Air traffic Control Set at Soarin' Over California Ride at Disneyland California Adventures
Updated July, 2010
Photos by Margret Byrnes, May 2009
In 2009 I made my first trip to see California Adventures at Disneyland. The Soarin' Over California ride was high on my list of things to see. Since my first trip to Disneyland in 1955 I have always been fascinated with the special details created for every attraction and at the Soarin' ride I was really impressed with the portable air traffic control tower. I have never seen anything like this in a documentary or movie about World War II or the Korean War, and I suspect that it was made in the late 1940's or 1950's, so it could have been used in those conflicts if I am right.
This, apparently, single-person portable air traffic control station appears to have all the comforts of a small closet. It has a ground plane antennae for the radio, wind instruments, red warning lights - everything you need to get the job done. But, what was the job? Was this used to land the first planes on an island just after an emergency landing strip was built. It appears to be equipment for use by the US Navy. Was it for landing planes on emergency fields that were almost never used?
I would like to know if lots of these were built and deployed and what was their intended use. This was one cramped work station and whoever served their country working inside one of these deserves our gratitude. In direct sun it had to be brutal in there.
I have tried searching online for any information, but have pretty much come up empty. I am hoping someone out there can fill in the dates, the people, the purpose, and the places of its use.
I commend the Disney folks for placing such an interesting artifact in the Park.
Below is the side photo and the labels on the "Shelter".
if you know anything please let me know and I will share the history on this web page.
Please send me email at:
b i r d i n f o @ m i r r o r - p o l e . c o m
(This email address is not a link. The letters are spread out to defeat the spammers. You will have to enter it manually into your email application. Sorry, but that is the only way to keep hundreds of spams from showing up immediately by the spam robot that mines email addresses from web pages.)
Update information provided by Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is found at the end after the photos.
Here is the side view. Visitors waiting in line for the ride walk past this control tower.
Below this image are the labels on the tower.
Because the text is hard to read, here is what is on this label:
AN/MRN - ZOA.V (or it could be ZQA.V)
Air Traffic Control Set
Contract : F04606 - 78 -C 1270
Design Activity : 54G03
MFG PART NO : GS - 1300
Serial NO. 025
MFR : 54603
MAX SPEED : 50 MPH
MAX GROSS WEIGHT : 2900 LBS
NSN : 5895 - 01 0 087 - 78202K
CONTRACT : SYSTEMS ASSOCIATES, INC.
SAN DIEGO, CA
US
Does anyone have information in Systems Associates, Inc. in San Diego?
Here is the text on the York Shelter label:
York Shelter
Shelter - Air Traffic Control S-97
?? H.S.D. D/N GS1302 c-d
Serial NO. 7805-55
Twin Industries Corp.
Buffalo, N.Y.
Order No. H.S.D. 827828-GS
U.S.
I discovered that Twin Industries was a subcontractor in the 1950's to Lockheed and Grumann, presumably they were also a subcontractor to York. Maybe this is the same York of air conditioning fame.
I look forward to any information about the personnel and use of this unusual piece of military equipment.
July 2010 Update:
The Archives Division of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum was extremely helpful in providing additional information about this topic. It seems that the archive didn't have documentation on this system so they asked their naval aviator experts who would have served in areas and time periods where the equipment would have been used. It seems that the unit pictured on this web page was likely the "first" or "early" version of what eventually became the TSQ-6 a two-person shelter for the Landing Signal Officer along side the runway when Field Carrier Landing Practice operations were being performed. Perhaps the space for a second person was for training. But, that was the follow-on system. The smaller, system as shown here is believed to be a miniature tower and Meteorological Operations Control facility. It is believed to have been used on a field that had nothing more than a wind sock and an improved landing area. The mobile unit would be manned by and Air traffic Controller and an Aerographers Mate and they would be able to provide control tower services such as communications to air crews about weather (wind, temperature, barometric pressure) and if the field had lights they could control the lights. For simulated carrier approaches (see earlier comments about TSQ-6) the unit could be connected to a mobile Fresnel Lens System ("call the ball"). Respondents with the Smithsonian noted that some version of these systems had a small desk for notekeeping, and a porta-john. Maybe there were different sizes, the one pictured must be the smallest version.
In some places in the previous paragraph I copied or paraphrased language provided to me in a letter from I received from the Smithsonian.
There are no known photos for any of these small control towers being used in the field. If you have one (even in the background) please let me know. See the reference for email earlier on this page.
My sincere thanks to the Archive Division of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for taking the time to track down this new information.
Greg Clark
Copyright Greg Clark, 2007