Ren's Did You Know - BURNLEY FIELD, POMONA, CA

Six landings recorded in the Register cited Pomona as their home base. One flight arrived from Pomona, and two cited it as their final destination. There were two airfields in the Pomona area. Burnley Airport, a public, commercial field, and a private one owned by W.K. Kellogg. Register pilots probably visited both.

Pomona-area Airfields, Ca. 1931 (Source: Webmaster)

At right, from this REFERENCE, page 59, a description of the two Pomona airfields from 1931.


Additional information and photographs of Kellog Airport from the air and on the ground are at the link. It was only in operation from 1928-1932, however it was thought to be, "...the largest privately built and the maintained airport in the United States at the time." At the link we learn that, "Two events signaled the end of the airport era at the Kellogg Ranch. The first event was the dedication of the Burnley Airport on July 29, 1928, just two weeks after the Kellogg Airport opened. The Burnley Airport occupied 20 acres on Garey Avenue south of the Pomona city limits. It became known as the Pomona Airport and was active until it closed in 1950. The second event occurred on May 17, 1932 when Mr. Kellogg donated [his ranch] to the state of California for the use of the University of California. ... On December 31, 1932 the W.K. Kellogg [Airport] was officially closed. The landing field reverted to agricultural use and a colorful period of ranch history ended."
Burnley Field was owned by John M. Burnley, 120 East Second St., Pomona, CA. See NC6572 for an airplane he owned. See also Register pilot Eddie Bacque for a photograph of Burnley with that airplane. Additional information and photographs of Burnley on the ground and from the air are at the link. As mentioned above, it closed in 1950.
In 1931, Pomona/Burnley pilots counted on the Glendale (Grand Central Air Terminal) for weather reports.




Below, from this REFERENCE, page 23, a description of Burnley Airport from 1937. Kellog wasn't included in this reference, because it had been non-operational for five years when this publichation was published.

Pomona/Burnley Airfield, Ca. 1937 (Source: Webmaster)

Below, a Google Earth view of the location specified by the lat/long coordinates in the image above. That point is at the center of this image. There is no trace of an airfield there. The Chino Valley Freeway cuts diagonally at lower left.

Pomona/Burnley Airfield, Ca. 2010 (Source: Google Earth)

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