DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my take on what the official marker out on East 50th Street has to say — and friends, this one's worth pullin' over for. Now, picture this: Charles Lindbergh himself, barnstorming across the United States on a speaking tour, and he cannot land in Lubbock. Not because of weather, not because of trouble — but because there is simply no airport.
The most famous aviator in the world has to fly right on past. Well, you can imagine how that sat with the city leaders and aviation enthusiasts of Lubbock. They were not about to let that happen twice.
They raised the funds, they got to work, and in 1930 a municipal airport was established north of the city. Running the place was a well-known local aviator by the name of Clent Breedlove. Now Breedlove managed that municipal airport, but a man with that kind of wings in his blood was never going to stay somebody else's employee forever.
In September of 1939, he left his position to open his own flying service — right there at the second hangar at the Lubbock Municipal Airport. And that was just the beginning. On December 20th, 1941 — less than two weeks after Pearl Harbor, mind you — Clent Breedlove opened Breedlove Airport, just east of the Tahoka Highway, which today you'd know as MLK Boulevard, right there on East 50th Street.
He didn't just work there — he lived there, with his wife Aulyne and their daughter Mary Louise. The two of them owned and operated that airport together until 1947. And this was no patch of dirt with a windsock.
Breedlove Airport sat on two hundred and nineteen acres of land and had four large runways. There was a hangar, a shop, a parts room, a storage hangar, a doping room, a café, restrooms, and a two-story administration building with a control tower rising up over the West Texas plain. During World War II, that airport became something even bigger than one family's dream.
It served as Lubbock's commercial airport during the war years and was used to train thousands of cadet pilots through the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the Texas Tech Pre-Flights Program — officially known as the 309th College Training Detachment. On February 6th of 1943, Congressman George H. Mahon announced that a new military corps would be using Texas Tech's facilities for wartime training.
The pre-flight program was the way colleges and civilian contractors got new pilots their first taste of the sky — and with the desperate need for pilots during the war, that was no small thing. It also delivered a sizeable economic boost to Lubbock-area businesses. When all was said and done, the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the pre-flight program together educated an estimated three thousand, seven hundred and fifty military students in the basics of flight, civil air regulations, and various college-level courses.
So the next time you're rolling down MLK Boulevard and you cross East 50th Street, remember: Charles Lindbergh flew right past Lubbock — and the people of that city decided that would never happen again. What they built in response helped train the pilots who flew the war.
What the marker says
WHEN CHARLES LINDBERGH WAS TRAVELLING THE U.S. BY AIRPLANE ON A SPEAKING TOUR, HE WAS UNABLE TO LAND AT LUBBOCK BECAUSE THERE WAS NO AIRPORT AT THE TIME. CITY LEADERS AND AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS, DETERMINED TO SEE THAT LUBBOCK WOULD NOT MISS OUT ON THE NEW WAVE OF AVIATION, RAISED THE FUNDS FOR A MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THE AIRPORT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1930 AT ITS PRESENT LOCATION NORTH OF THE CITY, AND WAS MANAGED BY CLENT BREEDLOVE, A WELL-KNOWN LOCAL AVIATOR. IN SEP. 1939, BREEDLOVE LEFT HIS POSITION TO OPEN HIS OWN FLYING SERVICE LOCATED AT THE SECOND HANGAR AT THE LUBBOCK MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THEN ON DEC. 20, 1941, HE OPENED BREEDLOVE AIRPORT JUST EAST OF THE TAHOKA HIGHWAY (NOW MLK BOULEVARD) ON EAST 50TH STREET. BREEDLOVE LIVED AT THE AIRPORT WITH HIS WIFE AULYNE AND DAUGHTER MARY LOUISE. HE AND HIS WIFE OWNED AND OPERATED THE AIRPORT UNTIL 1947. IT CONSISTED OF FOUR LARGE RUNWAYS, A HANGAR, SHOP AND PARTS ROOM, STORAGE HANGAR, DOPING ROOM, CAF��, RESTROOMS AND TWO-STORY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING WITH CONTROL TOWER. DURING WORLD WAR II, BREEDLOVE AIRPORT, SITUATED ON 219 ACRES OF LAND, WAS USED TO TRAIN THOUSANDS OF CADET PILOTS IN THE CIVILIAN PILOT TRAINING PROGRAM (CPTP) AND THE TEXAS TECH PRE-FLIGHTS PROGRAM (309TH COLLEGE TRAINING DETACHMENT). THE SITE ALSO SERVED AS LUBBOCK'S COMMERCIAL AIRPORT DURING THE WAR YEARS. ON FEB. 6, 1943, CONGRESSMAN GEORGE H. MAHON ANNOUNCED THAT A NEW MILITARY CORPS WAS TO USE TEXAS TECH'S FACILITIES FOR WAR-TIME TRAINING. THE PRE-FLIGHT PROGRAM WAS A WAY FOR COLLEGES AND CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS TO PROVIDE THE INITIAL TRAINING FOR PILOTS, WAS CRITICAL TO FULFILLING THE DESPERATE NEED FOR PILOTS DURING THE WAR, AND ALSO GAVE A LARGE ECONOMIC BOOST TO LUBBOCK-AREA BUSINESSES. THE CPTP AND PRE-FLIGHT PROGRAMS EDUCATED AN ESTIMATED 3,750 MILITARY STUDENTS IN THE BASICS OF FLIGHT, CIVIL AIR REGULATIONS AND VARIOUS COLLEGE-LEVEL COURSES.