Phillips Field served Fairbanks aviation community’s needs for 40 years
The Bachner Air Services hangar at Phillips Field in the 1950s. The Piper Super Cub in the foreground used to belong to Chuck Gray, and it was the last plane to fly off the field in 1992
During Fairbanks’ post-World War II population boom, development pressure forced the relocation of the community’s airport, Weeks Field. The airport, less than a mile from downtown, moved eight miles farther away, to its present location at Fairbanks International Airport.
In a 2013 talk given by Andy Bachner, son of one of the founders of Phillips Field, he related that many operators at Weeks Field could not afford the move to the new airport. Some individuals were also leery of regulations and oversight that a government-funded airport might impose.
A group of Weeks Field operators coalesced to discuss establishing a “pilot-oriented” airfield offering services such as maintenance and fueling; and catering to private pilots, air-taxi operators, guides, and other small operators.
They wanted an airport close to town which could serve wheeled, ski- and float-equipped planes, and that minimized costs for pilots. Most were also independent-minded and valued their privacy. Bachner related that “Air taxi guys were kind of like miners. Supposedly nobody ever made a profit, but you didn’t want the other guy ever seeing how much business you were doing.” Their opposition to government oversight also meant they wanted a privately-funded and run airport.
The group eventually whittled itself down to four: Jesse Bachner, Dave Phillips, Howley Evans, and Gordon Mitchell; who set about finding suitable land. They were contacted by Carroll Phillips, who had a 150-acre homestead on the north side of the Chena River, beyond the Alaska Railroad (ARR) yards, and between the river and Noyes Slough.
Being a civic-minded person, Carroll was willing to lease (for a minimal amount) the part of his homestead south of the ARR tracks to a partnership formed by Bachner, Phillips, Evans and Mitchell. That partnership, Phillips Field Inc. (named for Carroll Phillips) agreed to pay taxes and liability insurance, plus make all improvements.
The partners (and their families) performed much of the work developing and operating the airport themselves, with volunteer help from area pilots. Work began on Phillips Field in April 1950 and a dirt strip was completed that summer. The runway was gradually improved, and eventually was 3,600-feet long, with 1,000 feet paved and 2,600 feet graveled. The hangar shown in the drawing, the airfield’s maintenance facility, was built a year later.
Until the late 1970s, most air taxis operators, guides, and other small-plane pilots in the Fairbanks area were based at Phillips Field. However, by the 1970s, city, borough and state transportation planners believed a new transportation corridor was needed on the north side of the Chena river. Planners studying the issue for several years and finally decided the most economical route would run down the center of the runway. In 1977 it was announced that Phillips Field would close within a few years.
Protests and budget constraints delayed the closing for 14 years. However, knowing that the airport would eventually close, aviation businesses and private pilots began moving to other locations. Metro Field, Chena Marina, North Pole Airport, Lakloey Air Park, and several smaller strips were developed due to Philips Field’s impending closure. A 1976 aerial photo of Phillips Field shows more than 100 aircraft parked there. A 1986 photo shows about 30, and by 1990 only about a dozen aircraft remained.
Phillips Field officially closed on Sept. 1, 1991, but a few flights occurred after that. Chuck Gray, one of the most ardent protesters against closing the field, told me that he flew his Piper Apache off the runway on May 31, 1992. A week later — the runway already torn up — he flew his Piper Super Cub off a hastily-graded access road, the last flight from Phillips Field.
Sources:
- “Andy Bachner speaks at the Aviation Museum, Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, Alaska on October 15, 2013.” Andy Bachner. UAF Oral History collection.
- Conversation with Chuck Gray, long-time Fairbanks resident and pilot. 2020
- “Jess Bachner is interviewed on January 12, 1985 by William Schneider at Phillips Field.” Jess Bachner. UAF Oral History collection
- “Phillips Field.” From “Abandoned and Little-know Airfields: Alaska” website, <http://airfields-freeman.com/AK/Airfields_AK.htm#phillips> 2020.
- Pioneer Air Museum display about Phillips Field.
