The first flight to circumnavigate the globe took off from and returned to an airport right here in the Los Angeles area: Clover Field, now known as Santa Monica Airport.
It has an imposed weight limit, so you'll never see large commercial aircraft landing at or departing from its short runways.
But for now, it's still an active airfield—with smaller-sized, corporate-owned and private jets (including actual lear jets) still flying in and out.
There is, however, a plan to convert the airport into a community park, where grass would replace runways in a swath of sports fields, hiking trails, playgrounds, and more.
That transformation would depend on the City of Santa Monica closing the airport permanently and suspending all aviation use—which is slated to happen in January 2029. Then, in accordance with Measure LC, voters get to decide how much (if any) of the land would be developed beyond the use of green spaces.
The runway was shortened in 2017 and pavement was removed in 2018...
...but in the meantime, there's still the flying school and small aircraft buzzing in and out, a planespotter's delight.
It had been more than 12 years since I'd experienced anything more of Santa Monica Airport than a drive around its perimeter, so last weekend I headed there to witness a historic plane landing, in person...
...and experience a little bit of the type of barnstorming that used to occur at Clover Field, like in 1929 when the first National Women's Air Derby departed from there on its way to Cleveland, Ohio.
I took my position up on the observation deck, which is still open (although the Typhoon restaurant was forced to close in 2016)...
...and waited in eager anticipation for the arrival of the first fully electric coast-to-coast flight.
The Beta ALIA CX300 CTOL (conventional takeoff and landing) was completing a flight that originated in Burlington, Vermont, where startup aerospace company Beta Technologies is based.
The high winds forced the fixed-wing, single-engine, electric plane (tail #N916LF) to land in Victorville and hang out for a while, delaying its westernmost ETA by almost an hour.
But then we spotted its approach through the Century City skyline, with the Hollywood Sign behind it.
It rocked side-to-side as it flew low over the runway, not landing yet so it could make a bit of an exhibition and give spotters two chances to see it fly by.
Of course, it wasn't a non-stop flight from the East Coast. In fact, the cross-country journey took weeks to complete, with stops made in Oklahoma City, Amarillo TX, Gallup NM, Las Vegas, and Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
With a 50-foot wingspan, the CX300 fits five passengers and can travel a max speed of 155 miles per hour. But its first mission isn't designed to be recreational—but to transport vital organs for transplants.
It takes less than an hour to charge the H500A Electric Motor—and reportedly, it costs just $18 per hour versus the $347 per hour that it costs to operate a Cessna 208 (with 75% less emissions).
At this point, the battery-powered plane is still experimental. It took its first test flight in November 2024 and its aiming to be certified for commercial service by the end of 2025.
Its successful landing at Santa Monica Airport marked the completion of a 3,064-nautical-mile expedition.
It almost missed the daylight—but fortunately, the Beta electric planes are outfitted with exterior lights so they can also fly at night.
It's kind of sad to think that in just a few years, these feats of aviation may no longer occur at the former Clover Field, whose runway bears a circa 1939 compass rose designed by Wilma Fritschke of The Ninety-Nines, the legendary flying club for lady pilots.
I'll keep tabs on what happens with the airport in the coming years and will post more about it here on this blog.
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