Location of aerodromes

Could anyone please help? I need information regarding the factors that conditioned the location of aerodromes built around the beginning of the century and WW1.

[Lufbery]

Hi EC,

You said:

"I need information regarding the factors that conditioned the location of aerodromes built around the beginning of the century and WW1."

At least during the war, there were several things that determined the location of an airfield:

• It had to be a large, relatively flat, and square field. The fields were square because the planes would take off and land directly into the wind -- which ever way it was blowing.
  
• It had to be reasonably close to the front so that the planes could get to their patrol areas and still have enough gas to be there for a while before coming back. However, the aerodrome shouldn't be so close to the front that it could be shelled.
  
• I suppose there were other considerations like how close to a road the aerodrome was located so that supplies could get through easily.
  
• It also helped if there weren't too many trees nearby! I have a feeling that many aerodromes were initially farmer's fields.

I hope this helps,

-Drew

Some very mundane factors were involved. Drainage was clearly of prime importance.

Civilian aerodromes were usually set up near the place of manufacture by the builder; military aerodromes were of course provided by the Government purchasing and then using aircraft. In the beginning it took a few seconds to rollout and climbout.
During the war airfields were built by the military, in fields mostly, as Drew stated, usually on 40-60 acres fields 20 miles behind the front. These fields were designed for quick disassembly with respect to hangars, living quarters, to keep up with any advance or to avoid capture during a retreat. The military field at Toul was a permanent one built by the French; the great American built base at Issoudon had ten airfields on which American pilots were trained; from which the main supply of pursuit pilots were supplied to the squadrons of the Air Service in the zone of advance. There is a three part video on the USAS in WWI that shows Nieuport 28s taking off from in front of a hangar and being airborne in about five or six seconds, so it can be seen that long runways were necessary. Aviation supply and repair bases, which were permanent structures had runways frrom which repaired planes could be flown to the squadron of origin, or to which ferry pilots would return planes to when damaged, but still flyable.
Bases used by the Americans in France were usually rented from farmers or landowners on negotiated rental contracts on prices controlled by the French government. There is an issue of the Over the Front journal of the League of WWI Historians that has location maps of more than 1K of these airdromes. It was preferable to have trees, tall trees flanking these airfields to protect pilots from crosswinds.
Billy H. 5/01/00.