U.S. Coast Guard C-130 landing at the airfield                                               Hanger and Piper Aztec of the late Dr. Vitousek       

 

The Airfield

The grass airfield, pictured above with a U.S. Coast Guard C-130, is located about one mile south of the Cable Station and lies in an approximately east-west direction.  It was established by Dr. Martin J. Vitousek, PhD, by clearing and leveling the vegetation using the road construction equipment which is described on the Maintenance Equipment webpage.  He further extended the airfield by constructing a narrow causeway over a marshy area on the western side, which is pictured below, but is usable only to begin the takeoff roll eastward into the prevailing trade winds, not for landing purposes. 

 

Air Tabuaeran

At the eastern end is a wooden hanger on the north side of the airfield which Dr. Vitousek used to store his 6-seat Piper Aztec, which had long range tanks.  He operated this airplane under the name Air Tabuaeran in order to "commute" to Kiritimati (Christmas), about 150 miles southeast, where there was a weekly air service to Honolulu, and where he operated automatic and manual weather data collection stations, and to Teraina (Washington), about 75 miles northwest where he had built a small airfield and where he also operated automatic and manual weather data collection stations.  The plane was also available for charters, and thus could be flown to Malden where he operated an automatic weather data collection station, about 270 miles to the south southeast of Tabuaeran (Fanning), and Palmyra where he maintained an automatic weather data collection station, about 200 miles northwest of Tabuaeran (Fanning).  Moreover, occasionally he would fly it all the way to Honolulu, about 1,050 miles to the north of Tabuaeran (Fanning). 

 

Non-directional Beacon and Fuel

In the 1970s, before the days of GPS, the use of non-directional beacons was essential for reliable navigation, and even today they remain an important component in aviation navigation.  Accordingly, the non-directional beacon pictured below was installed in the Cable Station main building where it was electrified with the generators, and the rhombic antenna, also pictured below, was located nearby.  Aviation fuel from Honolulu was occasionally barged into the island by Dr. Vitousek, but was always in short supply. 

 

Additional Comments

It is worth mentioning that PERL obtained and Dr. Vitousek flew a surplus PBY amphibious aircraft (a photograph of which is not presently available) which was essential for maintaining the meteorological data collection equipment on other atolls which did not have airfields, such as Jarvis atoll.  Additionally, it had the range and payload capacity to transport several scientists and their equipment from Hawaii down to the islands and then return without refueling.  Accordingly, in this way it was virtually indispensable.  In conclusion, the aviation services which Dr. Vitousek provided under the auspices of PERL were the minimum, and essential, for the establishment any kind of research or tourist services on Tabuaeran (Fanning), with the exception of a cruise ship anchoring off shore as is currently the case - however without a functioning airfield there is no way a sick person could be med-evacuated off the island by air as the U.S. Coast Guard does not operate amphibious aircraft, and the island is much to far for their helicopters to reach,

 

                               
     Runway Takeoff Causeway Extension                        Non-directional beacon transmitters                                          Rhombic Antenna