W Cearley Atlanta Airport 1958-60 by rstretton, on Flickr
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