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Rich Field Flyer
Facts About Rich Field
Compiled by
Second Lieutenant John K. Gowen, Jr., A.S.,(M.A.),
R.M.A.,Publicity Officer

Rich Field, which was located at Waco, Texas, on August 24, 1917, is one of the finest flying fields in the United States. It has been called by disinterested persons the most complete single unit field in the country, and its record during the war compares favorably with that of any training field, being surpassed by none. There are forty flying fields under government control on this side of the Atlantic, all in active operation until the first of the present year. Rich Field has since its inception been recognized as among the foremost of this forty.  
  Where some of the flying fields are many miles removed from a city or town, Rich Field was most happily located only a mile west of the outskirts of Waco, Texas, a busy, thriving south-western metropolis of more than fifty thousand energetic people.  Over an excellent macadam boulevard, it is only three and a half miles from headquarters at Rich Field to the center of Waco.  From Waco the excellent water supply of the field and its electric current are supplied.  A railroad spur track connects the field with the main terminals in the city.
  Easy accessibility was necessary in view of the permanency of Rich Field, and early attention was given to this matter with the result that the field has grown to be considered almost a part of the city of Waco, while still being capable of operating within itself and maintaining the exclusiveness necessary to the proper training of men as flyers, under strict discipline.  

Investment of Millions
  There are eighty-one buildings at Rich Field-- and not one of them is a tent. With the exception of four steel hangars and one steel Experiment and Repair building, all of the buildings are of permanent wooden construction, the roadways are of excellent macadam or gravel, and taken as a whole the investment in buildings and grounds at Rich Field represents more than one million dollars.
  At the present time there is invested at Rich Field in aeroplanes, engines, instruments and machinery, approximately one and a half million dollars in government money-- making approximately two and a half million dollars total investment.
  An interesting feature of Rich Field, in view of the present demobilization and consequent storage of great quantities of war material, is the fact that there is 213,914 square feet of storage space, where aeroplanes, engines and their accessories may safely and satisfactorily be stored.
  There are twelve large wooden hangars, each with a storage space of 8,695 square feet-- a total of 104,340 square feet.
  There are four steel hangers, each with a storage space of 9,240 square feet-- a total of 36,960 square feet.
  There are two wooden warehouses, each with a storage space of 8,712 square feet-- a total of 17,424 square feet.
  There is another wooden warehouse with a storage space of 1,960 square feet.
  There is one steel Experiment and Repair building with a storage space of 13,200 square feet, and another Experiment and Repair building, of wood, with a storage space of 13,728 square feet.
  There is one wooden Quartermaster warehouse, with a storage space of 8,250 square feet.
  There is one wooden Aero Supply warehouse, with a storage space of 8,052 square feet.
  Were it necessary, several of the 81 buildings on Rich Field which have not been detailed above could be used for storage, adding many thousands of square feet to the total of 213,914 given above.


                 Records in Maintenance
  Three hundred and eighty-two aeroplanes have been assembled, tested and put in flying commission since Rich Field opened. Of these two hundred and thirty-four  were of the standard J1 type, one hundred and forty-two of the Curtiss JN4D type, and six of the DeHaviland Four type.
  Five hundred and fifty aeroplane engines have been assembled and tested. These include three hundred and twenty-two of the Hall-Scott A7A, four-cylinder model; two hundred and twenty-two of the Curtiss OX5, eight-cylinder model, and six of the Liberty twelve-cylinder model, the premier achievement in American engine building.
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