Aerodrome - History of Aerodromes

History of Aerodromes

In the early days of aviation, when there were no paved runways and all landing fields were grass, a typical airfield might permit takeoffs and landings in only a couple of directions, much like today's airports, whereas an aerodrome was distinguished, by virtue of its much greater size, by its ability to handle landings and take offs in any direction. The ability to always take off and land directly into the wind, regardless of the wind's direction, was an important advantage in the earliest days of aviation when an airplane's performance in a crosswind takeoff or landing might be poor or even dangerous. The development of differential braking in aircraft, the improved aircraft performance, the utilization of paved runways, and the fact that a circular aerodrome required much more space than did the "L" or triangle shaped airfield eventually made the early aerodromes obsolete.

The unimproved airfield remains a phenomenon in military aspects. The DHC-4 Caribou served in the U.S. military in Vietnam was the CV-2, landing on rough, unimproved airfields where the C-130 workhorse could not operate. Earlier, the Ju-52 and Fieseler Storch could do the same, one example of the latter taking off from the Fuhrerbunker whilst completely surrounded by Russian troops.