Ha Ha, so would I Denis. I guess it depends on North or South Hemisphere.
.
    But realy, from the photographs, the structures were in the center, and
the landing field outside.  If you think of a circle, from the center to the
outer edge can be measured in a strait line.  That is how they took off.
The principle is in moving away from a linear design, which as you expand
can and will eventually take up a lot of space.

    As for WW I airfields they were not paved, only leveled out.  Some were
planted in slow growing short leafed grass.  In reading about German pilots,
one remark was that during the rainy season, almost as many aircraft were
disabled by muddy fields as were shot up.  Here in Northern North America, I
do not know about Mexico, French drains were installed along at least one
edge of the landing field. French drains were shallow ditches loosly filled
with gravel that would channel excess water away from the field towards a
natural drainage.

Although macadam surfaces were used in road construction, they do not appear
on any of the photographs of the landing surfaces I've checked.  I have not
checked airfields constructed in the 1930s.

I would hazard a guess that paved surfaces were really not a high priority
untill aircraft weights and overall air travel incresed in the 30s.

If you haven't already checked it Denis, you might want to check out the
photos archived in the Australian War Memorial.  Great stuff there.
I hope this helps,
William E. McAlexander Jr.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Denis Gojak" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: WW I airfields


> William
>
> At the risk of being flippant, which isn't always appreciated on this
list,
> I'd have loved to watch a plane landing on [7] - the doughnut shaped US
> airfield of the 1920s.  Did they land clockwise or anti-clockwise?
>
> Or maybe I've not got the right image in my mind.
>
> One more sensible question - at what point did some form of made surface
> become mandatory in military airfields?  Were grassy strips seen as
adequate
> right through WW1 or were they routinely surfaced then.  Just thinking of
> cities like Sydney back then, there were relatively few metalled,
asphalted
> roads outside the centre until the between the wars periods and laying
large
> continuous surfaces of any material was still a tricky proposition.  Did
> airfields lead the way or did they rely on road building technology?
>
> Denis
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Denis Gojak
> Banksia Heritage + Archaeology
> PO Box 457
> Newtown NSW 2042
> Australia
>
> W    02 9558 0220
> F     02 9558 4120
> M    0413 030 293
> E    [log in to unmask]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "william mcAlexander" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 2:44 PM
> Subject: WW I airfields
>
>
> Greetings fellow HISTARCHers.
>
>     Back in 2003 I inquired if anyone out there knew about WW I airfield
> excavations for a paper that I would present at the 2004 SHA conference
> concerning early airfield design.  As is typical from this list, I got
good
> advice.  Carl Berna asked that I keep the list informed about what I know.
> Here goes.
>
>     I know nothing.  Of that I'm sure.  However, I am convinced that
> surviving photographs exist that demonstrate the following:
>
> 1) Early airfields were layed out in simple geometric designs.
>
> 2) Prior to 1913 all nations used some sort of a linear design.  With so
few
> aircraft in any one area, a few buildings beside one another with open
> ground where the machines could land (less than 1000 ft. long) in front of
> them was all that was needed.
>
> 3) After 1914 the British built on and expanded the linear design.
> Photographs from Egypt, Palistine, England, Afganistan, Canada etc. all
show
> this.
>
> 4) After entering the War, the United States adopted the British design.
>
> 5) The French developed a rectangular or open "L" design where two sides
of
> the landing field were outlined by structures.
>
> 6) The Germans experimented with a wider assortment of designs before
> settleing on a circular or enclosed design.  The structures surrounded the
> landing field.
>
> 7) In the 1920s, the U.S. started constructing circular design airfields
> with the structures in the center and the landing field around them, like
a
> doughnut.  A reversal, if you will, of the German concept.
>
>     I believe that WW I pilots viewed the German design as more efficient,
> as aviation became a permanent fixture of the modern military.
>
>     I am still conducting background checks, but plan to start writing a
> paper, before the summer, for publication outlining in more detail my
> conclusions.  As a consequence, I'm giving advanced warning that I will be
> posting to the list for additional help as questions come to mind. In
> closing, I apologize for my spelling, the spell check apparently does not
> want to work today.
>
> I would like to thank everyone on the list for thier assistance and
> patience,
>
> William E. McAlexander Jr.