Arcadia Municipal Airport, Florida

In that year, “Aviation City” wasn’t Dayton or Oshkosh, but the town of Arcadia, Florida. It earned this moniker because of the extensive military flight training at two nearby airfields. Today’s pilots who are interested in the history of American military flight training—or perhaps antiques, rodeos, and fly-in camping—may want to touch down in Arcadia.

After the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, the U.S. Army Air Service needed more airfields for training pilots. They found plenty of open space and good weather in Southwest Florida near Arcadia. Two sites were selected, and construction began with all speed. Carlstrom Field arose 6.5 miles southeast of the town and Dorr Field 12 miles east. The airfields were just two of 32 U.S. Army Air Service training camps established in 1917. Carlstrom had an unusual design, with the buildings and hangars arranged around a large circular drive. Dorr also had an odd shape, with the streets arranged in an oval shape. No paved runways were built at either airfield; pilots landed on large grass fields, nearly a square mile in size. Primary and advanced fighter training took place there.

At the end of the war in November 1918, Carlstrom Field was used as a test site for new aircraft and weapons, including the “Kettering Bug,” an unmanned aircraft that was a forerunner of today’s cruise missiles. In 1920, flight training resumed at both airfields, but by 1923 all military flight training moved to Texas and the airfields closed. The War Department dismantled many of the buildings and leased the land to farmers and ranchers. In 1941, with another war looming, Carlstrom and Dorr re-opened for pilot training, and both closed as quickly after the war. Carlstrom became the site of a hospital and Dorr a prison; both have since closed and the compounds have been fenced off. You can view some of the hangars and buildings from the road, but the best view of these historic airfields is from the air. Carlstrom is southeast of Arcadia Airport (X06) along Fl-31 where it turns from southeast to south. You can’t miss the huge circular drive and the abandoned hangars. The site of Dorr Airfield is east of Arcadia along Fl-70. It’s also hard to miss with its oval shaped streets.

Don’t leave Arcadia without paying your respects at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the final resting place of 23 Royal Air Force cadets who died during training.

Weekly events

In 1934, the City of Arcadia built another airfield two miles south of town to be used as a secondary field to Carlstrom and Dorr. After World War II, a flight school opened there and in the 1980s an operator trained glider pilots, but today the flight activity is purely recreational.

In 2012, an airport support group, the Friends of Arcadia Airport, formed to promote the airport. They began with fly-in pancake breakfasts to attract pilots, and those are still held on the first Saturday of the month from November to April, even though the group has disbanded. Weekly Taco Tuesdays the airport brings in a taco truck from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A barbecue truck is also on site, and, in the winter months the airport invites two more food trucks, so there’s a wide selection. The airport drops its fuel price by 10 cents a gallon on Tuesdays. 

In 2014, land was cleared for “Aviation City Campgrounds” to attract pilots who enjoy fly-in camping. Pilots can taxi to a campsite and push their airplanes under the shady oaks and pitch their tent. The campsites include a large shelter with picnic tables, a fire pit, grill, refrigerator, and a washroom with showers and toilets. The airport courtesy car is available to campers after normal working hours so you can fetch supplies or go into town. The airport has two small cabins that have air conditioning and heating, and two single beds. The campsite is on the north side of the field behind the hangars. To make a camping reservation, send an email to [email protected] and you will receive an automated response with instructions.

Arcadia Airport campsites are popular during the town’s three rodeos each year, in March, July 4 weekend, and October. The ninety-seventh annual Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo is March 6 through 9, 2025. Begun in 1928, it’s the oldest rodeo east of the Mississippi River.

Arcadia’s downtown is worth a stroll and features 293 historic buildings dating back to the 1800s. Arcadia hosts one of the largest groupings of antique dealers in Florida. The town also sponsors a “Saturday Antique Fair” on the fourth Saturday of each month which brings additional antique dealers to the streets.

Dennis K. Johnson is an aviation writer and pilot.