Pete,
I should have sent THIS:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=vina,+ca&sll=39.
860736,-122.108231&sspn=0.232438,0.43602&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Vina,+Tehama,+Cal
ifornia&ll=39.94824,-121.990514&spn=0.014509,0.027251&t=h&z=15
-Rex-
Rex Lint, Consultant
26 Brek Drive
Merrimack, NH 03054
PH: 603-860-7651
-----Original Message-----
From: Pete Smith [mailto:n4zr@contesting.com]
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2010 5:59 AM
To: Rex Lint
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] WW II Aircraft Landing Mats as a counterpoise
system?
Hi Rex - that link just takes you to your own start page. I took a look
at Chico, CA, but didn't instantly spot the place you're describing.
73, Pete N4ZR
The World Contest Station Database, updated daily at www.conteststations.com
The Reverse Beacon Network at http://reversebeacon.net, blog at
reversebeacon.blogspot.com,
spots at telnet.reversebeacon.net, port 7000
On 8/8/2010 10:07 PM, Rex Lint wrote:
> Larry (et.al.),
>
> See arial view:
> http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
>
>
> -Rex-
>
> K1HI
> Rex Lint
> Merrimack, NH
> WWW.QRZ.COM/db/k1hi
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of
> larryjspammenot@teleport.com
> Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 1:59 PM
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Subject: [TowerTalk] WW II Aircraft Landing Mats as a counterpoise system?
>
> I was recently looking up some old drag-racing info about a dragstrip in
> Northern California,
> the "Vina Raceway" near Chico, CA. I just obtained an old 1968 issue of
> "Super Stock"
> drag racing magazine, which had a feature article about this Vina Raceway
> dragstrip,
> which was in operation from 1963 to 1968. I was not able to attend any
races
> there, but I remembered
> seeing the advertisement posters posted on phone poles all over downtown,
> for an upcoming Sunday afternoon
> drag race at Vina Raceway in either 1965 or 1966, while I was still in
high
> school in Southern Oregon.
> Some of my friends went down to the race, and told me that there was a
very
> good turnout from our town, which was probably a four or five hour drive
> away. The big turnout was probably due to all the advance advertising that
> had been done in various Southern Oregon/Northern California towns.
>
> Many years later (1980's), I learned to fly in northern California. While
> looking at the
> San Francisco area sectional map for visual navigation, I noticed near
Chico
> that there was
> a place called "Vina Mat." Seeing that on the map reminded me about the
drag
> races back in
> the 60's at Vina Raceway, and I did some research on the 'net to see if I
> could find any
> info about it. Since that area in northern California is a major
> agricultural area, I guessed
> that a "mat" must be something to do with grain that was being loaded and
> transported to other areas.
>
> I had no idea what a "mat" was, until I did some more searching. I found
out
> that a mat ("landing
> mat") is a large grouping of metal (usually steel) plates tied together,
in
> a configuration
> that can be installed as a big, solid surface for aircraft landing and
> takeoff. I also found
> that many of these "landing mats" were installed around the country, as
well
> as overseas,
> especially in the World War II era, as auxiliary airfields and airfields
> that needed to
> be built on short notice. Large areas of land could be covered by these
> steel mats by an
> installation crew in a short time. Some of the completed mats were square,
> some circular,
> and some were in yet other configurations. Some mats were simply hooked
> together, some were
> bolted together, and some were even welded together.
>
> The Vina Mat was a typical, large (3100 feet rectangular) landing mat near
> Chico, California
> (north of Sacramento). The National Archives depicted the field as "Chico
> Auxiliary Army
> Airfield #3" - there were five satellite airfields used by Chico Army
> Airfield, which was 11 miles to
> the southeast. It was built by the military during WW II, and was used to
> train fighter and bomber
> pilots. It was a rectangular, paved landing mat, and the rectangular shape
> of the mats
> permitted aircraft to land land in any direction, eliminating the
> possibility of a crosswind.
>
> Some airport guides still list this as a private airport, and it's now
> called
> "Deer Creek Ranch Airport (CA60), Vina, CA".
>
>
> The reason I bring all of this up about the steel landing mat system, is
> that it appears that there may still be
> many of them around the country. I'd be curious to know if any hams ever
> bought one of these properties where
> the metal mats are still in place, and if anyone ever attempted to use it
as
> a counterpoise for an HF vertical array. It seems like a nearly solid,
3000'
> X 3000' steel plate mesh all tied together would be
> a great "radial" system for big vertical arrays.
>
> Did anyone ever try operating HF mobile, with the car parked on top of one
> of these mats? It just sounded like something that would be fun to try.
> You'd have a difficult (and expensive!) project laying down a radial field
> like one of these old landing mat systems!
>
> Listed below are some of the articles about Vina and other nearby landing
> mat airfields, landing mat
> system development and history, and a landing mat manufacturer/dealer.
Some
> of them have excellent
> photos of "now and then" views of a few of the airfields.
>
> Larry
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -------
>
>
>
>
> The Chico, CA AAF (Aux Army Airfield) #3 (later called "Vina Mat") is
> described in the
> web site "Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields: Northeastern California:
>
> http://www.members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/CA/Airfields_CA_NE.htm
>
>
>
>
> Landing Mat Development and History web site (with pictures):
>
> http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-42/c-3-4.pdf
>
>
>
> Here's a web site for Calumet Industries PSP Landing Mat:
>
> http://www.calumetindustries.com/?page_id=176
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