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With
the end of the war in August 1945, the Navy turned the airport back to the
city of Paso Robles. Paul Turner, Basil Tunison, Lew Slate, John Gallagher
and Lenord Poe took over operation of Sherwood Field as a civilian
airport. Pilots whose flying time had been interrupted by the war resumed instruction
and flight time with instructors Larry Anderson, Tony Machado and Walt
Fell. Many returning soldiers took advantage of G.I. Bill funds to begin
flying lessons. Sherwood was once again a haven for local flyers.
The 20/30 Club (forerunner of the Jaycees) painted "Paso Robles" on the roof of a local warehouse, with a large arrow pointing the way to the airport. The 20/30's and later the Shrine Club took over the old Sherwood officers' mess hall as a meeting place. A commercial airline, Southwest Air, made regular stops in Paso Robles for a time. And the big hangar, now Ennis Business Forms, was home to William Randolph Hearst's DC-3 when he came to San Simeon. Meanwhile, in 1942 the Marine Corps had acquired 1,200 acres in the Estrella area and constructed an airfield. From 1942 to 1947 up to 1,500 troops were quartered at the Estrella Marine Corps Base for training. An early jet, a Bell P-59, made a landing there, impressing those who saw this early example of a plane without propellers.
In 1947, the War Department transferred ownership of the field to the County of San Luis Obispo. With post-war building encroaching on Sherwood Field, Paso Robles' general aviation moved to Estrella in the early 1950's. Among the early operators at Estrella were Archie Dean and Bob Smoot. Initially their primary business was air patrol of oil pipelines from the San Joaquin Valley to the coast. Later, with the help of Bruce Trager, the operation expanded to include more flight instruction, charters and aircraft rental. In more recent years, current airport manager Roger Oxborrow joined the operation as a pipeline pilot and flight instructor. Some years after the City of Paso Robles acquired the airport in 1973, it was designated Archie Dean Field. Although tail skids, leather helmets and open cockpits may be few and far between these days, the airport in Paso Robles continues to lure those who are attracted to the romance and adventure of life on the wing. |
