Beacon Field Airport

November 27, 2009, Kloten, Switzerland --   "The last landing at Beacon Field took place on October 14, 1962 at 4:58 PM. The aircraft was a Cessna 150 (N1189Y) which had departed from Teterboro, NJ,  two and a half hours earlier en-route to the Washington-Virginia (Baileys Crossroads) airport. Upon arrival in the Washington DC area, the pilot, an inexperienced 22 year-old alien, got confused and mistakenly landed on one of two intersecting runways not very far from the Pentagon.   After landing, the absence of other aircraft on the ramp and some light local surface traffic using the other runway were obvious signs that something had gone very wrong.

Scared of any consequence of his mistake, the pilot decided to get airborne swiftly.  He first got out of the plane, handed a dollar bill to a couple of youngsters, asking them to stop any crossing traffic on the intersecting runway during the ensuing takeoff, then hopped back into the Cessna, backtracked and took to the air again after 19 minutes ground time, never to be worried by the police, the FAA or any other threatening authority.  {editors note: this adventure occurred as tensions were rising over the Cuban Missile crisis}.    Within 40 minutes, he was safely on the ground again at the Washington Suburban airport (Laurel, MD) where he was told, upon describing the scene of his previous landing, that it had occurred at a decommissioned airport, by the name of Beacon Field.

Now this incident may be somewhat reminiscent of Mathias Rust's landing at  Moscow's Red Square in  1987.  But the difference is significant: The Red Square landing was deliberate, the {Beacon Field} landing merely accidental.   I should know:  I was the pilot !   "

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Since we launched the Beacon Field Airport website eighteen months ago, we have received many fascinating emails, letters, and photographs sharing memories of Beacon Field and the Groveton area.             

One of these wonderful emails came from Mr. Jean-Francois Didisheim,  born in Geneva, Switzerland,  who got his private pilot license in 1958.   In pursuit of his engineering degree with the Swiss Institute of Technology,   Mr. Didisheim was required to spend a number of months with an engineering  company as a trainee.  He chose Beechcraft in Witchita, Kansas,  and the year was 1962.    During his tenure at Beechcraft, he flew occasionally around Kansas.  

At the end of his training in mid-October 1962, he arrived in New York with a planned return home trip to Switzerland on a commercial flight.   Mr. Didisheim had a few days to explore the east coast before departure and rented the Cessna 150 at Teterboro to visit some distant family near Washington landing unintentionally at the closed  Beacon Field as he described above.   October 1962 was a tense and turbulent month in US history with USSR nuclear testing in Novaya Zemlya, U-2  flights over Cuba ,  and the looming Cuban Missile Crisis.    A heightened level of security and scrutiny of aviation activity ensued especially around the Washington metro area.     Despite all odds,  the young 007 Didisheim made a stealth landing and takeoff only to be heard from 47 years later !!

Mr. Didisheim has had a very successful 50+ year career flying single engine airplanes and gliders including aerobatics, some instructing, and instrument flight.

Now, Mr. Didishem says,  ". . . I only fly within Europe, mainly with a 1967 Bonanza. I am an unconditional fan of Wolfgang Langewiesche's book Stick & Rudder first printed in 1944. "  He also worked 26 years for SwissAir (this author's favorite airline before its dissolve in 2002) where he focused on cockpit specification in collaboration with Airbus and McDonnell-Douglas .

"And last but not least I am delighted to have recently rediscovered the Beacon Field Airport, albeit through the internet, and to have gotten in touch with some of its friends, many of whom I hope to meet one day in the not-too-distant future". 

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October 1, 2009, Groveton, VA --  Friends of Beacon Field Airport met to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the closing of the airfield in 1959.     Notable attendees included  previous employees of Beacon Field,  Mr. Albert Steidel  and his younger brother Mr. Billy Steidel.  Mr. Al Steidel was a 30 year career commercial pilot for Alleghany Air.   Also in attendance was Mr. Mayo Stuntz, a Fairfax County History Commissioner,  who has been a long time supporter of the effort to recognize Beacon Field.  He and his wife, Connie,  have written many books on the history of Fairfax County. 

Friends of Beacon Field were pleased to announce their acceptance into the Virginia Department of Transportation VDOT Adopt-A-Highway Program for the portion of South Kings Highway running from Harrison Lane to Franklin Street.      Friends agreed to perform litter pickup four times/year for two years.  

Certificates of Appreciation plaques were given to Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay and Staff with Ms. Linda Waller accepting, for their help with the dedication ceremony,   Beacon Starbucks Store Manager, Mr. Brandon Perkett, for his continuing support in preserving the history of Beacon Field,  and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Emrico for their unsurpassed efforts in promoting the significance of Beacon Field.

"Memory is the natural enemy of history.   Whether it be bad memory, no memory, faulty memory or created memory, loss of facts is a dangerous thing. We wanted to capture and record the Beacon history before it was lost - we have to do this with the marker and the website."
                                         --- Harry P. Lehman  (excerpt from dedication speech)

 
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